


Heroes Never Die; It's Hero Time

by CreateGunner1209



Category: Ben 10 Series, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Aliens, Alternate Universe - Ben 10 Series, Alternate Universe - Canon, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ashido Mina is a Good Friend, BAMF Midoriya Hisashi, Ben Ten Aliens, Ben Ten themes interwoven into My Hero Academia Universe, Canon Compliant, Entrance Exam Arc (My Hero Academia), F/F, F/M, Gen, Interns & Internships, Kevin Levin has a different name (Henzu Uuichi), Mentioned Midoriya Hisashi, Midoriya Izuku Does Not Have One for All Quirk, Midoriya Izuku gets the Omnitrix, Midoriya Izuku is a Dork, Midoriya Izuku is a Good Friend, Nerdy References and Easter Eggs, Oumagadoki Zoo, Quirkless Midoriya Izuku, Somewhat OP Deku, Sports Festival Arc (My Hero Academia), Uraraka Ochako Has One for All Quirk, Uraraka Ochako is a Good Friend
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-26
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:21:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 46
Words: 558,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21567568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CreateGunner1209/pseuds/CreateGunner1209
Summary: One would think that in a world where everyday people possess impossible abilities; nothing would really be a surprise. For Izuku Midoriya, who upon the age of four was diagnosed as quirkless and thus was denied of his dream of become a hero that can save everyone with a smile. But fate gives him a chance; allowing him access not to one but a universe of powers and abilities. Together with his friends, family, and allies at his side he will rise up to protect all that they care for.
Relationships: Midoriya Hisashi/Midoriya Inko, Midoriya Izuku & Thirteen, Midoriya Izuku & Uraraka Ochako, Midoriya Izuku & Uraraka Ochako & Thirteen, Midoriya Izuku and Kevin Levin, Uraraka Ochako & Yagi Toshinori | All Might
Comments: 463
Kudos: 279





	1. Izuku Midoriya’s Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Izuku Midoriya's fate changes for the better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone I know it's been a while since I have updated anything. My life has gone over some major changes lately and I have had some time to reflect on my past writings. After which I was inspired to writ this one and I hope to keep up with it as best as I can. I hope to update at least once a week but there is no confirmed update schedule. I really hope you enjoy this latest work of mine. 
> 
> Important Author's Note and end of chapter.

“People are not born equal. That’s the hard truth I learned at age four. But that was my first and last setback.” 

“It all began in Keiki City in China with the news that a bioluminescent baby was born. After that the “exceptional” individuals began popping up all over the world.” 

“The cause was unclear. There are many theories from rats carrying a mutating virus, to human evolution, even vampire bees… or it could have simply been an accident that was beyond our control or knowledge.” 

“Time passed and the “exceptional” became the norm. Fantasy became reality! At present 80% of the world’s population consists of superhumans with special abilities. The world fell into chaos. And a new profession that everyone once only dreamed about entered the spotlight! Along with the exceptional abilities came an explosion in crime rate. While nations struggled to overhaul their legal systems, brave individuals took up the mantle of heroes straight out of comic books. Protecting the people from evildoers! With public support, some quickly acquired the right to serve as heroes in an official capacity.” 

“Fantasy became reality.” 

“My name is Izuku Midoriya and this is the story of how I became one of the world’s great hero… and arguably the greatest hero of other worlds as well.” 

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Izuku Midoriya happily writes about the newest hero that debuted that same morning into his notebook, titled “Hero Analysis for the Future #13”. This is a little, or big, hobby of his: to analyze quirks, fighting techniques, and even the personalities of any and all heroes that he is able to find. Hopefully, a lot of this information can help support his dream and if not it’s a great way to keep his mind active.

While he’s engaging himself, his homeroom teacher swats a stack of papers across his desk and proclaims how it’s time for the third-year class to start taking their future careers seriously. He, however, assumes that most of his students wish to become heroes. The students cheer in response proving his assumption correct.

One of his classmates, an old childhood friend named Katsuki Bakugou, scoffs at their classmates’ cheers. He proceeds to spout on about his own superiority by declaring how he’ll enter U.A. High, the birthplace of heroes, and surpass even All Might, the Number One Hero.

Meanwhile, Izuku tries to be as invisible as possible, but that proves difficult, especially as the teacher carelessly mentions that he too wants to attend U.A. This, of course, results in the entire class laughing and mocking him. Not exactly the best way to start the day.

As Izuku tries to explain his reasoning, Bakugou slams his hand down setting off an explosion that knocks the cinnamon bun off his desk. “COME ON, DEKU!!!” The maniac towers over the cowering Izuku. “You’re totally Quirkless. And you think you can rub shoulders with me?!” 

Izuku futilely scoots away. “Wa-wait, no, Kacchan. I wasn’t trying to compete with you! Not at all! It’s just… been my dream. Since I was little, and well… there’s no harm in trying…” 

“TRY?! Try what?! The Entrance Exam?!” Sparks and smoke from Bakugou’s palms threaten to end Izuku’s very existence. “What can you even do?!” 

It’s always like this ever since Izuku was classified as Quirkless. This only justified what Bakugou had already known. That he’s better than everybody else, especially Izuku. Bakugou had always had a giant ego thinking that he’s the most important and best person to have ever walked this goddamn planet. Because he was lucky, lucky to be born with a powerful quirk, a gift that he didn’t earn and arguably didn’t deserve. But that’s reality. Sometimes those undeserving are given what others could only dream of having. However, there is always a chance that something will change one’s destiny. 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

In a galaxy far, far-actually in a galaxy very, very close… so close in fact that it’s the same galaxy, two spaceships are locked in an epic chase. 

A large menacing ship with lava red sacs around the temples and a forward gun that makes up the frontal half of the main haul is firing lasers upon a small blue ship with green markings. The tiny spacecraft swiftly dances around the shower of lasers. However, despite its speed the large cruiser is able to keep up and land a few solid hits. That said the tiny ship is not without its own means of attack. The speedy spacecraft simultaneously aims two lasers at the large haul carving into its side resulting in a few explosions. 

From inside the battleship’s bridge many black and red humanoid drones monitor and operate the ship’s functions and guns. 

“Haul damage 20%,” a drone turns to its master from its post at a monitor. “but the system is still operational.” 

The commander of the battleship leans forward in his throne his red eyes following the flight of their target. 

The commander of the ship is a real freak of nature especially since his head resembles that of an octopus. His tentacles dangle from the front of his face, like a beard. His skin is pale-green with yellowish spots, noticeably he doesn't have a nose nor visible ears. He dawns a black and red-brownish armored suit with spiked shoulder and arm pads. 

The commander smashes his fist against the armrest. “I have come too far to be denied. The Omnitrix shall be mine, and there is not a being in the galaxy that dare stand in my way!” 

The battleship continues its onslaught; however, the little ship is clearly having trouble keeping its lead. A single shot hits the rear engine causing the end of the blue ship to explode. 

The commander watches from his throne. “Prepare the cannon! We will salvage the Omnitrix from the remains.” 

As the enemy’s large frontal cannon charges, a green sphere from atop the tiny ship fires a green energy beam right at the bridge of the cruiser. The impact sets off a chain reaction of explosions that decimates the tower of the battleship with the commander inside. The octopus-faced being is sent flying back screaming in pain as flames and shrapnel tear his body apart. 

Meanwhile, the cannon finishes charging and fires a large beam at the blue ship. 80% of the ship is blown away leaving the main haul somewhat intact. Just before the haul is ripped apart by the vacuum of space a silver pod is launched out of the haul. The pod flies through space until reaching the atmosphere of the blue and green planet below. The spherical pod crashes into the ocean, a large cloud of steam rises from the water as the pod floats back up to the surface. As the spherical pod bobs about the water the ocean currents begin to push the pod towards where it’s meant to be. 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

The school day finally ends. Izuku scrolls through his phone reading up on the incident from that morning. He reaches for his hero notebook only for it to be swiped away. 

Bakugou holds the notebook up. “We ain’t done here, Deku.” 

Bakugou’s cronies laugh and jeer upon seeing the title of the notebook. 

“C-come on. Give it back!!” Izuku begs. 

Bakugou sneers and claps his hands together destroying the journal with a burning explosion. Izuku yelps in surprise as Bakugou unceremoniously throws it out the window.

“The best heroes out there, well they showed signs of greatness even as students. I’m a perfectionist. I’ll be the first and only hero from this crappy public middle school! The first to win the honor of becoming a student at U.A. High.” Bakugou sneers and grabs Izuku’s shoulder. Smoke rises from his grip. “In other words, don’t you dare get into U.A.” A vindictive gleam from Bakugou’s eyes dares Izuku to challenge him.

Izuku is shaking, sweat dripping from his face, he can’t even look Bakugou in the eye in fear of what his tormentor would do. Even so he tries to say something; he opens his mouth, but words fail to form giving Bakugou and his cronies an opportunity to belittle him. 

From seemingly nowhere a firm hand grabs Bakugou’s arm and flings it away while also pushing the blonde backwards. 

Bakugou screeches, “WHAT THE FUCK!?!” 

A cool mocking voice sneers back at the bomber. “Sheesh, you really think you can be a hero when you act like that?” The newcomer combs back his greasy black hair. “Not to mention that foul mouth of yours.” 

The mere presence of this person is enough to snap Izuku out of his daze. “Henzu?”

Bakugou growls as he eyes the intruder, behind him his cronies back off in fear of the new arrival. “Uuichi, what are you doing here.” 

Henzu Uuichi smirks in response, as if looking for trouble is fun for him “What? Just because I’m in a different class doesn’t mean I can’t visit my best friend.” With that Henzu slings an arm over Izuku’s shoulders. 

Henzu Uuichi is a tall and fit young man with shoulder-length black hair, pale skin, and dark brown eyes with black-discolored marks around them, almost as if he hasn’t slept for a period of time. His attire screams degenerate with his shirt untucked and unbuttoned, even the sleeves are ripped off, and his pants are ripped, he also wears a padlock necklace with the number 11 on it. 

Bakugou’s growl deepens as his hands begin to spark and smoke. “Back off, Uuichi.” 

“Now Blasty, that’s no way to greet a friend.” Henzu lets go of Izuku and pushes him back away from the hothead. As he does this, his other hand reaches for his back pocket. 

“Shut up, you BASTARD!” Bakugou blasts the taller teen. 

Izuku and the cronies are blinded by the flash they cover their eyes from the smoke and dust. 

Bakugou smirks in satisfaction but it quickly turns into shock. Henzu stands there completely unscaved, well his clothes are slightly burnt but his uniform is so messed up already that it makes no difference, his entire body appears to have changed from skin and flesh to iron. 

Bakugou tsks and balls his fists, his glare is so intense you would think that he’s trying to blow Henzu up with his mind. 

Izuku begins mumbling to himself. “That was Henzu’s quirk: Osmosis. It can absorb nearly any type of solid matter that he comes into contact with and it allows him to transform his entire body into the substance. He can also absorb energy, mainly electricity, and discharge it. But admittedly he does become more erratic and unpredictable when he does absorb energy. It's both a power and versatile quirk wi-” 

“SHUT UP, DEKU!!” 

“AH, sorry!” 

“Sheesh,” Henzu jabs a finger into his ear in an attempt to recover his hearing. “do you ever stop shouting?” 

Sparks fly out of Bakugou’s palms. “SHUT THE FUCK UP!!” 

Henzu glares at the blonde “Go home, Blasty.” 

“Huh?!” 

“I said hit the road.” He slides a large steel wrench out from his back pocket. “Or are we going to have a problem?” 

The sparks from Bakugou’s hands die down as he eventually balls them into fists. 

Izuku watches from the sidelines. _‘Henzu’s amazing! He’s probably the only one at this school that can rival Kacchan. The only reason Bakugou doesn’t go after him is because Henzu has no desire to be a hero. In fact… he’s a thug!! Seriously, the first time we met he actually threatened me for my money! He can also pick locks! Locks!’_

“Hey, Izuku.” 

_‘I’m pretty sure he’s stolen a car before… maybe… 40% sure.’_

“Izuku.” 

_‘Also, there was that time he walked in with a blood stain on his shirt. He said it was fine since it wasn’t his.’_

“Hey.” 

_‘And there was that other time-’_

Thump! Thump! Thump! 

“Quite spacing out!” Henzu shouts as he bangs his knuckles against Izuku’s skull. While Izuku was spacing out he had placed the wrench back into his pocket and his skin had returned to normal. 

“Oh, sorry Hechan!” 

“Dude, don’t call me that.” 

“Oh, right sorry. Hey where’s Kacchan?!” 

The black-haired teen jabs a thumb at the door. “They left already.” 

“Oh, okay…” Izuku’s eyes fall back to the floor as an awkward silence falls over them. 

Henzu takes a breath before looking Izuku in the eye. “So, you going to tell me what that was about?” 

And like that Izuku is reduced to the cowering Deku from before. “O-oh, um, nothing! It’s just Kacchan being Kacchan.” 

“Izuku?” 

“Y-yeah?” 

“Why do you call him that?” 

“W-what?!” 

“Blasty, why do you call him Kacchan?” 

“Well… um, he’s-” 

“Not your friend.” Izuku’s eyes snap up to look at Henzu. “Come on Izuku why do you defend him? Do you think he’s going to pay your respect back? Do you think that you owe him something?” 

Izuku can’t come up with an answer. 

“I mean, I get it. It would be useless to report him to the teachers or the principal.” Henzu’s face scrunches up in anger. “This society will bend over backwards to please those that they view as perfect… as hero worthy. And they'll trample anyone who doesn’t fit that mold.” 

Izuku’s heart drops as he lets those words sink in and he does have to agree. Even if he went to a teacher for help, he’ll most likely be ignored or called a liar. And it would all be so Bakugou could be a hero. 

“I know it sounds harsh but face it dude.” He points directly at Izuku’s chest. “You don’t have a quirk,” Using his other hand he touches a nearby outlet on the wall. “you can’t do what Blasty and I can do.” He pulls his hand away from the outlet and electricity sparks out from his fingertips. “You have to face reality, alright?” 

“Yeah… but I can… try.” A tear falls with Izuku’s spirit. 

Silence occurs between the two. Neither, knowing what to do or say. 

“Sheesh, I can’t take this!” 

That’s enough to distract Izuku from his depression. “Huh?!” 

“Come on, let's get the hell out of here. I got a friend who can hook us up with some sweet car parts, that may or may not have been stolen. Though I have to admit the guy’s a rat and I mean literally he’s actually a rat, but with porcupine quills.” 

Izuku thinks about it but decides against it. He’s just not feeling up to hanging out right now. “Thanks, Henzu. But I should head home.” 

“You sure?” 

Izuku simply nods his head in response his eyes don’t meet the taller teen’s gaze. 

“Alright, I’ll see you later dude. And try not to let Blasty walk all over ya, kay?” 

“Okay…” 

And with that Henzu takes off to who knows where leaving Izuku to his thoughts. As Izuku heads home and retrieves his notebook from a fish pond, his thoughts recount his latest encounter with his former friend and his current friend the entire time. Admittedly they have some very good points. Why bother trying? He’s quirkless. How can he ever hope to become a hero let alone pass the U.A. Entrance Exam? How can someone so powerless so useless hope to become a hero?

He remembers an old video that he loved to watch as a kid. Where All Might saves a hundred lives and all with a gigantic and inspiring smile on his face. And he remembers that despite how hopeless, despite being quirkless, no matter how many people doubt him, he must continue to smile. 

With a determined look he straightens up and tries to mimic All Might’s laugh. _‘I have to keep my chin up and keep moving forward!!’_

Unknown to the turmoiled youth, a green sludge begins to ooze its way out from the sewers and reform itself into a monstrous shape. 

The sludge gurgles as eyes form from the top of the abomination. “A medium sized skin suit to hide in…” 

And just like that Izuku found himself surrounded by the nasty substance. The sludge swirled around his body clawing towards his face. 

The villain’s mouth forms above Izuku’s head. “Don’t worry. I’m just hijacking your body. It’ll only hurt for a few seconds. Then It’ll all be over.” 

Izuku’s notebook falls to the ground as he claws at the villain’s fluid body but it’s no use. _‘I can’t breathe! My body… getting weak… I’m dying! I’m gonna die?!’_ His struggling weakens. _‘Someone help! I’m dying!’_ Tears stream out from the poor boy’s eyes as sludge and despair consume him. His vision turns to black. 

Suddenly a manhole cover is launched away and from it appears a man that is the epiphany of heroism, All Might!

“I AM HERE… TEXAS SMASH!!” 

The Sludge Villain never stood a chance as his entire body is blown away by the sheer power of All Might’s punch. The hero moves so quickly he is able to siphon the villain into a soda bottle he happened to be carrying. 

“ANOTHER JOB WELL DONE. HM?” All Might looks over and notices Izuku unconscious on the ground. 

“OOPS, I HOPE I DIDN’T HURT HIM.” Bending down the muscular hero checks the kid’s pulse. **_‘_** _HE’S BREATHING. THAT’S GOOD AND I DON’T SEE ANY INJURIES.’_ ’ Doing a quick scan of the area All Might notices a notebook. _‘WHAT’S THIS?’_ All Might grabs the burnt journal and opens it up. _‘_ _AH, SO HIS NAME IS IZUKU MIDORIYA.’_ He continues to scroll through the pages and reads a couple of entries. _‘WOW, THESE ARE WRITTEN IN GREAT DETAIL. MY THESE ARE VERY IMPRESSIVE. HE MUST HAVE SOME KIND OF ANALYSIS TYPE QUIRK.’_ After checking out a few more pages All Might suddenly slams the book closed. _‘WAIT!! I CAN’T GO THROUGH HIS STUFF, ESPECIALLY IF I WAS THE ONE WHO KNOCKED HIM OUT. HMMM, HA, I KNOW. I’LL GIVE HIM AN AUTOGRAPH! YES!!’_ All Might skips to the first clean page he finds and signs it. _‘BUT SERIOUSLY I SHOULD MAKE SURE THAT HE’S OKAY.’_ The giant bends down and begins to lightly slap Izuku’s face. 

“HEY! … HEY!! … HEY!! OH, THANK GOODNESS.” 

Izuku’s eyes fly open and in front of him stands the greatest hero known to man, the Number One Hero, the Symbol of Peace, ALL MIGHT!!! He’s absolutely amazing, he’s larger than life with an immortal smile and amazing hair. He’s even drawn differently. And it gets better, All Might even signed Izuku’s hero notebook already. 

“Wowww!! Thank you so much!! It’ll be my family heirloom!!” 

_‘I SHOULD HAVE FIGURED THAT HE WAS A FANBOY.’_ All Might waves him off. “NOW I MUST BRING THIS FELLOW TO THE STATION! SEE YOU ON THE FLIPSIDE!” 

“Um! Wait… I…” 

“A PRO BATTLES NOT ONLY ENEMIES BUT ALSO TIME.” 

“Wait!! I need to ask you something!” 

“SORRY, NO TIME. TRY SENDING A MESSAGE THROUGH MY SITE.” And with that the Number One Hero launches himself into the air. “THANKS FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT!!!” 

While in midair All Might can’t help but notice some extra weight. “HM?” The hero takes a look. _“_ HEY, NOW!!” Clinging to his leg is the green fanboy. _“_ Hey, LET GO! I LOVE MY FANS BUT THIS IS TOO MUCH!” 

Izuku struggles to speak in with the wind. “If I… let go now… I’ll die!” 

“OH, THAT’S A GOOD POINT.” 

“I… need to ask you… something… All Might-GAH!” 

“OKAY, OKAY, JUST COVER YOUR EYES AND MOUTH.” Izuku shuts his eyes and uses All Might’s leg as a shield to block the wind.

As All Might grabs the kid’s back, he can’t help but feel his throat scratching at him. “Ahem… NN…” A trickle of blood forms from the side of his mouth. _‘DAMN!!’_

After a few minutes of falling with style, the two of them land on top of an apartment building where the greenette keels over wheezing in fear while All Might instructs him on knocking on the door until someone lets him down. And with that All Might prepares to jump once again. 

“Wait! Um…” 

“NO!! I WILL NOT WAIT.” 

Mustering what little courage he has Izuku asks the fated question. “Can someone without a quirk… become a hero like you?!” 

All Might pauses, considering the young man’s question. “WITHOUT A QUIRK…” Suddenly a sharp pain courses through All Might as steam begins to pour out of his body. _‘OH NO… DAMN IT ALL…’_

“I’m a kid without any powers. That’s why… maybe that’s why… I think that saving people is just about the coolest thing someone can do.” His speech and fondness for heroes gets to him and finally he smiles cheerfully at his hero with great admiration. “The way you save people with that fearless smile! I want to be a great hero, just like y-WHAAAAAT!?!” 

Slouched in front of the surprised teen is a skinny blonde-haired skeleton. After freaking out for a minute the crippled All Might explains his condition. He explains that he was injured 5 years ago and now he can only do hero work for about 3 hours a day. Even now this information is strictly classified and not known to the public if that were to occur chaos and villainy would surely ensue. So Izuku promises not to go blabbing about it. At the end, All Might brings the conversation back to Izuku’s question. 

“A Symbol of Peace who saves people with a smile must never be daunted by evil. The reason I smile is to stave off the overwhelming pressure I feel.” 

This revelation is a major shock to Izuku; the hope in his heart begins to fade. 

“A hero should always be ready to risk his life. As for your question…” 

Izuku’s heart cracks as despair begins to take root. His mind reels back to the years of torment he’s faced by the hands of Bakugou, the laughter and mocking of his classmates, the indifference of strangers and his teachers, the lack of support from his mother, and how his father is no longer present in his life. One can only assume why he left. 

“…No, I don’t think you can become a hero without a quirk.” 

And just like that Izuku’s dream is crushed. “…Ah…” 

All Might tries to give the boy some comfort with little effect. He says something about how noble it is to help others and that if he wants to do good then he should just join the police, but nothing really registers with Izuku’s broken spirit. 

Except for the last thing that the Number One Hero says to him. “It’s not wrong to dream. But you need to be realistic.” 

And with that the injured hero leaves the boy to his inner sorrow and pain. 

All Might rubs his head sighing in grief. _‘That could have gone better. Maybe I should have been a bit easier on the kid, afterall I know where he’s coming from.’_ All Might reaches for the bottle in his pocket. “Now to get you to the station… huh?” Swiveling back and forth All Might becomes very aware that he lost the sludge villain. _‘Damnit!’_

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

The bottled villain moans in pain as his vision returns “Where am I? What happened?” The Sludge Villain realizes that he’s still under the same bridge. He recalls attacking the green-haired kid and then getting beaten by All Might. “Oh, yeah he showed up.” He shakes with rage from within his plastic prison. “Damn you, All Might!” 

“Well, what do we have here?” asks a sarcastic male voice. 

The villain peers up and sees a kid with greasy black-hair. 

“Hey, kid! Let me out will ya!” 

The kid’s grin mischievously. “Sure, I’ll help you out. You villain.” 

“Thanks kid I really-wait what did you say?” 

“Please you’re a pile of sludge and your stuck inside a bottle. Obviously, a hero must have done this to ya. Am I right?” 

“So, what if they did. Listen if you don’t release me then I’ll-” 

“You’ll what?” The kid grabs onto a nearby light post, electricity sparks out of the pole and flows towards the teen’s body. “Kill me?” The kid raises his other hand and from it electricity discharges striking the ground and metal nearby. The teen’s grin widens with malice. “You can go ahead and try.” 

The villain doesn’t respond now that he understands the full scope of his situation. Electricity is one of the few things that can actually hurt him.

“To be honest if you are a villain than I’m more inclined to help ya.” 

“Huh? Really?” This honestly take the Sludge Villain by surprise. 

“Yeah, you bet. But there’s something you gotta do for me.” 

“Sure, anything you want.” 

“Hehe, There’s someone I want you to get rid of for me.” 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Izuku is in a daze as he stumbles home. He’s too stunned to notice what direction he’s walking in. He’s so out of it that he barely blinks an eye when he falls over the ledge of the local beach. He lands roughly on the sand below, luckily without getting to many bruises. Sitting up Izuku hazily peers at all the garbage towering over him. Sighing he pushes himself up and slowly trudges his way through the mounds of trash. 

_‘Even… the best of the best said it…’_ His tears refuse to stop flowing. _‘Don’t cry! You knew already, right?! This is reality… It’s because I knew… that I tried so damned hard.’_

Izuku eventually makes it through the junk and arrives at the ocean. Looking out towards the sunset his mind begins to wander. _‘Everyone was right.’_ He turns his head towards a nearby trash pile. _‘I’m like this beach, nothing but useless junk and a waste of space.’_ He rubs his nose in an attempt to stop the tears. _‘If… if only… I had a quirk.’_ He starts walking towards the nearest trash heap which also happens to be the one closest to the ocean. _‘If I had a quirk than maybe I wouldn’t be so useless…’_ He peers down at the lowest part of the junk pile which sits within the shallow water. His fist balls up as he stares down at the scraps of metal. _‘Maybe people would care about my dreams if I had a quirk.’_ He scowls and his fists tighten. _‘Maybe Dad would still be around if I had a quirk!’_ Izuku screams at the top of his lungs. “WHY CAN’T I HAVE A QUIRK!?!” He kicks the trash as hard as he could, putting all of his anger into it. 

Unfortunately, it did not have the desired effect. “AAAHHHHH!!!” Izuku grabs his, possibly broken, foot and falls backward. He screams in pain as he rolls across the beach in agony. 

“That… was not… the best idea!” Izuku leans forward. “What the heck did I kick?” 

He wobbles and brushes away the surrounding trash revealing a spherical metal orb underneath. “What is this?” 

The strange sphere shifts slightly and steam spews out from the metal gears and shafts. Izuku flinches in response. The orb opens and a bright green light emanates from within. 

Izuku cautiously peers inside and is very surprised by what he finds. Izuku is rightfully confused for sitting inside the sphere is a strange wristwatch like object. 

The watch is rather large in size, it’s primarily black and grey in color with white trims. A black faceplate is centered in the middle which has a green hourglass shape within it. The green hourglass is what’s illuminating the eerie green light. 

Izuku grabs a metal pipe in his right hand and uses it to poke the watch. _‘Could it be radioactive?’_ He brings the tip of the pipe back towards him and probes the tip that touched the strange device. _‘It’s not hot so it must be safe. Right?’_

The green light seems to illuminate brighter as if tempting Izuku. Curiously, the green haired boy uses his left hand to grab the watch. The moment Izuku’s hand enters the sphere the watch seemingly springs to life and wraps itself around his left wrist. 

“Ahhh!!” Izuku flails his arm about trying to fling the device away. He bangs the pipe against it. “There isn’t even a scratch!” The glossy surface of the watch gleams as if to tease its new host. Izuku throws the pipe away and tries to wrangle the watch off of himself. “Come on. There’s got to be some kind of button or switch to get this thing off.” 

The teen presses down on two points on the black faceplate causing a dial to spring up out of the watch. Izuku gazes down at the dial and that’s when he notices that the hourglass symbol from before has changed to that of a diamond; inside the green diamond is a strange black silhouette that appears to have four arms. Izuku cautiously grips the dial accidently turning it causing a new silhouette to appear. The new figure has its head floating above its body with horns curving up from its shoulders. He turns the dial once more and this time it becomes a tall silhouette that has tendrils on its head and a tail. 

He’s not sure what it is, maybe it was fate or simple curiosity, maybe even stupidity, but the unsuspecting teen places a single finger on top of the dial and pushes down. The dial clicks in place and a blinding flash of green light envelops Izuku’s entire body. 

Izuku goes blind, all he sees is the flash of bright green light and although it lasted less than a second, a strange convulsion surges throughout his entire being down all the way to every single one of his cells. He can feel his arms and legs stretching as if being pulled, his skull is shifting like someone is remolding it, and an electrical feeling circulates through his insides. 

In less than a second, the odd sensations stop. 

Izuku grabs his head as a headache begins to form. “What just happened?” Izuku asks himself noticing the staticky sound of his voice. “Huh, what’s wrong with my voice?!” He checks his wrist, looking for the watch, but finds a slim black hand with gold colored plugs at the end of his fingertips. “Aaahh, my hand!” He looks down at the rest of his body and takes note of his black skin and tall stature. “Aaahh, where are my clothes!?!” He tries to cover himself up, but the weirdness of the whole situation gets to him. “What the heck is going on?!” Izuku is so freaked out that he begins running in circles crashing and bumping into abandoned appliances and trash as he goes. He eventually arrives somewhere in the center of the unofficial garbage dump. There he tries to figure out his bearings and glances over at a trashed car. “Aaahh!!” The frightened teen screams at the face looking back at him. After a moment of screams he grabs his face and realizes that he’s looking at his own reflection. “What happened to me?” 

He takes a good hard look at himself. Somehow, he has transformed into a single green-eyed being with black skin. He notices the change in height as well as the two tendrils on his head and that he has a tail now. He takes note of the gold plug like appendages on his tendrils, tail, and fingers.

“What the heck am I?! What did that thing do to me?!”

Izuku tries to clear his mind by shaking his head, the tendrils whoosh behind him. “Okay, okay… calm down Izuku just analyze the situation. I-I went to the beach, kicked trash, and then found that wat-THE WATCH!!!” The transfigured Izuku pats himself until he finds the faceplate of the watch embedded in his chest. He grabs the device and starts yanking it as hard as he can. “Get… off!!” Izuku is thrashing about so much that he trips over his own tail and crashes into a nearby trash heap. “Ouch, well that didn’t work.” He rubs his head as he sits up. “Oh, how am I going to explain this to everyone?” Izuku kicks his legs in the air and falls back. “Forget that! How am I going to explain this to Mom?!” Taking a breath, he calms himself down. “I guess it could be worse… Hmm?” 

Looking over Izuku notices that one of his tendrils is waving its plug as if it’s attracted to something in particular. Curiously Izuku follows the seemingly conscious tendril which leads him towards the hood of the trashed car from before. The black tendril shakes above the hood, curious to see where this goes Izuku pops the hood of the car allowing the tendril to latch itself to the car’s battery. Almost immediately electricity surges through the golden-plug up the tendril and into Izuku’s body. The teen can feel the electricity charging up within him. The current is stopped when the battery completely runs out of juice. 

Izuku can feel the electricity coursing through him, raising his hand sparks fly out from his fingertips. “H-how… how is this possible?” Izuku begins to mumble up a storm. He throws around theories from having been mutated by a radioactive watch, to some sort of weird nightmare, and so on. Eventually one consideration sticks in his mind. ”Do… I have a quirk?” A grin spreads across his face. “Did that watch give me a quirk?! An honest to goodness quirk?!” The sparks in his hands increase. 

Izuku’s grin widens as he extends his hands and a stream of electricity shoots out frying a junked refrigerator. “I… I can’t believe it. This body, this power. I wonder what else it can do.” 

The antennas on his head curve upward as if reacting to something. Izuku hears static but a clear message comes through that almost sounds like it’s coming from a radio. “Requesting backup. A villain is attacking the shopping district at Tatooin Station.” 

Izuku holds the side of his head as if adjusting an earpiece. “Wait, what’s happening? I must be picking up a radio signal.” 

The radio signal continues. “Requesting backup for all available heroes. You are needed at the Tatooin Station shopping district. A villain has captured a child. The villain’s body is made of fluid that prevents on the scene heroes from detaining him and the victim’s quirk is setting off explosions causing a great amount of damage and fires.” 

_‘A fluid body… a person that can make explosions… No, it can’t be.’_

“The hostage has been identified as Katsuki Bakugou.” 

“Kacchan!!” Izuku begins running towards the street. “Tatooin Station is close if I book it maybe I can-Woah!!” Izuku accidentally leaps into the air. “Wow, I can really jump.” Izuku lands on the concrete street and immediately begins running. He can’t help but take note of his agility. “Huh, I’m fast too. At this rate I can make it there in less than a minute or two.” 

If Izuku had continued to listen to the radio broadcast, he possibly could have picked up the latest transmission. “This is Thirteen I’m on my way.” 

Somewhere else in Musutafu the skeletal All Might had back tracked towards the bridge, but he didn’t find anything, so he made his way towards the station to report a missing villain. However, before he can get there, he spots smoke rising in the near distance along with the resonating sounds of explosions and sirens.

He starts to make a dash towards it. _‘Please, don’t let it be what I think it is.’_

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Henzu Uuichi laughs from his perch atop a nearby building. Below him the heroes are struggling against the Sludge Villain and Bakugou’s explosions are definitely not helping. “Ha! This is so great! Look at all these morons tripping over themselves!” 

Behind the black-haired teen is a humanoid rat with black quills on his head. “Yeah, a real show.” He sounds rather uninterested and would rather get somewhere that’s far away from the heroes. The rat pulls up the collar of his orange jacket. “So, hey, I helped you track the brat down. Now you got to hold up your end of the deal.” He jabs an accusing finger at Henzu. 

Without looking, Henzu casually slips the rat man a large roll of cash. “Come on, you know I’m good for it, Argit.”

Argit smiles and begins his descent down the fire escape. “It’s always a pleasure doing business with you.” The rat leaves while Henzu continues to watch. 

Henzu’s malicious smile widens as Bakugou’s explosion causes so much damage that a barrier of fire and smoke prevents the heroes and witnesses from even seeing the futile struggle below. _‘Goodbye, Blasty. This world will be better off without ya.’_ The twisted teen breaks into another fit of haunting laughter. 

While Henzu takes time to appreciate Bakugou’s flailing about, Argit makes his way down to the ally below. Luckily for him there are no people there to see him, they are all to busy watching the situation. Argit tucks the cash into his jacket when something tall and fast rushes past him. “Huh?” The rodent looks over and sees a tall black figure staring wide eyed at the Sludge Villain. 

The rodent mutters to himself, cupping his chin. “What’s a Contuctoid doing here?” 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

All Might finally arrives on the scene. Unfortunately, he can’t see a thing amongst all the smoke and flames blocking his view. Around him heroes are trying to keep the civilians calm while they also deal with the fires. He overhears a few civilians talking about a sludge-based villain and how it captured a child, one civilian even points out that All Might himself was chasing after the villain earlier. 

All Might’s gaze falls downward as he grabs his injury. _‘Pathetic…’_ His hand tightens around his wound. _‘Pathetic! How can I call myself a hero… especially after what I told that boy.’_ All Might can hear the sounds of explosions dying off. _‘I’m sorry… hopefully a hero with the right quirk will arrive soon.’_ All Might gazes up towards the flames and for a split second amongst the smoke and fire he notices a strange symbol moving beyond the inferno an illuminating green hourglass within a black circle. 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Neither Bakugou nor the villain notice as a tall black-skinned being peers out of the ally and stares at the scene in front of him. _‘It really is Kacchan and that same villain from before…_ ’ Covering his mouth, tears begin to form in his single green eye. _‘It’s the same one… so that means… it’s my fault! I distracted All Might and prevented him from doing his job.’_ His mind flashes back to All Might’s injury. _‘And All Might’s weak… he can’t… do anything. It’s my fault.’_ Bakugou’s explosions stop. _‘This guy can’t be caught. We have to wait for someone with the right quirk to show up!’_ Bakugou has his eyes shut as he tries to pull himself away from his attacker. _‘Hang in there, Kacchan… I’m so sorry!’_ Bakugou’s struggling decreases dramatically. _‘A hero’s bound to come…’_ Bakugou is clearly losing his breath. _‘I’m so sorry! Someone will come to save you soon…’_ In a moment of pure desperation Bakugou’s eyes shoot open begging for mercy… begging for a hero to save his life. 

And in that moment, Izuku’s mind went blank as pure instinct took over. He charges head first towards Bakugou. _‘What am I doing?! Why am I running?!’_

The living pile of sludge notices the stranger charging at him. 

He gurgles out a roar. “Get away from me!” The villain takes a swipe to fend off the intruder. 

Despite the oncoming attack Izuku keeps charging. “Eep!” 

_‘What do I do?! What do I Do?! At a time like this…’_ Izuku’s mind flashes to page 25 of his hero notebook and gets an idea. Izuku’s tendrils wrap around a garbage can and flings towards the villain’s face. “Hiyah!!” 

Garbage flies out from the can and jabs the attacker’s eyes. The villain screams in pain as Izuku’s grabs Bakugou and with one swift motion he pulls the blonde free from the sludge’s grasp. “Kacchan!”

Bakugou coughs, breathing heavily, as he’s pulled free. “Who… the fuck.. are you?” He asks between gasps. 

As Izuku pulls Bakugou away from his capturer he tries to explain himself. “Kacchan it’s-Oof!” Izuku’s whipped so hard that he tumbles down, Bakugou falls with him. 

The villain sends out several tentacles towards the two. “You’re in my way!” 

Acting fast, Izuku grabs Bakugou and tosses him towards a nearby ally way that’s clear of people and fire. “Quick get away from here!” A large tentacle knocks the morphed Izuku into a burning food stand. “Aaahhh!!” 

Bakugou rolls on the ground a few feet and when he looks up, he sees his black-skinned rescuer getting knocked around by sludge attacks. The blonde hesitates for a moment but shakes it off, despite nearly dying, he moves as fast as he can away from the scene. 

From further down the alley the hero Thirteen appears. The hero notices the wobbling Bakugou and grabs his shoulders to help steady him. “Hey, it’s okay now I got you.” 

Bakugou’s eyes snap up in temporary fear but he visibly relaxes when he recognizes the hero. “Yeah, well who's got that other guy?” 

“What other guy?” 

Bakugou gestures behind him and Thirteen takes a look. Their eyes widen as the rescue hero witnesses an alien-like being doing its best to avoid being whipped, honestly, it’s not doing a very good job of dodging. _‘A Contuctoid?! What are they doing here?! Why would it take such a risk?!’_

Before the rescue hero can get their answers, they’re hailed over their radio. “Thirteen are you engaged with the enemy?” 

Thirteen tries to come up with a reply. “Um, ah, please keep the area clear. The villain is resisting.” Thirteen leads the injured blonde away from the battle. _‘I’ll have to deal with the Contuctoid afterwards.’_

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

The Sludge Villain roars as he continues his onslaught against the wannabe hero. “Stop getting in my way!!”

Izuku’s body has really taken a beating. He’s covered in dirt and grime and although it’s hard to tell he’s pretty sure that he’s covered in bruises. 

Izuku uses his slim yet strong arms to block the attacks, it’s not much but it’s something especially considering how battered he is. _‘Why did my legs move on their own?! Why did I jump in to help?! I Dunno!!’_ Izuku endures the quick and powerful blows. _‘No… I know why. It’s because he looked like…’_ He can’t help but remember the look in his childhood friend’s eyes. ‘ _he needed saving!’_

The villain’s sludge begins to swirl around making a spiral like motion above the villain’s head. The slime screeches as he sends out a powerful attack of spinning sludge. “Die, HERO!!!” 

Izuku’s tendrils and tail stretch out and latch themselves onto a nearby powerbox. Electricity immediately begins to course through him. “I won’t let you hurt anyone else!” Izuku balls his hands together allowing the electricity to charge up. “It’s time... to be a hero!!!” He aims his hands out towards his attacker and a thundering beam of lightning rushes forward. 

The villain’s attack is blown away as the lightening thunders straight for him! “AAAHHH!!!” The villain screams in pain as watts of electricity begins to surge through him. 

All around him metal and other electronics are getting similar treatment. The blast is too much, the villain’s body rips apart sending bits and pieces of sludge flying all across the burning street. 

Izuku cuts off the flow of electricity as slime and embers fall around him. “I did it… I really did it!” Izuku wobbles backwards towards the alley he originally entered from. _‘I did it and with a quirk no less!’_

Just as the unlicensed-hero stumbles back into the alley the dial on his chest begins to beep and flash red, but it goes unnoticed by the teen even as a red flash of light envelopes his entire body. 

Izuku falls onto his knees just as he turns back to normal. He gazes at the red illuminated watch on his battered yet human wrist. Finally, exhaustion from the day’s events catches up to the teen; he’s so exhausted that he falls face forward onto the pavement. And with that he begins to fade out of consciousness the last thing he sees other than the red glowing watch is a pair of yellow shoes approaching him. “I can be a hero…” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading please comment and/or leave helpful criticism. I do want to make my writing better, however, this is still just for fun. Anyway I have some things to say: 
> 
> *To clarify Izuku will not be getting One For All. I don't like it when someone gives Izuku an already OP Quirk, great control over said quirk, and One For All that to me is too much and thus someone else will be getting One For All.   
> *The Ben Ten Aliens within the Omnitrix will come in sets of 9 rather then 10 as a homage to Deku (cannon) as the 9th-holder of One For All.   
> *Henzu Uuichi is essentially Kevin Levin from the main Ben Ten Series: appearance, personality, and powers. I gave him a different name as to not affect his new backstory.   
> *As for my descriptions of all future Ben Ten Aliens I will be keeping the descriptions very vague. That is because most of the aliens have different versions of themselves so I will be keeping the descriptions vague as to allow you, the reader, to envision which version of the aliens that you prefer.   
> I will also be somewhat expanding weakness for Ben Ten Aliens, as to not make them OP.


	2. Accept This New Reality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Izuku's world becomes a whole lot bigger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone thanks for logging in for my latest chapter I really appreciate it and I hope you enjoy it.  
> Before we begin I just want state that although I am a fan of the Ben Ten series I have not watched the newest rebooted version of Ben Ten. So, none of the new aliens or new characters (if there are any) from that series will appear. Sorry for those of you that are disappointed by that fact. truthfully I tried to give it a chance but it's just not for me. Anyway, let's move on to Chapter 2.

An hour has passed since the Sludge Villain attack, the sun has begun to set, yet heroes are still occupying the scene as to help clean up and ease the people’s nerves. 

Their presence however does not help Henzu Uuichi’s mood. _‘Well, this sucks.’_

The black-haired teen is leaned up against a wall from across the street watching as the heroes such as Mount Lady and Death Arms are interviewed and the police take statements. _‘Man, why did that hero have to ruin my fun, sheesh.’_ Henzu is, of course, referring to the guy with the one green eye and tendrils on his head. _‘Well no use sticking around.’_ He kicks himself off the wall, from the corner of his eye he spots the bandaged Bakugou receiving compliments from pro heroes that witnessed his quirk ‘s power in action. _‘Looks like you get to stick around for a little longer, Blasty.’_ Henzu absorbs the iron from his wrench and proceeds to punch the cement wall breaking a small crater into it, he stuffs his hands into his pockets and strolls off. “One day, you will get what’s coming to ya.”

Eventually, the heroes are done praising Bakugou, and the police have already gotten a statement from him, leaving him to his thoughts. Throughout the entire time he gave the police and the heroes very little information about what happened at most he said that he was caught by the pile of crap and then a hero saved him. Bakugou did however say that it was Thirteen who saved him and who fought the villain, like Thirteen asked him to. Honestly, Bakugou could care less about which hero took the credit, but what does have him interested is what the weirdo called him. That tall black-skinned freak called him “Kacchan”. _‘The only one who calls me that is Deku. That couldn’t have been Deku? Ha, yeah right. The guy probably had some kind of telepathic aspect to his quirk or something. Maybe the bastard already knew who I was and decided to try and get chummy. Yeah, that’s probably it.’_ Bakugou trods off towards home, laughing at the idea of Izuku ever having a quirk. 

As he leaves, he unknowingly passes by the Number One Hero in all of Japan. 

_‘Pathetic…this is all my fault.’_ The skeletal All Might stands alone, his dark thoughts are all that give him company as he watches pro heroes, active heroes, heroes that are capable, doing their duty. _‘Apparently, Thirteen was able to make it inside and handle the situation, but…’_ He grabs his injury as if it personally offends him. _‘I wasn’t able to do anything! I was useless… All I was good for was watching from the sidelines and hope that someone else would save the day.’_ All Might shakes his head in denial. _‘No, stop that! This was bound to happen eventually that’s why… I need to continue my search for a worthy successor. One that can take my place and become a new Symbol of Peace.’_

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Ugh…” Everything aches as Izuku opens his eyes to a bright blinding light. With his head spinning he can eventually make out a white clean ceiling. “Huh?! Where am I?!” Sitting up, his head swinging from side to side, he realizes that he’s in a hospital. “How’d I get here? What happened?” His memory of transforming and saving Bakugou return to him. “Oh yeah, I jumped in and saved Kacchan… THAT WAS SO SCARY!!! Maybe it was a dream?!” That’s when he notices that the watch is still attached to his wrist. It green-light blinks as if to say hello. “It was real! What was I thinking?! That was so stupid! I bet I’m going to be arrested for vigilantism! Maybe they think I’m a villain! Oh my God, how am I going to explain myself?!” 

“Wow, you’re sure a lively one.”

Izuku shakily turns to the door his eyes full of dread. However, the gleam in his eyes turns to that of surprise and despite the looming fear he can’t help but smile. His eyes sparkle as his terrified and nervous expression turns to one of excitement and joy. “You’re the Space Hero Thirteen!” Indeed, the Rescue hero themself is standing at the entrance of the hospital room. “I’m a huge fan! You’re so amazing! A top-notch rescue hero with the ability to create blackholes that can be used to clear any debris it’s-” 

Thirteen cuts him off. “Haha, yes, yes, thank you. That’s very nice of you to say. I am more concerned about you.” Thirteen takes a seat in the chair closest the bed. “How are you feeling.”

“Oh, I, um, feel pretty good all things considered. Just a little banged up here and there.”

“That’s good,” Their voice becomes deadly serious. “now I have some questions for you.” The greenette’s mouth snaps shut as Thirteen stares him in the eyes and leans forward. “What are you doing here on Earth?” 

“Huh?” 

“Come on don’t play dumb. Where did you get Level 20 technology?” Thirteen’s voice rises with annoyance.

“Um.” 

“How did you avoid registration? Why did you interfere today? Where are you from?! Who sent you?! Who gave you that device?!” 

“I-uh, sorry but I don’t understand…” 

Thirteen sighs, leaning back on their seat. “Alright, let’s start from the top.” Thirteen opens the folder that they were carrying under their arm. “According to these files your name’s Izuku Midoriya, age 14, attends Aldera Junior High, and you’re registered as Quirkless.” Thirteen eyes Izuku suspiciously before continuing. “I ran a test of your DNA while you were unconscious, and it came up as purely human.” They close the folder. “So, tell me, how were you able to become a Conductoid and then revert back to human?” 

Izuku blinks. “I still don’t understand…what you’re saying.” 

The space suited hero sighs heavily. “How were you able to transform into the black-skinned being that can absorb and release electricity?” 

“Oh, um, I’m not completely sure myself.” 

“Well just explain the best you can.” 

“Um, well, I was at Dagobah Beach and I found a strange metal sphere…” Izuku hesitates, if he continues there’s a good chance that the hero will think he’s either crazy or a liar, maybe both. Thirteen, meanwhile, encouragingly gestures for him to continue. Izuku continues deciding to stick with the truth, maybe his story won’t seem as crazy as he thinks. “And I found this strange watch.” Izuku raises his left arm to indicate the item in question. “It just leapt onto my wrist and when I tried to remove it… it turned me into that . . . thing.” 

Thirteen cups their helmet as if holding their chin. “Interesting. So, why did you engage with the slime villain?” 

“Oh, um, well my legs...they just sort-of...moved on their own. I saw Kacchan’s face and I just thought that… he needed saving.” 

Thirteen takes a moment to think before standing up. “I think I understand now.” 

That makes one of them, Izuku still isn’t sure about everything that’s happened. What did Thirteen mean by their questions? They were so bizarre; they almost suggested that he committed a horrible offense.

Izuku is pulled out of his musing by Thirteen. “I think I owe you some answers.” Thirteen points at the newly revealed watch. “While you were unconscious, I ran some tests on that...watch. That thing on your wrist appears to be Level 20 - or extremely advanced technology that has the capability to overwrite and reprogram the wearer’s DNA to that of other beings.” 

“Transform DNA?”

“Yes, it’s a device like none other on this planet or any other planet for that matter. This device can break up your human DNA and relater it to that of other living lifeforms.” 

“What are you saying?” 

“Midoriya, do you believe in aliens?” 

Izuku stares dumbfounded at the pro hero. “Excuse me?” 

Thirteen rather than play this gentle decides to drop the truth. “Aliens exist.” Izuku’s stupefied expression somehow increases. “You know extra-terrestrials, intelligent life, aliens?! Well they are very real…in fact it’s my job to watch over and monitor aliens that come to Earth, even make sure that they follow intergalactic laws and such. For you see I am a… Plumber.” 

Izuku gives the hero a quizzical look. “A...plumber?” 

“Not that kind of plumber. The Plumbers are an interstellar disciplinary force that uphold justice across the known galaxies. Basically, heroes but in space.” 

“Oh…” Izuku’s eyes comedically widen in realization. “W-wait! You’re being completely serious here?!” 

Thirteen deadpans. “Yes.” 

“But that doesn’t make sense! Aliens don’t exist! I mean of course there is a possibility, but wouldn’t we have some kind of evidence by now. Not to mention this puts science and even our own history into question. There’s also the chance that the world’s governments are aware of this…” 

Thirteen can only stare as the teen begins to ramble on into a storm of muttering that lasts for a good length of time. Izuku eventually realizes what he’s doing and silences himself, but only after a few minutes have already passed by.

When he’s done, Thirteen decides to continue. “Anyway, as I was saying… As a Plumber it’s my job to make sure that any and all aliens on Earth behave themselves...usually that isn’t an issue. That also includes tracking any and all alien technology, products, and goods. So, I’ve definitely seen a thing or two.” Thirteen rubs the back of their head. “Admittedly, I’ve never encountered or even heard of anything like this.” They gesture towards the watch. “A device that can transform people into aliens.”

The two sit in silence. Thirteen lets Izuku’s mind process everything, while Izuku honestly has no idea what to think of all of this. 

Izuku fidgets from his uncomfortable seat. “So...what now?” His green eyes meet Thirteen’s. 

“Well, this piece of Level 20 tech, um…” The look on Izuku’s face tells them that he’s confused. “This piece of technology is so advanced that it would take millions of years for regular humans to make it. For comparison the Earth has only Level 3, arguably Level 4, technology.” Thirteen reaches into his back pocket. 

“Ah.” Izuku nods his head in understanding.

Thirteen pulls out a small light gray disc that’s shaped like a circular hourglass with a bright red dot in the middle. 

Izuku watches in fascination as Thirteen touches the red dot. The dot lights up and projects a hologram of a screen where Thirteen proceeds to type in a few things. “What’s that?” 

“My Plumber’s badge. I have no knowledge on things like this so I would like to file a report and see if other officers know of anything like this.” 

“Ah.” 

“Yup, hopefully we can get this thing off of you.” 

Izuku’s inside fill with nervousness. “Do...do you really have to take it?” He subconsciously grabs the watch. “It’s just that this thing, this watch, gave me the opportunity...to do something.” Thirteen only watches as Izuku continues. “It gave me the chance to be useful, to help someone else...to be a hero. So, can’t I just...keep it?” A few tears escape Izuku’s eyes as he begs for this. 

Thirteen’s heart goes out to the boy, but they have a job and a responsibility to uphold. “I’m sorry but no. It goes against protocol for humans to possess Level 20 tech. Heck, I don’t even know what this thing is fully capable of. I can’t just let you keep it.” Thirteen looks away from Izuku’s dejected appearance. “I’m sorry, but that’s just how it’s going to be.” Thirteen scratches the side of their face/helmet. “However, according to the test results. The watch has fused with your own genetic structure.” 

“What, what does that mean?”

“It means that it’s bound not just to your wrist but your DNA.” Izuku’s head snaps up in worry. “Although I said that you can’t keep it, it’s not like I can keep you here as well and trying to lock it in portable case will look too suspicious.” 

A flicker of hope lights up within the teen’s heart. “Does that mean?” 

“Yeah, you can hold onto it for now.” It’s unclear but Izuku is pretty sure that Thirteen is smiling from under their helmet. “It should be fine, as long as you don’t draw attention to it or yourself.”

Tears of joy slide down the boy’s cheeks as his hold tightens around the watch. “Thank you.” 

“Don’t get too excited, I’m still not sure about what it can do. Also try to avoid using it. The last thing we need is for some lunatic to go after it.” 

“Yeah,” Izuku chuckles lightly. “I wouldn’t want that.” 

“Definitely. Now, I’m sure you have more questions, but it’s gotten pretty late. Let’s get you home, alright? We can discuss more later.” 

“Yeah, wait, how am I going to explain everything to my Mom?” 

Thirteen smiles and gives the teen a thumbs up. “Don’t worry I got it covered.” 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Izuku, honey! Are you alright?!” Izuku is enveloped in a bone crushing, yet very loving, embrace. 

“I, uh, I’m fine Mom.” He returns the hug. “I was really well cared for.” 

Inko Midoriya examines, making sure there’s nothing other than the few bandages dispersed across his body. “Oh, thank goodness. You must be starving I kept dinner warm for you.” 

Izuku smiles brightly. “Thanks, Mom.” There’s a hint of regret in his aura. ‘ _She really doesn’t suspect a thing.’_ As Thirteen had explained, they really did have this covered. 

##########(Flashback)#########

After Thirteen had questioned Izuku, the hero not only generously paid for Izuku’s medical bill but drove the teen from the hospital and back to his apartment complex. Before Izuku can head towards the elevator Thirteen stopped him. “Just to make sure, what’s the cover story?” 

“Um, after school I was hanging around the shopping district when the villain attacked, and I was knocked unconscious. Then you rescued me, took me to the hospital to be checked over, and even paid for my medical bill.” 

“Correct, which works well since I already had my agency call your mother ahead of time when I apprehended you.” 

“Yeah.” 

“As for the watch just say that you bought it okay.” 

“Kay.” 

Thirteen holds a card out to Izuku. “Here, take this. It’s my contact information, I’ll be in touch. I gotta make sure you’re not abusing this thing and I’ll give you any information that comes in about it. Oh, and keep all this alien and space talk down to the bare minimum alright, last thing we need is a global panic.” 

########(End Flashback)####### 

After dinner and bidding his mother a goodnight, Izuku heads straight to his room. He dumps his uniform into the laundry and changes into some fresh clothes. _‘I don’t really like lying to Mom but what can I do?’_ Izuku falls back onto his All Might themed bed. _‘Today has been one giant roller coaster of emotions.’_ He raises up his fist gazing up at the alien transforming watch, a hopeful glint shines in his eyes. _‘I know I’m not allowed to use this thing, but…maybe, just maybe, I can use it to become a hero. A hero that saves everyone with a smile. Wait, Thirteen said that the Plumbers, that’s such a horrible name, are like space heroes. Maybe I can join them and if I do, I can use the watch.’_ Izuku sits up raising his fists in determination. _‘Next chance I get I’ll talk to Thirteen about it. But in the meantime…’_ He stands up, walks over to his desk and grabs a notebook, it’s similar to his hero analysis one except this one has clearly never been used. Once he grabs a pen, he heads for the kitchen. “Hey Mom.” 

Inko is busy washing dishes. “Yes?” 

“I’m going to walk around the block for a little bit, I need some air. Is that okay?” 

Inko would really like to say no, but she has no real reason to. “Um, well, as long as you’re nearby then I guess it’s okay.” 

“Thanks Mom, and don’t worry I won’t be gone for more than 10-20 minutes or so.” 

“Take care sweetie.” 

Izuku hugs his mother, slips on his shoes, and heads for the alleyway behind his building. The alleyway is dark with only a few street lights illuminating it. Izuku, innocently, places his new notebook on top of a shiny American muscle car that’s magenta in color. The car belongs to an elderly neighbor of his.

 _‘I know Thirteen said not to use it,’_ He grips the watch almost affectionately. ‘ _but if I want to convince Thirteen in letting me keep it then I have to learn as much about this watch as possible.’_ Izuku writes a new title onto the cover of the notebook, “Hero Transformations #1”. 

Izuku grips the watch making sure the coast is clear he activates the watch. The dial shoots up the diamond-symbol forming in the middle reveals the same tendril silhouette from before. Izuku rotates the dial and takes count of all the different silhouettes; he counts a total of nine forms before returning to the first form he transformed into. With little hesitation, and a lot of excitement, Izuku slams the dial down. A flash of green light envelopes the greenette and the teen can feel his body changing all the way down to the microscopic level. 

“Aw, yeah!” The Conductoid cheers grinning happily at his form. The morphed Izuku turns to the muscle car as a mirror uses it to examine his new body. “You know now that I’m aware this is an alien body, I don’t feel so embarrassed that I’m not wearing clothes...Oh, who am I kidding it’s still weird.” Izuku tries to cover himself, but he knows that there’s no point anymore. “Well anyway.” 

Izuku takes a few moments to draw out the general shape and look of this transformation. When he’s satisfied with his drawing, he puts down the pen. “Now for this form’s powers.”

The two tendrils on his head stretch up and attach themselves onto the street lamp that hangs above his head. The tendrils absorb the electricity causing the lamp to flicker. Izuku removes the tendrils and aims a finger out towards a garbage can, a small beam of electricity flies out and knocks the can away. “So cool.” 

Izuku, as the Conductoid, takes time to write down what he does know about this alien into his new journal: agility, can hear radio waves, feeds on electricity, has tendrils on the back of his head, staticky voice, etc. 

“Okay, I should probably give this form a name, like what some pro heroes with Transformation type quirks do.” He presses his pencil against his lips. “What did Thirteen call this thing by the way? I think they said Conductoid, that must be this guy’s species or something.” Izuku jots the species name down before taking a moment to look over what he has written. The words “feed” and “back” stick out to him. “Feed...back… Oh, I like that. Feedback. It fits and it sort of plays off this guy’s staticky voice!” He picks up the notebook and writes in big bold letters, “Feedback”. 

Feedback is so excited that his tail and tendrils reach towards the nearest electrical items they can find: lamp, electrical lines, etc. Having charged up on electricity, Feedback begins firing small blasts from individual fingers at various items namely garbage. He gets a little too carried away thou, the teen swings his hand to the side and accidentally releases a ray of lightning that’s ten times more powerful than what he’s been releasing. The sound of metal being fried and the smell of burning rubber and leather fills the alien’s nostrils, assuming he has those. 

Feedback gasps as his green-eye widens in shock. The once shining American muscle car that Izuku was using as a table is now charred with melting tires and burned leather seats, somehow the alarm is still able to work and is blaring. The Conductoid is shaking as he looks upon the result of his carelessness. By some fortunate coincidence his notebook had been flung off the car allowing it to evade being fried to a crisp. “NO! Not Mr. Baumann’s car!” 

Now for some context; Mr. Baumann is an elderly gentleman that moved to Japan from America many years ago. He’s Izuku’s neighbor and he apparently runs some kind of foreign grocery store somewhere in the warehouse district. Unfortunately, Mr. Baumann doesn’t exactly enjoy Izuku’s company... in fact he doesn’t like Izuku period, but unlike Bakugou his reasons are a bit more justified. For you see Izuku has accidentally caused Mr. Baumann great misfortune, usually involving the man’s car, which was the only thing the shop owner brought with him from America. 

For example, when Izuku was five he spotted Mr. Baumann waxing his car. Like a playful child Izuku tried to inspect the car using a magnifying glass and he just so happened to notice that the gentleman had missed a spot on the hood of his car. Unfortunately, the sun had direct access to the magnifying glass and because Izuku had the magnifying glass over the waxed hood for too long the car actually caught on fire. Izuku ran away as Mr. Baumann shouted and cursed at him. There were several other similar instances like this as the years went by. 

Not wanting to be scolded or seen in his altered form, Izuku quickly retreats down the alley hoping to avoid his angry neighbor. 

Feedback rounds the corner and a few seconds later Mr. Baumann himself makes his way down the alley having heard his car alarm from his apartment. 

Ignacius Baumann is a short potbellied man with a little black mustache over his lip. He’s always wearing his magenta apron and bowtie over a light pink-striped yellow dress shirt with brown pants. 

Mr. Baumann rushes over to his crisped car. Steam practically explodes from his head. “Oohh, this has got Izuku written all over it!” The grouchy neighbor grumbles various ways to make the teen take responsibility for this. He becomes silent as the bumper of his car unceremoniously collapses to the ground.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

The following morning. 

“I’M LATE!!!” Izuku scrambles out of his home and down the street with a piece of toast dangling from his mouth as he tries to adjust his school blazer. _‘I can’t believe I slept in!’_

Izuku was kept up late last night. After running off it took about four more minutes for the watch to begin beeping and flashing red reverting Feedback back into Izuku. Izuku also noted that he was Feedback for about ten minutes, he also took note that the watch was red instead of green for another ten minutes after. 

But that isn’t what kept the teen up. After Izuku returned home and showered, Mr. Boumann stopped by and, despite little to no proof, gave Izuku an earful for nearly an hour. Followed by another five or so minutes of Izuku apologizing and explaining that he accidentally kicked a loose electrical wire at the car. Considering he set the car on fire with a magnifying glass once, Mr. Boumann believed him. 

Izuku continues his exhausting sprint having just finished his toast. _‘There’s no way I’ll make it in time!’_ Izuku stops dead in his tracks, skidding across the ground. He jumps into a nearby alleyway and begins fiddling with the watch. _‘I know. Maybe Feedback can get me to school on time.’_ He believes that he found Feedback’s silhouette but before he presses down the dial he hesitates. _‘But Thirteen said try not using this thing too much, but they didn’t say that I couldn’t use it at all. And this is an emergency, I mean Thirteen is a teacher at U.A. , so they should understand the importance of making it to class on time.’_

With that reasoning to comfort him, Izuku slams the dial down. Green energy surrounds him and Izuku feels his body changing. Except it’s different this time. He feels himself becoming skinnier rather than bigger or taller, his feet reshape, and his fingers join together, a stretching feeling originates near his tailbone. 

“What da? This isn’t Feedback.” 

Indeed, it seems that the watch turned the teen into the wrong alien. His current form resembles a semi-armored Velociraptor. It has black orbs on its feet and wears a black conoid helmet. The raptor like alien has a blue face, green eyes, and black lips. The alien’s skin is blue with black stripes along its long tail. Its arms are thin with three sharp black talon-like fingers. It wears the Omnitrix symbol on its chest. “Interesting I wonder what it is, hmmm.” The morphed Izuku tries to move forward and in a blink of an eye Izuku finds himself across the street. “Woah!” A black visor now covers his face to protect it from wind and debris. “This guy is fast.” 

From under the visor the reptilian alien smiles gleefully. Like a speeding bullet Izuku takes off leaving only a blue streak behind him. “Man, this guy has such amazing speed. Just look at how he accelerates. Oh, that’s a good name, accel-no XLR8. Yeah, that’s it.”

To avoid drawing attention to other people and the authorities, XLR8 uses various backways and unpopulated streets, that he learned from Henzu and his own endeavors in order to avoid Bakugou. XLR8 makes it to school in a mere three minutes. In fact, he makes it there so quickly he has about twenty minutes to spare. So, to make use of that time Izuku scribbles down a drawing, characteristics, and the speed of the new alien into his new notebook. Notably XLR8’s speed doesn’t just involve his speed but his basic motor functions as well, in this case he finishes his notes in less than five seconds. 

Izuku spends a few seconds thinking about what to do until the timer runs out. In one second, he types and sends Henzu a text asking how he’s doing. XLR8 taps his foot rapidly waiting for a reply which comes a few minutes later; Henzu is ditching school today. Usually Izuku would have a small panic attack but this is pretty normal for his best friend. 

‘ _Ah, man I really wanted to show the watch off to Henzu…_ _’_ XLR8’s mind reals back to the last thing he showed Henzu. It was a limited edition All Might figurine and for some reason he “lent” it to the delinquent only for Henzu to go behind his back and return with a huge wad of cash with him, although he did split some of the cash with him. ‘ _You know what maybe I shouldn_ _’_ _t mention it. I_ _’_ _ll have a real hard time explaining myself._ _’_

After replying back, a few students pass XLR8. When Izuku notices them, he flinches expecting to be ridiculed but his classmates simply walk right by him without so much as a glance. 

“Huh?” Izuku looks at his sharp claws. _‘_ _They must think I_ _’_ _m someone with a mutation quirk._ _’_

“You were so cool!” 

“Yeah man just like a hero!” 

“Your quirk’s so powerful!” 

XLR8 spins around and sees an annoyed Bakugou surrounded by some of their classmates. They seem to be praising him for surviving the Sludge Villain attack yesterday. 

XLR8 cautiously watches on as the group walks closer. He thinks about hiding but figures that he won’t be recognized. 

Bakugou stomps forward doing his best to ignore the annoying fucks. _‘Stupid extras.’_ Bakugou thinks back to yesterday’s events, specifically to the strange person that saved him from the slime. _‘Tch, that bastard. How dare he think of me as some helpless, useless punk! I could have killed that guy if I wanted to!!’_ His grip around his backpack strap tightens in frustration as if he doesn’t believe that himself. 

As the group of noisy kids pass by the blue-scaled alien, Bakugou’s eyes divert down towards the symbol on the lizard’s chest. Bakugou, recognizing it as the same symbol that the other hero had, so he stops and turns towards what he thinks is a person with a Mutation type quirk. “Hey, Lizard Tail.” The students surrounding Bakugou shut up and freeze in place, afraid of interrupting their item of worship. 

XLR8 freezes up in fear, which is the only thing preventing him from running away. “Y-yes?”

Bakugou points at the watch’s faceplate. “What’s with that fucking badge? And do you know a strange one-eyed tentacle bastard with black skin? If so” He raises his palm as if to threaten the reptile with an explosion. “Then tell me about him.”

Izuku is shaking in fear, but with a shake of his head he registers the questions. “Badge? Tentacle Freak?” He looks down where the dial shines on his chest. “Oh, um, it-“ The dial begins to beep and flash red. “Um, sorry, but I have somewhere to be.” XLR8 gives a friendly yet nervous smile before taking off as fast as he possibly can, which is of course extremely fast. 

Bakugou blinks and then glares angrily towards where Lizard Tail ran off to. “What the fuck?!” 

Meanwhile, XLR8 makes it to the other side of the school grounds before he reverts back into his human form. “Phew, that was close.” Izuku wipes the sweat off his head. “I have got to be more careful.” Gripping his backpack, he noticed that his backpack transformed and reverted back with him, the greenette heads to class. _‘Kacchan recognized the watch.’_ He pulls his sleeve up to hide the said object. _‘I better be careful. I don’t need another reason for Kacchan to come after me.’_

The school day goes uneventfully especially since Bakugou seems content to keep his anger to himself today. Izuku ignores everything, his mind is only focused on Thirteen, the Plumbers, and what other aliens he has access to. He even tries to theorize if certain events in human history were caused by extraterrestrial influences: building of the pyramids, U.F.O. sightings, Area 51, even Atlantis. 

As the end of the school day approaches, Izuku can’t help but write a few of his thoughts into his journal allowing the classroom to empty out. He also took time to text Thirteen about the next time they can talk.

As Izuku packs up he gets a text from Thirteen asking him if he would like to stop by their agency; they figure that Izuku has many follow up questions to ask. 

Izuku grabs his “Hero Transformations” notebook and heads for the exit as he eagerly replies with yes and promises to meet the hero in a hour. 

“Hey, Deku!” 

Izuku turns stark white and shakily turns towards his old childhood friend. “Y-yes, Ka-Kacchan?” 

Bakugou eyes Izuku’s wrist. “What’s with the stupid looking watch?” 

The greenette slowly averts his eyes towards his wrist where the watch, with its green hourglass symbol, is in full display; he had forgotten about covering it up with his sleeve. 

Bakugou growls. “That’s the third time I’ve seen that thing.” He raises his palm in a threatening manner, tiny explosions pop from it. “What is it and why do you have it?” 

“Oh, I, uh, bought it. Yeah! I got it yesterday at a little gift shop.” 

Bakugou scowls. “You better not be lying to me you little shit.” 

“I’m not! I swear!” 

“Good.” Bakugou turns away so he can fetch his backpack from his desk. Seeing that he’s free to go Izuku waddles towards the exit clutching his new notebook for comfort as he goes. 

Bakugou glances back and spots the none burnt notebook and notices the word “Hero” on it. “Hold it nerd!” 

Izuku freezes in place, a tear leaks from his eye. 

Bakugou jabs an accusing finger at the notebook. “What’s. With. That?” 

Izuku follows the angry blonde’s finger but his brain is too nerve racked to reply. And in that brief moment Izuku’s instincts went into fight or flight mode. 

Izuku seemingly flies down the hallway, leaving behind a trail of terrified tears. 

“GET BACK HERE SHITTY DEKU!!!” 

Izuku can hear the sounds of small explosions coming after him. _‘What do I do?! What do I do?! Oh, da, of course! He won’t recognize me if I go alien… I need a better way to refer to transforming.’_ Rounding a corner, the teen activates the dial and disappears behind a flash of green light. 

Izuku can feel his head widening, his eyes bulging, but for some reason his entire body shrinking at the exact same time. All this occurs just as Bakugou catches up with him. 

“DEKU!!!” Bakugou turns the corner with smoke emanates from his hands, but his target is nowhere in sight. “DAMMIT!!! Where’s that bastard?!” The completely pissed off Bakugou charges down the hall in order to hunt down his prey. 

The sound of detonations eventually gets further away. “Phew, he’s gone. For now, at least.” A tiny bipedal amphibian steps out from behind a garbage can. 

The little guy has grey skin, a wide head with large green eyes and rectangular pupils. The face dial of Izuku’s watch is lodged onto its back. 

Izuku takes a moment to examine his new form. “This form worked out better than expected. After all, if I turned into Feedback or XLR8 then I really would have gotten Kacchan’s attention.” The tiny Izuku shivers at the thought. “Even with Kacchan gone I have another problem…I’M SO TINY!!! And Kacchan is still after me!” The frog-like alien takes a deep breath. “Maybe this new form will work to my advantage. It’ll be harder for Kacchan to find me if I’m only five inches tall. But he’ll recognize the watch if he sees it. Plus, I could accidently get stepped on. So, how do I get out of here?” The little guy looks around and spots an air vent near the ceiling. 

After further scanning he notices that the janitor left his mop and bucket cart in the hall; the amphibian smirks. A few seconds later one would be a bit shocked to see a gray frog riding the janitor cart towards the wall. The cart slams into the wall, the change in momentum launches the mop forward allowing the frog to grab on and be flung towards the vent. Izuku crashes into the vent cover and tries to grab it but he slides down, he adjusts his fingers and he stops moving. That’s when Izuku realizes that this form can stick to walls. “Huh, I probably could have climbed up if I had known.” 

Izuku takes a moment or two to unscrew the vent with his finger before crawling inside. Once inside he takes a moment to take a little pride in himself. “I guess being little has its advantages. Now how do I navigate this place.” Izuku taps his chin in thought, he then squats down and begins drawing out an overview of the school with his finger onto the dusty floor of the vent. “Well I’m near the science room so I’m on the east side of the building and if I remember correctly the air conditioning units are over here on the roof. Based off that I can determine how the vents are laid out in comparison to the school facilities and thus I can find the best route to get outside.” Izuku points at his exit, and jogs towards it. “Strange, I don’t mean to toot my own horn, but I’m pretty smart on my own. However, it seems that this specific alien species has an increased intellect.” As Izuku makes a few turns here and there and even a high jump at one point he can eventually spot sunlight in the distance. The entire time he’s trying to come up with a good name for this alien. “IQ? No. Tiny Genius! No...How about Ace Student? That’s even worse!” Izuku glances at his grey hand. “Grey Anatomy? Grey...Matter? Ah, that’s it! I shall call this new form Grey Matter!” Grey Matter pries the exit vent open as he declares his name to the world. 

Grey Matter smiles proudly as he takes a breath of fresh air and enjoys the heat of the sun. Not to mention bask in the fact that he managed to avoid Bakugou. Grey Matter peers down and sees the barrier surrounding the school a mere five feet away. Walking back a few feet (human feet) Grey Matter takes a running stance and with a determined look in his eye he sprints towards freedom. The grey alien leaps off the vent flying through the air and lands safely onto the barrier. From there he sticks himself to the side of the outer wall and safely climbs down. Just in time for the watch to flash red transforming the alien back to human. 

Izuku glows with pure joy that he got away scot free. Happily holding his backpack and notebook Izuku heads off for Thirteen's agency with high hopes. 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Hi, Thirteen!!” Izuku is so excited that his yell actually shakes a few items in Thirteen’s office. 

Thirteen adjusts their helmet’s earpiece just encase Izuku’s voice becomes too loud again. “Oh, hello Midoriya. Good to see you.” Thirteen places a few papers onto their desk. 

Izuku replies from his seat. “Nice to see you too.” 

“Listen, I filed the report about... the watch but I have yet to receive any information back and there hasn’t been any requests or reports made for its location or return.” Izuku sits up with a hopeful look. “That said I’m still not completely comfortable with you having it.” Izuku slouches in his chair in dejection. “I understand.” 

“Not to mention… You already used it three separate times!” Thirteen grabs their computer monitor and spins it around showing several images of Izuku in his various alien forms. 

The photos seem to be taken by various security cameras: one photo is Izuku in the alleyway as Feedback, another is a photo taken while he was zipping around as XLR8 so you only see the streak of blue, and the last photo is of Grey Matter climbing down the school wall. 

“How’d you get those?!” 

“Like I mentioned yesterday, my job as a Plumber is to monitor any and all alien activity on Earth. That includes teenagers that don’t follow directions and use alien devices as toys!” 

Izuku bows his head. “I’m sorry.” 

Thirteen sighs. “Luckily for you. I am able to erase footage like this in order for aliens and those associated with them to remain discreet. But that doesn’t mean it’s a sound system. Even if people assume that it’s just someone with a mutation there is still the risk of aliens being exposed.” Thirteen glares at the ashamed teen. “What you did was incredibly irresponsible. Do you understand that?” 

Izuku is trembling, he feels so ashamed that he can’t look the pro hero in the eye. “Y-yes and...I’m sorry...I’m sorry that I disappointed you.” 

Thirteen’s eyes soften. “I’m not disappointed. Heck, I’m not even mad at you.” They lean back into their chair. “I’m a bit frustrated by all of this and with myself. After all I really should have expressed the severity of this situation better to you. And I’m just worried about what the watch can do and what unforeseen consequences it may have.” 

“So, I shouldn’t be allowed to use it.” Izuku grips the watch as if it’ll be ripped away from

him. “It’ll just be a strange watch that can’t tell time…it’ll just be something…useless.” A tear drips from his freckled cheek. 

“That’s how it should be.” 

“Oh...okay.” The tears begin flowing, Izuku tries his best to hide them by slouching forward allowing his hair to cover his face. 

Thirteen watches on in thoughtful reflection. _‘This boy. He means well but he lacks restraint. Then again that might be expected when one grows up without a quirk. Seeing everyone do amazing feats like it’s normal but never be able to have what makes yourself unique. This watch really is a dream come true for him…’_

“Can you answer something for me, Midoriya?” 

Izuku sniffs rubbing his eyes as he picks his head up. 

Thirteen looks the young man in the eye as they ask him a question. “Why do you want to be a hero?” 

Izuku thinks about his answer before answering. “I’m… a quirkless kid without any powers. But ever since I could remember all I’ve ever wanted to do was be a hero, a hero that saves everyone with a smile. A smile that inspires and gives them hope. And honestly I nearly gave up on that dream…” Izuku holds the watch up in appreciation. “But then I found this watch and it’s able to give me powers. Powers that I could only dream about, powers that I would hopelessly wish for. Yet here it is sitting on my wrist. So, maybe it’s a sign…a sign that I can be a hero.” Izuku’s eyes burn with a silent passion that’s determined to prove his self-worth. 

And Thirteen can sense it. “Alright.” 

“Huh?” 

“I think, no, I believe that you can be a hero.” Izuku stares wide eyed at the rescue hero. “Really?” 

“Yup, and I’ll help you make that dream into a reality.” 

“Really?!” Izuku shoots up out of the chair with a mix of disbelief and excitement. 

“Yes, but there will be some caveats.” 

“Anything is fine with me!” 

Thirteen holds up a finger. “1. Don’t go using the watch for personal gain. 2. Don’t tell anyone about the watch, aliens, or the Plumbers.” 

Izuku comedically bows rapidly. “Okay, I promise!” 

“Wait, there’s a third condition. The last condition is that you must assist me in Plumber work.” 

Izuku gives the hero a surprised look. “Excuse me?” 

“You heard right. You see the Plumbers on Earth are extremely understaffed and bringing in pro heroes could complicate things. Also, while employed under the Plumber name you will be allowed to keep and use the watch as you see fit. So, this is also in your favor as well.” 

Tears of joy begin to form. “So, this really means…” 

“Yes, you can be a hero.” Thirteen stands and raises their hand towards the boy. “I will help you achieve that goal.” 

“Thank you…that means a lot to me...” Izuku clenches at his heart as he tries to prevent himself from crying. 

Thirteen pats his shoulder and lets him get his emotions out. _‘I wonder if I should tell Midoriya about him… No, it’s not my place to tell. Perhaps someday, he will find out for himself. In the meantime, I’ll watch over him. Who knows what the future has in store?’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! You made it to the end I know it was nothing too exciting, but I hope you liked Chapter 2. I promise that Chapter 3 will make up for it. How is Thirteen as a character? How did you guys enjoy the new aliens? Did you guys like the Mr. Boumann scene? Please leave a comment or helpful criticism. Thanks again, I should have the next chapter up by next week. It's already turning out amazingly. A few notes: 
> 
> *So, I gave the Omnitrix a set time limit. It always kind of annoyed me how in the main series they never clarified how long Ben stays in alien form or how long it actually takes for the watch to recharge. I'm hoping that this will make Izuku something to work against in his pursuit to become a hero.  
> *Yes, I made Thirteen a Plumber. Originally, I was going to have a different character or OC take Izuku on as a student but then remembered that Thirteen is the literal space hero. So it was perfect.  
> *Also, I am referring to Thirteen as a "they", "their", "them", etc. Namely because in several My Hero Academia forums (Wiki, manga, etc.) Thirteen is referred to as either male or female and I wasn't sure which was true and decided to keep it neutral.  
> *More information about the Plumbers, aliens, and transformations will be explains further in Chapter 3.


	3. Work For It, Izuku!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Izuku learns a lot about hard work, the Plumbers, and aliens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's up thanks for checking out Ch.3 I really think you guys will enjoy this one. I know I had a really fun time writing it up. Please enjoy.

Early the following Friday morning, a tall muscular mutant with red skin and four arms is hauling around junked appliances and trash. 

“I’m sorry, but why am I doing this again?” The red hulk turns towards the street where Thirteen is watching him. 

Thirteen walks over towards the red alien. “You need to get a handle on your...powers. This place is secluded, free of the public eye, and well hidden. The perfect place for you to train and practice. Not to mention you can do some real good for the public by removing all of this waste and trash.” 

“If that’s the case.” The red alien easily chucks the broken appliances onto the side of the road. “Then Four Arms is perfect for the job!” Four Arms flexes to emphasize his point. 

Thirteen raises an eyebrow at the morphed Izuku. “Four Arms?” 

Four Arms sheepishly smiles while two of his hand rub fingers and another hand rubs the back of his neck. “Yeah, I’ve, uh, been given these aliens names.” 

“Oh, I guess that’s alright. I don’t really have a problem with it.” 

They will latter regret that statement.

“Where is all this trash going anyway?” 

“The metal is going to U.A. where the Support Course can make great use of it. The rest is going either to the recycling plant or the dump.” 

“It’s always good to recycle.” 

“Also, I wanted to show you this.” Thirteen hands the red alien a binder. 

Four Arms flips through the binder, reading the title. “The All-American Dream Plan?” 

“A new colleague of mine wrote it up for me. It’s a detailed training regiment to help you prepare for the U.A. Entrance Exam in ten months. I did however edit a few things here and there to accommodate for alien transformation training.” 

The four-eyed alien grips the binder a little tighter. “Do you really think I can do it?” 

Thirteen places a hand on the “kid’s” shoulder. “Of course.” 

“Thanks, I do have one question though. What’s this physical and stamina training?” 

“Oh, that. Well, because of the transformation time limit you need to be able to hold your own without it.” Thirteen takes the binder and flips to a different page. “This will help build your strength, speed, and stamina so you can last long enough to transform after the ten-minute recharge time is up.” 

Fittingly the watch begins to flash red. “Speaking of ten minutes.” 

Izuku squeezes his arm and pats himself, a single tear forms from his eye. “Goodbye, muscles.” 

“Don’t worry hopefully with this you’ll have your own.” Thirteen hands Izuku back the binder before taking a look at their phone. “But for now, you should get to school. For this morning, I just wanted to explain how we’ll be going about your training.” 

“Right so I should come back right after school.” 

“Correct.” 

“Alright, I’ll see you then. And thanks for everything.” 

“You’re welcome.” 

Izuku slings his backpack over his shoulder and runs off for school with a grateful smile on his face. ‘ _I’m going to have to work hard_.’ Izuku glances down at his wrist. _‘It may have been luck that I found this, but...when you think about it, I haven’t earned it. That’s why I’ll make it my goal to clean the entire beach, I’m going to train and work hard, and I’ll prove that I’ve earned this gift. And I won’t let anything stop me from becoming a hero!’_

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Izuku pushed through the school day, the only thing on his mind was his preparation work for the U.A. Entrance Exam. After reading through the entire “All-American Dream Plan”, why does that sound like something All Might would write up, he figures that he should try and fit in as much physical training as he can in his off hours: home, school, etc. 

Izuku writes all of his ideas down into his regular school notebook, not wanting to risk attract Bakugou’s attention again with either his hero nor alien notebooks. To be honest, the hot tempered and foulmouthed blonde has actually been behaving himself today… well, he’s still cursing and shouting at people, but he has yet to blow anybody up. So, that’s a good sign. Right? 

At the end of the school day, an arm flings itself onto Izuku’s shoulders. 

Henzu Uuichi nonchalantly smiles as Izuku freezes up thinking he was Bakugou. “Hey buddy, sorry for flaking out on you yesterday, but I needed to blow off some steam.” 

“Y-yeah, I understand.” Izuku shy looks away. “But...what got you so upset?” 

“Nothing really there’s just this guy that’s been bugging a friend of mine and he won’t cut it out. I tried to get him to go away, but it didn’t work out the way I wanted it to.” 

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.” 

_‘Dude, you’re so naive.’_ Henzu smiles anyway. “Thanks man.” The black-haired teen spots Izuku’s watch. Henzu’s eyes widen in surprise and annoyance, recognizing the green symbol as the same one that black-skinned tentacled hero was wearing when he rescued Bakugou. “Cool, watch. Where’d you get it?” 

Izuku pulls the watch out of sight. “I-it was…a gift! Yeah, a very special gift.” Henzu doesn’t look convinced. “Um, it came from...um, a...very kind and...friendly store owner...that I know...” Izuku is sweating profusely as Henzu considers his answer. 

“Is that so?” Henzu shrugs. “I have no reason to doubt ya. So, you wanna get a bite to eat.” 

“Um, sure but really quick I have somewhere to be later.” 

“Sweet, what is it you have planned?” 

“I have, um…training.” Izuku flinches expecting a bad response. 

Henzu frowns. “Training? For what-oh, don’t tell me.” 

Izuku shyly presses his fingers together. “Well the test is ten months away so I should start training sooner rather than later.” 

“Dude, although I like your resolve, and this is going to sound harsh, but I gotta ask. Why are you doing this to yourself?” 

Izuku silently gasps before asking in a near silent whisper. “What do you mean?” 

The rugged teen sighs heavily in annoyance and disappointment. “You. Are. Quirkless!” Izuku’s heart drops. “Even if you train as hard as you possibly can, even if you get accepted. You’ll always be at a major disadvantage; you’ll never be able to compete on the same level as everyone else.” 

Izuku is shaking, his breathing is hitched, but he does his best to come up with a reply. “You...don’t know that. I can…still give it a try, can’t I?” 

Henzu tsks. “Whatever, I still think you’re wasting your time. Hell, I still don’t know what you see in heroes.” 

Izuku immediately becomes defensive. “But they’re so cool thei-” 

“Save me the propaganda, man.” Henzu waves Izuku off before stomping away. 

“W-where are you going? Aren’t we going to get something to eat?” 

Henzu’s hand grazes a nearby light switch, absorbing the electricity. “Na, I lost my appetite. Instead, I’m going to go blow off some steam.” A small amount of electricity discharges from his hand as the dark-marks under his eyes spread further down his face. Henzu smiles maliciously. _‘Or maybe I’ll go beat up some whelp for some sweet cash.’_

Izuku watches as his disgruntled friend marches away. “There he goes…” Izuku takes his time leaving the school. _‘What he said hurts, but I know that he means well… Besides, I've got the watch now.’_ A small smile begins to form. _‘I can compete and stand tall with everyone else. That’s why I’m training to get stronger, to get better, to become a hero!’_ Smiling brightly and with a glint in his eye Izuku looks towards a bright future. “I will become a hero that saves everyone with a smile!” Smiling with glee Izuku sprints towards the beach and his goals. 

And so, began Izuku’s hellish training under Thirteen’s supervision and coaching. The rescue hero’s experience as a teacher really pulled through in keeping the teen motivated. Every week they would focus the training on one alien transformation for example one-week Izuku practiced using Feedback’s powers and abilities by absorbing electricity from abandoned electronics and then blasting designated target (trash) across the dump site. The next week, XLR8 was running around the trash while also avoiding being sucked up by surprise attacks from Thirteen. The following week, Thirteen provided many different types of puzzles, questions, and equations to test Grey Matter’s knowledge; they also had the little Galvin run across the junk piles as if in an obstacle course. The fourth week, Four Arms was hauling tons of trash across the beach with various techniques. However, what was the most grueling thing for Izuku was when he wasn’t in alien form. Whenever the watch timed out, Thirteen would have him train his body for an hour before he was allowed to continue practicing. While as a human, Thirteen would have him haul trash through various methods as to help develop all of his muscles rather than a select few, even bringing out exercise equipment every now and then. 

Then of course there was Izuku’s own personal training regimen. He began the habit of doing small exercises while in class by bringing in smaller weights, he would jog early in the mornings, and he even got his mother to cook healthier foods for him. He also stopped using the watch outside of training just in case he ran into Bakugou or Henzu in one of his altered forms. 

Throughout his training he did manage to make time to hang out with his best friend, Henzu. Even if most of the time it results in Izuku having a heart attack or getting into trouble. Much to his mother’s dismay. She really doesn’t approve of Izuku’s friendship with the delinquent, but she allows it cause he’s her son’s only friend.

As for school, Izuku managed to keep up and excel in his classes. Partially because Thirteen would actually allow Izuku to use Grey Matter to do some of his homework as to test the alien’s intellect; heck, it’s actually gotten to the point that Thirteen brought in some advanced workbooks from U.A. Another plus side is that Bakugou seemingly decided to outright ignore his childhood friend, but every now and then he tried to put Izuku’s in what he thinks is his place. 

And this is what Izuku’s life was like for the next month. Throughout the month he also learned a few things about the Plumbers and aliens. So, yes aliens to live on Earth but they keep their presence on the down low and keep to themselves most of the time. Most of them can easily blend into modern day society since they can pass themselves off as having mutation type quirks. However, there is not that large of a population of aliens on Earth for serval reason: no real reason to come to Earth, the earthlings have yet to achieve efficient space travel, but mainly because of the heroes and quirks. With such powerful heroes that are trained to take on powerful villains it’s a bit of a risk to have one discover their identity for fear that the public will see them as a threat. Plus, even conquering cultures of alien don’t interact with Earth seeing it as too much of a challenge and a waste of resources. That leaves a small population of quiet and peaceful aliens that choose to make Earth their home. Because of this these aliens don’t cause any trouble hence why the Plumbers in Japan are understaffed: there isn’t a lot of reason to prioritize resources for a division that gets no trouble from the aliens they’re supposed to be monitoring. And as things are now that’s not really going to change any time soon.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Somewhere above Earth’s orbit a damaged spacecruiser is currently undergoing repairs. Within the medical bay there is a large cylindrical recovery tank that’s filled with tentacle-like wires all of which are attached to a green-skinned octopus-like alien in a comatose like state. Nearly half of its body is burned away with much of the body missing such as an entire leg and arm, and even part of its upper body. 

A red and black humanoid-drone approaches the tank while observing a monitor. “Vitals are stable. Waking in 3, 2, 1. Greetings master.” 

The commander awakens from within the tank a respirator attached to his mouth is assisting his breathing. Taking a heavy and painful breath the alien speaks between gasps. “How…long…have…I been…like this?” 

The monitor drone replies. “730 hours.” 

“I’ve…been unconscious…for a month… Report! Where is…the Omnitrix?” 

“The Omnitrix is not in our possession.” 

The alien commander is so angry that he would destroy the monitor drone if he could. “What?! The battle… nearly cost me my life! And you say… the Omnitrix is not in my possession!” 

“Sensors indicated that a probe was jettisoned from the ship before it was destroyed, and it landed on the planet below.” The monitor drone generates a projection of Earth. “While you were under, master, we have been monitoring the Omnitrix. We’ve been able to pinpoint when and where the Omnitrix has been activated.” 

“Use?! As in someone… has already claimed it?!” 

“Yes.” 

“Have you…tracked it down?” 

“Yes, the wearer of the Omnitrix seems to be located on Earth in a country called… Japan.” 

For a split second, the commander looks surprised and then intrigued. “Earth…I know of it. It’s the Firebreather’s home world. And if I’m not mistaken many beings on that planet…are equipped with unique powers and abilities.” The commander considers his options. “This complicates everything…if the population of this planet become wise to my intentions…there is no thought that they will rise up to challenge me… I need to think about this…strategically.” 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

It’s Friday, and Izuku had agreed to meet Thirteen near the warehouse district. 

As Izuku nears the warehouse that Thirteen directed him to, he excitedly ran up to his trainer, who is already waiting for him there. “HI, THIRTEEN!!!” 

Thirteen futilely tries to cover their ears. “You have got to stop doing that.” 

“Sorry. So, why are we here?” 

“We are here because you need a change of pace.” 

“Excuse me?” 

Thirteen gives Izuku a stern look. “You’ve been over exerting yourself.” Izuku rightfully looks ashamed, probably for being caught. “The All-American Dream Plan was designed to efficiently get you in shape while making sure that you could handle it. However, you haven’t been following it instead you’ve been pushing yourself far too much.” 

Izuku looks away in embarrassment. “How could you tell?” 

“When you’re a teacher you pick up on things like this.” Thirteen chuckles to themselves. “So, I figured why not change things up for today. For today we will be doing some Plumber business.” 

“Huh, like a mission?” Izuku smiles excitedly. 

“No, no, nothing like that. This is more of a… inspection.” 

“Inspection?” Izuku looks at the large warehouse. “Does it have anything to do with this building?” 

Thirteen smiles and waves Izuku towards the doors. “Follow me and find out. Oh, and try not to get over excited, alright? It may start a panic.” Thirteen opens the large metal doors, stepping inside. 

Izuku hesitates before following, he has no idea what he’s in for. Is he entering a secret alien base, an alien hive? Just what kind of horrible monstrosities wait for our young hero within this gigantic warehouse? 

A grocery store apparently. Yup, just a very large and normal grocery store. Well mostly normal as long as you can ignore the nonhuman shoppers, bizarre foods and products, and the strange smells. Aliens, not humans with mutation, but real alien from across the cosmos are going about their business. Each one of them is different they’re slimy, creepy, fast, and strong they’re every shape and size! Each one more bizarre than the last. Some however are wearing regular human clothing, since most if not all of them can pass as mutated humans. For example, there is a pink rabbit-like alien with what looks like metal encases his yellow eyes who’s buying a bag of tentacles. There’s a fat alien with pale-pink and dull purple skin with a large round nose, four eye balls, and a blue tongue the yellow Hawaiian shirt is nice thou. There’s also an alien that has an egg like exoskeleton with the top half made of glass, two thin robot arms on the side, and a metal mouth mimicking sharp teeth in the front within the egg are two eye balls held up by a green like slime. Obviously, some have an easier time blending in than others.

And they are all shopping for delicacies, products, and supplies that are literally out of this world. Hell, some of the food products still look alive.

“This is amazing!” Izuku furiously scribbles away into his “Hero Transformation #1” Notebook making new sections for aliens not in the watch, alien items, and other information. 

Thirteen tries to quiet down the excitable teen. “Midoriya, stop. You’re scaring everybody.” 

Indeed, the strange aliens are ironically weirded out by the kid’s muttering and frantic writing. Some even leave the store, worried about their status as aliens being exposed. 

Thirteen eventually has to drag Izuku by the collar because he’s too absorbed in his hobby. 

The space hero drags Izuku towards a food counter near the center of the giant store. Behind the counter is an elderly gentleman who’s busy restocking cans. “How are you doing today, Mr. Baumann?” 

Izuku stops writing as a sense of dread runs down his spine. 

Mr. Baumann sets down the last of the cans before turning around with a friendly smile. “I’m doing well thanks for asking, Thirteen… wait, Izuku?!” 

The teen and old man stared at each other for a few seconds, unsure about what to do. “What are you doing here/What are you doing here?!” They both ask at the same time.

Thirteen raises an eyebrow. “You two know each other?” 

Izuku is the one to reply. “Yeah. We’re neighbors.” 

Mr. Baumann gives the teen a suspicious look. “Yes. And last time I checked you’re no alien.” Izuku opens his mouth to ask a question but the shopkeeper beats him to it. “And no! Before you ask, I am not an alien.” 

Thirteen claps their hand together. “Well this makes things easier, I wanted Midoriya to get acquainted and familiar with this place.” 

Mr. Baumann slams his fists onto the counter. “No, no, no! Get out. Get out! Get out!!” He jabs a finger in Izuku’s face making the teen flinch. “I will not have this walking disaster in my shop!” 

Izuku raises his hands in surrender while smiling sheepishly. “So, you’re still mad about your car?” 

Mr. Baumann leers into Izuku’s quivering face. “I’m furious.” 

Thirteen cups their chin. “Car? Wait, was that the one you fried as Feedback?” 

Mr. Baumann raises an eyebrow. “Feedback?” 

“Oh, yeah there’s another reason why we came to you today.” Thirteen leans in raising their hand to cover their mouth, which is unnecessary since they already wear a dark helmet at all times. “We need to inspect a few things…outback.” 

The old man becomes silent, he walks away from the counter towards the south end of the store. Silently, Thirteen gestures for them and Izuku to follow. Mr. Baumann gets to the back of the store there he takes them to the back room. From there Mr. Baumann heads to the freezer, leaving the other two outside, there he reveals a hidden keypad behind some hanging meat, and he types in a code. In the backroom with Izuku and Thirteen a hidden door opens up from the wall revealing a secret panic room. Mr. Baumann locks the freezer room as Thirteen leads Izuku inside, once inside Mr. Baumann locks the room shut. 

After making sure that no one is spy on them Mr. Baumann speaks. “Alright, let’s make this quick. The sooner you’re out of here the better.” He glares at Izuku when he said that last part. 

“Oh, come on Mr. Baumann that’s not fair.” 

Mr. Baumann simply grumbles to himself in response, trying not to curse in front of a pro hero and a plumber. 

Thirteen steps in before the situation escalates. “Let’s move on shall we.” The Plumber gestures for the teen to hold up his left wrist. “Please, take a look at this.” 

Mr. Baumann leans into to examine Izuku’s watch. “What is it supposed to be?” 

Thirteen can’t help but admit that they feel a little disappointed by that answer. “We were hoping you could tell us.” 

Izuku finally snaps, not completely understanding why they’re here. “I’m sorry, but what can Mr. Baumann tell us about it? I mean I once had to show him how to record stuff on the TV.” 

Mr. Baumann was about to scold the boy but Thirteen cut him off. 

“Mr. Baumann owns one of if not the best intergalactic grocery stores in all of Japan. Meaning any and all alien lifeforms come here to shop. Making Mr. Baumann one of the best informants out there since he has direct access to gossip, rumors, and other information.” 

Mr. Baumann adjust his glasses, examining the watch. “Tell me, what do you know about it?” 

“It’s a device that transformers the wearer’s DNA to that of several different alien species, albeit for ten minutes at a time.” 

Mr. Baumann takes a minute to think. “Hmmm, sorry but I’ve never heard of anything like this before.” A thought crosses the storeowner’s mind that makes him frown. “Does your mother know about this young man?” 

Izuku’s legs begin to tremble. “Um, well, no not exactly.” At least Izuku has the sense to look ashamed. 

Mr. Baumann shakes his head in disapproval. “I guess it's not my place to say anything.” Another thought enters his mind and his deposition turns to anger. “Wait a minute! You were wearing that thing when I lectured you a month ago.” 

Izuku blanches. “Y-yes.” 

“So, you lied about the faulty wiring accident?” 

Izuku gives Mr. Baumann a sheepish smile. 

Mr. Baumann facepalms. “I can’t believe I bought that story. You’re going to pay back the damage you did to my car!” 

“B-but Mr. Baumann!” 

“No, buts! You’re going to take responsibility for what you did.” 

Thirteen sees an opportunity here. “Actually, this will be mutually beneficial for everyone.” 

Not taking his eyes off Izuku, Mr. Baumann inquires clarification. “How so?” 

“Midoriya, will work here at your store every Saturday to pay off the damages.” 

Izuku’s eyes would have popped out of his head if they weren’t attached to his skull. “What?! But what about training?” 

“You’ve been pushing yourself too hard. Working here will allow you to take it relatively easy while also getting familiar with the alien community in Japan.” 

Izuku considers the proposal such as the fact that he can meet new aliens and learn a whole lot from them. “I guess that works for me.” 

Thirteen and Izuku look to Mr. Baumann. “I suppose it works for me as well.” 

Thirteen nods their head in approval. “Good,” They turn towards the greenette. “also, I think we can work in some more alien practice while you’re here.” 

Izuku immediately perks up. “Really? How?” 

Thirteen grabs the watch, activating the dial. “Go ahead and try this alien out, it’s a real team player.” 

Izuku gives his mentor a very curious look. 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

The monitor drone sprints towards his greatly wounded commander. “Master, the sensors have detected the Omnitrix.” 

The alien commander remains silent for a moment. 

“Send an infiltration drone…to retrieve the Omnitrix!” The commander has a coughing fit, after calming down he continues. “Kill the wielder…of the Omnitrix…if that is…required.” 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Clean up on aisle 9!” 

“That’ll be 39,126.77 yen.” 

“Can anyone tell me where we keep the flubbergusts?” 

“Ah, figure it out for yourself buddy.” 

“Excuse me customers there is a 20% discount off all blue milk.” 

The number of aliens inside Mr. Baumann’s store has greatly increased, however, most of the alien population is actually one person. 

Running around the store are child sized aliens, all of which are wearing a miniature version of Mr. Baumann’s dark pink store apron. 

The aliens have white skin, a black and white face, and black shoulders. The little employees' hands are large with 4 digits and stubby feet. They each have three fin-like growths on their heads, and gem-like orbs on their arms and waists. 

While the little aliens around about, Mr. Baumann is busy hand drying a glass cup with a contempt smile on his face, enjoying the lack of stress and work. “This is working out better than I thought.” 

Thirteen who is sitting at the booth nods. “Agreed.” 

One of the short aliens sits next to the Plumber. “Yeah, I’ll say.” The slacking alien takes a sip from his soda.

Mr. Baumann’s eyebrows scrunch. “Shouldn’t you be working?” 

“I’m taking my break.”

Thirteen and Mr. Baumann glace over to a second clone that’s seated next to the first. This clone however is writing away in his notebook. “I’m just doing some observations. Don’t mind me.”

Mr. Baumann and Thirteen stare blankly.

Mr. Baumann shrugs. “I guess it doesn’t matter.” 

Thirteen gains the two aliens’ attention. “So, how’s the new alien.” 

The clones smile brightly. “He’s awesome.” 

The second clone nods in agreement. “Ditto” 

The first clone looks over to his counterpart. “Oh, that’s a good name!” 

The other clone scratches his head. “I’m not so sure.” 

“Then let’s put it to a vote. All those in favor of the name Ditto say aye.” In less than a second a small army of clones multiply out from the first alien, and all together they state their votes. “Aye!!” 

The first clone jumps for joy. “And democracy has won the day!” 

“This election was rigged!!” 

Mr. Baumann rubs his head trying to prevent a migraine. “Quiet down all of you! And get back to work!” 

Nearly the entire army of Dittos salute in response. “Yes, sir!!” They then disperse across the store to help in various tasks, minus the first Ditto who took his seat back. 

“You know Izuku at this rate you’ll pay up your debt in another month or less.” 

“Sweet.” Ditto looks up towards Mr. Baumann with a hopeful glint in his eyes. “So, all is forgiven?” 

Mr. Baumann scrunches up his face in thought before giving a calm smiling. “All is forgiven.” 

“Woohoo!!” 

A knocking can be heard from behind the large entrance doors. 

A Ditto manning a checkout booth is the first to hear it. The knocking continues. 

The little clone decides to see what’s making the continuous noise. “Alright. Alright! I’m coming. I’m com-GAH!!!” A decent sized explosion sends the Ditto flying. 

Mr. Baumann, Thirteen, and the rest of the Dittos stand at attention hearing the blast and the clone’s scream of surprise. 

Back near the entrance the down Ditto rubs his head as some of his fellow comrades help him up.

One of the customers an alien that kinda looks like they’re flesh is made of marshmallows yells out in fear. “What the heck is that?!” 

A 40-foot-tall red and orange robot bursts through the entrance. The tall attack drone has humanoid like features, large metal claws, large red insect-like eyes, and three insectoid legs. 

The alien customers begin to scream and panic as they make their way to the exits all the while Mr. Baumann, Thirteen, and other Dittos get them all to safety. 

The assault drone steps forward locking onto the surprised and cowering Dittos, specifically onto the symbols on their heads. The robot’s eyes glow red as a laser beam fire out. 

Acting fast the Dittos merge into one clone to avoid the beam. The remaining Ditto scrambles away in fear screaming all the way. 

The robot gives chase shooting lasers at the fleeing alien. As the robot rampages the other extraterrestrials are stampeding away, one of the Dittos is heavily bothered by their terrified expressions. The same Ditto glares up at the rampaging intruder. 

Meanwhile, the Ditto being chased dives behind some shelves, the robot takes aim ready to blast its target. A tin can clanks off its head. 

“Hey buddy!” The robot turns its metallic head. “If you mess with one of me, then you mess with all of me!” The Ditto holds his hands up wide as other Dittos stand with him. 

The robot actually takes a step back as if wary of the increasingly large army. 

“What’s the matter?” 

“Are we too much to handle?” 

One of the clones folds his arms together looking very smug. “If you wanted a fight then you should have brought some friends with ya!” 

The robot’s eyes blink before taking a moment to scan the entire store picking up on all other Dittos in the area. Now fully understanding the situation the bot’s metallic shoulders begin to shift and two orange and red disks fly out. The disks begin to expand until they become U.F/O shaped drones with thin insectoid arms. 

The hover drones aim target lights at the bewildered Dittos. 

The Dittos are too stunned to move. One of the clones deadpans a look at the clone that decided to be smug. “You just had to say something?” 

The once-smug clone smiles in embarrassment. 

The hover drones open fire on the Dittos who scream in fear, a few even have tears in their eyes, as they runaway. 

The assault robot joins in on the onslaught blasting lasers from its eyes. The Dittos manage to avoid the blasts, but the same cannot be said about the store shelves. As the Dittos spread out so do the attackers, the latter trying to eliminate as many clones as they can. 

One of the lasers detonates a little too close to one Ditto. The Ditto is blown away skidding across the ground. The morphed Izuku can feel the heat from the blast burning his arm and his harsh fall doesn’t help matters. 

Three other Dittos scream out at once, despite only one of them being hit. “Ouch!! That hurt!!” 

The downed Ditto looks up at the other three. “Wait, you felt that?” 

“I did!” 

“I felt it, too!” 

Another Ditto points at his clones. “Wait, how did you guys feel that? You weren’t even hit!” 

A looming shadow falls over the small group of clones. Hovering above them is one of the hover drones, aiming its blasters at the distracted aliens. As the Dittos stare up in horror as the blaster makes a buzzing sound as it prepares to fire. 

The wind picks up, dust, debris, and store products begin to flow towards a single point. The hover drone gets pulled by some invisible force as food and broken shelves fly around it. Also being gravitated away, the Dittos multiply to form an alien chain that attaches itself onto a metal pole, the chain them reemerge with themselves until only one Ditto is attached to the pole. 

The hover drone is eventually sucked into Thirteen’s Blackhole. 

Thirteen covers their finger, stopping the attack. “Midoriya you’re a Splixon!” 

“No, I’m an alien!” 

“Yes, an alien that has shared senses!” 

Another Ditto seemingly pops his head out from a pile of cans. “What does that mean?!” 

“It means-” A hover drone latches onto Thirteen trying to push them away, Thirteen in turn tries to pry the enemy away. “if one clone feels pain then all clones feel it.” 

“Oh, is that all?” 

“No!” Thirteen manages to push the drone over their head letting it fly a distance away. Thirteen activates their quirk, sucking up the hover drone. “If one of your clones die…” 

A mechanical clank resounds over them drawing Thirteen’s and Ditto’s attention. The assault robot towers over them flexing its metallic claws that shift and change to form into dual arm cannons. The cannons begin to charge up as the metal monstrosity takes aim. 

More Dittos pop out from their hiding places as the main Ditto gulps. “Then.” 

“We.” 

“All.” 

“DIE!!!” 

The robot open fires sending the heroes diving for cover. Thirteen slides away towards the store’s center food stall, they then jump over the counter to use it for cover. A blast launches a Ditto towards the stand. The Ditto rolls on the ground before slamming into the side of the food stall. The dizzy Ditto lands upside down against the booth. 

The Ditto shakes his head, regaining his senses. “What do we do?!” 

Thirteen’s eyes furrow as they stand up watching as the assault robot gets distracted by other Dittos running around. “We stand and fight.” 

Another Ditto pops out from one of the cupboards. “What?! But what about the other heroes?! Someone must have noticed by now and called the police!” 

“No, they wouldn’t.” 

The Ditto that slammed against the booth joins Thirteen behind it. “How come?” 

“There’s a holographic cloaking device around the entire perimeter that prevents bystanders, and heroes, from noticing this place.”

“Well…isn’t that convenient?” 

“It sure is.” Replies the Ditto in the cupboard. 

“I was being sarcastic!” 

Thirteen jumps back over the counter. “Come on, we need to stop these things.” 

“But how?!” 

“I’m a short alien, with no speed nor strength! I can’t even shoot lasers! How am I supposed to help?! I mean if just one of me dies then rest of me will die!” Izuku is truly inhabiting the Dittos because each one of them in the vicinity begin to mutter and ramble on in a panic about what they/he can and cannot do. 

Thirteen places a calming hand on the nearest Ditto. “Izuku.” The reassuring voice, a clearly practiced and well-tuned voice that came after years of rescuing panicked victims, instantly calms Izuku right down. So much so that even the other Dittos that aren’t even present quiet down as well. 

Kneeling down, Thirteen looks the aliened Izuku right in the eye, their gaze silently saying that everything is going to work out. “We all have one life. Life isn’t a video game where you get restarts and extra lives. This is reality. And in reality, everybody only gets one chance, one life, there are never due overs. Once, you’re gone, you're gone.” 

Ditto frowns, feeling very scared and even smaller than he already is. 

“Life is fragile but that is what makes life so precious. Because everyone only gets one life we need heroes that are willing to put their lives on the line. To ensure that the innocent can live their lives out in peace.” 

Izuku meets Thirteen’s eyes, their words really resonating within him. 

“Do you think you can risk your life for others?” 

With a determined glow in his eyes, Ditto stands straighter and gives the pro hero a nod. 

Thirteen nods back. “Then it’s time to be a hero.” 

Thirteen and Ditto march towards the rampaging assault robot, more Dittos join in formation behind the two. 

The remaining Dittos around the store join in, but rather than join the procession, they all morph back into each other bringing the number of Dittos down to 7. 

Noticing the lack of targets the robot turns to face off against the approaching heroes. 

Standing tall Ditto raises a fist and proclaims. “Bring it on you giant tin can!” 

Only for the watch to flash red reverting all the Dittos back into a single bewildered Izuku. 

Thirteen stares wide eyed at this new predicament. “Time for another lesson…you can’t save others if you can’t save yourself.” 

Such wisdom.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Outside the warehouse store, Mr. Baumann is running as fast as he can, which isn’t really that fast, to his American 1967 muscle car. That car is his most prized possession, he’d be crazy to leave it behind and risk having it get destroyed by the manic robot or worse Izuku. He fumbles with his keys trying to unlock the door. Once unlocked he steps inside and sighs a breath of relief. 

The bane of Mr. Baumann’s existence bursts out of the emergency exit door screaming in terror at the top of his lungs. Izuku is in such hysteria that he slams into the side of Mr. Baumann’s car denting the hood. Adrenaline allows Izuku to ignore the pain as he thrusts himself away. 

As he runs the greenette shouts back an apology. “I’m sorry, Mr. Baumann!” 

Mr. Baumann steps out of his car shaking his fist. “Izuku! Get back here and clean up this mess!” 

The side of the store is blasted away as the assault robot smashes through it. Hanging onto its shoulder is Thirteen. The space hero does their best to wrestle the robot away from the fleeing Izuku. It works a bit, throwing the tall robot off balance. The robot side steps nearly stepping on the American muscle car. Mr. Baumann crouches down begging for the menace to not damage his car as the robot’s insectoid legs dance around the vehicle nearly smashing it to bits. 

The robot grabs Thirteen, prying them off of itself. Thirteen is able to pry themselves from its grip ,falling down to the cement below, and narrowly landing on Mr. Baumann’s car. 

Mr. Baumann watches as the robot begins to march in the direction that Izuku took off from. 

Holding their head, Thirteen aims their finger directly at the robot. The gravitational pull slows the monstrosity down. In response, the robot turns its head, it’s eyes light up before launching a beam at the hero. Thirteen ducks, ending their attack, with the laser whizzing past their head. The beam continues its path. Unfortunately, that path leads right towards Mr. Baumann’s car. The laser passes right through the side of the car as if it was made of paper leaving a gaping circular hole right through the center. 

Mr. Baumann falls to his knees as Thirteen continues the battle. “NO! Not again!” 

Meanwhile, Izuku continues running with tears leaking from his eyes and a terrified expression on his face. He doesn’t have a destination in mind, in truth he just keeps running. He eventually recognizes a few streets and corner stores that he usually passes by whenever he goes to Dagobah Municipal Beach from school. He figures that hiding amongst the large heaps of trash will be perfect for laying low at least until Thirteen can reach him. 

It doesn’t take long for Izuku to reach the involuntary junkyard; it’s enough time for the watch to finish recharging. Izuku bends over breathing heavily trying to regain his breath. 

Slowing down his racing heart is not Izuku’s main concern rather the regret he feels is. Afterall he left Thirteen behind to face the metal menace alone. Sure, the customers and Mr. Baumann were able to escape, but that doesn’t lessen the pit in his stomach. How could he leave his mentor, his teacher, the first person to believe in him, behind like that? Thirteen’s last piece of advice enters his mind, that one cannot save others if they can’t save themselves. This advice circles in his mind, until it clicks. There is no shame in retreating, afterall, if he stayed, he would have just been deadweight, slowing the professional hero down, and putting himself in danger. But now that he’s safe, Thirteen can focus on the fight without worrying about him. Also, that robot was really scary, so it works out that he was able to escape. 

Izuku smiles softly in relief. “At least I’m safe here.” 

The sound of a helicopter resonates overhead getting increasingly louder. Curiously, Izuku looks up, he spots the source of the noise, and his eyes expand with dread. 

The assault robot crashes down onto a junk pile, smashing it into the sand and generating a cloud of dust that swirls around the metal beast. The robot towers over Izuku its beady red-eyes glowing with the intent to harm. 

The instinct to run is there but Izuku’s legs refuse to move. His mind replays recent events: the rampage at the store, targeting him, and Thirteen’s lesson on heroism. Right now, with nobody to worry about, with no witnesses, it is the perfect time to be a hero. 

“It’s hero time!” Izuku slams down on his watch. 

The boy can feel his body changing within the green energy. His feels his jaw lengthen and his teeth sharpening. He can feel his skin turn dry and flaky. He can even feel gaps in his neck forming. Eventually the odd sensations end. 

Now standing on the beach is a tall fishman with a mouth full of protruding sharp teeth, webbed hands and feet, greenish-grey skin, and a lure like that of an angler fish sits upon its forehead. 

“Woah, now this is cool.” 

The robot shifts, from its shoulders two more hover drones emerge. 

The fishman growls. “What’s the matter? Can’t take me on alone?” 

The assault bot slams its claw down but Izuku is too quick on his feet, ironic since he's a fish out of water. The alien fish uses the bot’s arm as a springboard at the same time that the robot pulls its arm free from the sand. The force of the jump propels Izuku towards one of the hover drones. Expanding his mouth, displaying his sharp jagged teeth, Izuku takes a giant bite out of the drone. Izuku lands safely onto the sand just as the remains of the bitten drone combust and crash into a junk pile. 

“Man I’m…going to have to…clean that up…later, guh.” 

Izuku is having trouble breathing, he’s actually gasping for air. So much so that he almost feels like he’s choking, like he’s completely running out of oxygen. That’s when he holds his neck and realizes something that should have been pretty obvious to him from the start. He has gills!! 

The robot and the remaining drone charge, firing lasers at the fishman. Izuku barely avoids the onslaught as he rushes towards the ocean. With a mighty leap, Izuku dives into the refreshing and breathable water. The fish alien takes deep breaths, looking down Izuku notices that his legs have merged together to become a mermaid-like tail. 

Up on the beach the assault robot aims its arm cannons down towards the waves firing a barrage of lasers into the water. Acting fast, Izuku swiftly and somewhat gracefully evades them all. Meanwhile, the hover drone flies over the water trying to pinpoint him. Izuku leaps out of the water and with one chomp Izuku grabs the drone and pulls down into the water. Where it leaks oil, sparking from its gash marks before shutting down. Making sure to finish the job, Izuku lodges his sharp claws into it and using his increased strength to tear the drone in half. 

“I think it’s time to go after the whopper.” 

Izuku pops his head out of the water before diving back down just in time to avoid getting his head vaporized. The assault robot continues its barrage of attacks using its sensors to lock-on to Izuku’s alien watch. Unfortunately for the tin can, Izuku is too quick for it especially in the water. Izuku lunges out of the water grabbing onto the robot’s right cannon, he takes a bite ripping off the robot’s arm. 

“Lose something, tin can?” 

The robot uses it last claw to swipe at the fishman, it hits its mark launching Izuku into the sand, and acting fast the robot pins him down. 

“Apparently not.” 

The robot leans in its eyes glowing, aiming a laser for the fishman’s head. 

Not letting fear take over, Izuku grabs a metal pole and lodges it into the robot’s arm. With the grip loosened Izuku wiggles free just as the laser blasts the sand. The detonation was too close and powerful that the robot’s face is damaged by its own attack. The robot sparks as it straightens up, not giving it a chance to recover, Izuku tears through two of the bot’s legs. The robot tips over falling onto a pile of scrap metal. A large piece of metal pierces through the robot’s right shoulder making its right cannon useless. The robot shakily turns its head, sparks flying out from its eyes and neck, trying to find its target. Izuku jumps up his piercing claws at the ready, and stabs through the chest of the downed robot. The sound of gears shifting stops as the glow of the robot’s eyes dim. 

Izuku frees his scaly hand from the robot, taking a few deep breaths, before remembering that he needs water. Turning around Izuku dives into the shallow shore so that at least his gills are in the water. 

Izuku smiles in contempt. “Ah, much better.” 

With his back turned he fails to notice the red-eyes blinking back to life. The robot’s head shakes violently as it aims one final attack. It never gets the chance too however as it and the entire scrapheap it was laying on gets sucked up into the nothingness that is Thirteen’s Blackhole. 

“Midoriya, are you alright?” 

Finally taking notice, Izuku reels around. “I’m real good. Ha, Thirteen you should have seen me I was ripping through these guys like they were nothing!” 

Thirteen approaches the water. “Understandable, Piscciss Volanns are known for their powerful jaws that can rip through anything.” 

Izuku cups his chin, or where his chin would be, but fish don’t have chins. “Jaws…rip. Jawsrip? No. Ripjaws? Yeah.” Ripjaws smiles happy with his name, he takes a mental note to write that name down in his notebook. 

After some time, Izuku turns back to normal. Together, Thirteen and him, look out to the open ocean simply enjoying the fresh ocean breeze and the gorgeous view. 

Thirteen places a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Good job today, Midoriya.” 

Izuku is a little nervous to ask. “Really?” 

“Oh, yeah. For being untrained in combat, or hero work in general, you did amazing work today.” 

And it’s true, he not only fought off three killer robots all on his own, but he also helped guide aliens away from danger back at the store when he was Ditto. Also, because he went to the beach, he was able to avoid involving other people and heroes into the mix. 

“Thanks.” 

“Don’t mention it. Though it is a bit concerning.” 

“What is?” 

“That robot was targeting you.” 

“Do you think it was after the watch?” 

“Maybe, can’t be too certain. Who knows, maybe it just didn’t like your hair.” 

“Why wouldn’t it like my hair?! And why does that even matter?!” 

Thirteen gives Izuku a deadpanned expression. “What I mean is that I have no clue why it came after you.” 

“Oh…” 

Thirteen waves it off. “Don’t worry about it. Just take the day off tomorrow, alright? And in the meantime, I have to file a report. I’ll also look into what that bot was after.” Thirteen doesn’t look very happy, probably because this will take too much paperwork that’s going to keep them up for several hours tonight. 

Izuku nods. “Sounds good. Also, Thirteen…” 

“Hm?” 

“Thanks for saving me today.” 

Thirteen pats Izuku’s head, fluffing up his already messy green hair. “It was no problem, no problem at all.” 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

The alien commander examines the footage that was broadcasted by the assault robots and its drones. The commander glares at the sight of the Omnitrix upon the Splixons. The image of one of Earth’s heroes interfering really frustrates him as well. And the sight of the drones being torn apart by the Piscciss Volann infuriates him to no end. The Omnitrix should be his and not in the hands of a lower life form. His entire plan, his ambitions are falling apart because of some child! Yes, the most upsetting piece of information received was that of a human child wearing the Omnitrix. The most powerful weapon in the galaxy is controlled by a being whose species haven't been able to achieve space travel. Talk about pathetic! Yet, here it is, a small boy with green hair and a freckled face is all that stands between the commander and his quest for galactic conquest. Unfortunately for the boy, this being has experience with removing obstacles that hinder his ambitions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So how was Ch.3, did you like it? How funny were the Dittos? Was Ripjaws badass or what? Just for reference those two aliens are some of my favorites from the Ben 10 series. Let me know what ben 10 aliens are your favorites.  
> Also did you catch the Lilo & Stitch, Jimmy Neutron, Star Wars, and other ben 10 easter eggs? Please be sure to leave a review with your thoughts, questions, comments, etc. I'm hoping to have Ch.4 up by next week but it already looks like it's going to be a longer chapter than expected so it may take a little bit longer so please be patient for it to upload. That said I do think the wait will be worth it. Especially since I will be introducing a fan favorite character from My Hero Academia. 
> 
> *I want to apologize if you thought Four Arms didn't get enough screen time. I will make up for it. I promise that he will get his time to shine.  
> *Just to clarify I want to introduce 1-2 new alien transformation for Izuku before he gets to U.A.  
> *As of now Izuku only has access to 9 aliens in the Omnitrix, however, that number will not remain that way for long but that won't happen until he gets to U.A.  
> *Side note, when Thirteen said they asked a "coworker" to make the exercise plan they actually asked All Might to write up them. Thirteen just didn't tell All Might who it was for.  
> *It wasn't much but I will be exploring the alien community in Japan a little more in later chapters. As the story progresses the alien community in Japan will be explored more and more. This was just it for now.  
> *Just to clarify Japan has a relatively small population of aliens living there because of high risk of being exposed if they aren't careful.


	4. Mutant Mayhem

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Izuku and his best friend, Henzu Uuichi, decide to hangout for the day. While doing so they make a new friend and a new enemy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys thanks for waiting but Ch.4 is here. I hope you like it.

A week has passed since the robot attack, but no mention of the robots ever made it onto the news. As it turns out, Thirteen wasn’t lying about the giant hologram around the warehouse. Nobody noticed a thing, plus as a bonus the robot actually turned invisible to escape Thirteen before using its legs as helicopter blades to go after Izuku. So, no one witnessed it flying over the buildings.

Training picked right back up with Izuku’s strength training combined with some practice as Ditto. According to Thirteen, his physical capabilities should transfer over to his alien forms and vice versa. So, with an army of Dittos, Izuku took to clearing the trashed beach. Unfortunately, he was ten times more exhausted by the end of each workout when compared to before. It also doesn’t help that Ditto is half his own size. 

Saturday eventually rolled around, early that morning Izuku set off for Mr. Baumann’s store only for the old man to kick him out. According to Mr. Baumann, he literally can’t afford to have Izuku anywhere near his store claiming that he’s the reason for ruining his store and scaring his customers. Of course, that isn’t completely true but in Mr. Baumann’s eyes it might as well be. 

So, with nothing else to do Izuku decides to text Henzu Uuichi, figuring it’s been awhile since they’ve hung out, while treading off away from the warehouse district. Henzu gets back to him rather quickly, complaining about how early it is, but suggests that they should head over to the Kiyashi Ward Shopping Mall. There’s a new arcade there that he’s been wanting to scout out. 

Smiling happily Izuku heads for the train station. 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Somewhere in Kiyashi Ward a man dressed in a brown business suit slams his fist onto the door of a rundown and shabby apartment building. The windows are cracked and boarded up, the sides of the outer wall are falling apart, and the cement walkway is cracked. 

“Yo, Animo! I know you’re in there! Open up!” 

Getting no reply, the man pulls out a key, unlocks the door, and steps inside. 

The apartment is cluttered with filthy tanks and cages strewn about with various animals from fish, lizards, birds, and rodents. The TV appears to be left on in the corner of the large room. 

The man holds his nose. “Smells like a zoo in here.” 

He walks through the apartment, steeping over the smaller cages, looking for the only human resident. Entering the farthest end of the living room, the man curiously watches a large frog hop about its terrarium, oblivious to the figure approaching him from behind. 

The man turns around and yelps in surprise. 

“How did you get in?” Demands a scratchy voiced old man. 

The withered old man has greenish skin, long white hair that clearly hasn't been washed in weeks, and crooked teeth. The man’s clothes are dark and ragged they too have not been washed or mended to seen as his shirt is torn up in places. 

The man composes himself, fixing his tie. “The key, I am still your landlord, remember? Maybe not because your rent is 6 months past due.” 

Animo stares at the man as if he’s crazy before shrugging him off. “All my funds go into my research.” He says it in a way that sounds like that should have been obvious. “Now get out! You’re disturbing me.” Animo turns away and fiddles with something on his desk. 

The landlord gazes at the state of the apartment noting the smells, grime, and animals. “Looks like you were disturbed long before I got here, pal. Listen doc. You and your furry friends are out on the street unless you pony up the green.” 

Animo smirks. “Pony up?” He turns opening the terrarium and reaches in for the large frog. “Interesting choice of phrases.” He places the frog on the floor before reaching for something from his desk. “You must be an animal lover. Then you’re gonna love this.” 

Animo equips himself with a very strange device that looks like it was put together with various pieces of kitchen utensils, pieces of household appliances, and other small electronic devices. The helmet part of the device is literally a bowl strainer with two long antennas attached to it. Strapped to his chest is a circular disk with red lights and various dials. 

Staring at the device the landlord bends over holding his gut in a fit of laughing. 

Ignoring the laughter Animo continues. “This is my transmodulator. Tell me, do you know what my quirk does?” 

The landlord wipes away his tears standing back up. “Why would I care?” 

“You should. My quirk allows me to alter the DNA of animals as long as I understand the physiology of the species. Admittedly, my quirk is not all that powerful the most I can do is give these creatures longer lifespans and make them a bit bigger, maybe even change their pigmentations. However, this device will change all that. It will accelerate the mutation process at a genetic level. Observe.” Pressing a few buttons and rotating a dial the circular chest piece and the ends of the antennas spark red. 

The red sparks form into thin beams that fire out and begin to surge into the bullfrog. 

The frog starts to grow larger and larger as its warts begin to expand on its back, horns burst from its head, and its muscles convulse. 

The landlord falls back screaming in horror as a giant mutant frog with bull-like horns and four red-eyes stares down at his cowering form. 

Smiling like the maniac he is, Animo explains the other function of his invention. “Oh, I should also mention that this device gives me complete control over my creatures.” Animo begins to laugh hysterically to himself as the extra-large amphibian leans towards the horrified landlord. 

Like the monster it is, it gulps up the landlord before he can even blink. Panicking, the landlord desperately tries to free himself. From outside the frog one can see the desperate attempts for freedom of flailing about in its enlarged throat. 

“Hahaha, I’m sorry I can’t hear you. Sounds like you got a frog in your throat. Hahaha! Or is that the other way around?” Animo nearly falls over in laughter as the thrashing begins to diminish. 

Animo eventually stops laughing, sighing he rubs his eyes. “My work is truly brilliant, but how am I, Dr. Aloysius J. Animo, supposed to show the world my genius?” 

Leaning against his abomination Dr. Animo wonders what to do next. He doesn’t have a lot of options considering he’s seen as a mockery by the science community. He has no connections, no allies, and no money. All because no one can see the potential in his quirk or in his mind. He can evolve animals, give them power that quirked individuals would be envious of. They would upstage heroes and bring a new order into this world. Yet they deny him of his rightful glory. 

That’s when out of corner of his eyes he notices the TV flash to a commercial advertising the Kiyashi Ward Shopping Mall. 

Dr. Animo grins a plan hatching within his mind. “Ah, just what the doctor ordered.” 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

The Kiyashi Ward Shopping Mall is huge with stores that sell nearly everything you can think of. The mall is so large that other companies rent out their own parts of the buildings. For example, one part of the mall is used to house a radio tower. 

Izuku, however, is outside the mall wandering around through the expansive parking lot. _‘Where is he?’_ He turns here and there searching for Henzu.

Henzu texted him saying that he’s near the eastside of the parking lot, but this place is overcrowded with people and cars. 

A heavy hand made of red steel grips the lost teen’s shoulder from behind making Izuku freeze up. 

“Give me your cash if you know what’s good for ya.” 

Izuku visibly relaxes. “Does it even matter? I mean, you’re probably going to make me pay for everything today anyway.” He turns smiling at his best friend. 

Henzu grins, shrugging his shoulders. “Fair point.” He releases his quirk turning his skin from a red metallic color back into flesh. “Good to see ya, buddy. It’s been a while since we did something like this.” 

“Yeah.” Izuku can’t help but feel bothered by the fact that Henzu was red, because when that occurs it’s because of when he absorbs something, he also gains the pigment of said object. “Did you break into something.” Henzu doesn’t even flinch at Izuku’s bluntness, at this point both of them are used to this sort of interaction.

Instead of looking embarrassed Henzu looks almost proud. “I may or may not have broken into a car or two, besides it’s not like you got any proof.” 

Izuku internally deadpans. _‘He’s too much sometimes!’_

With hearty laughs the two head for the mall passing by a red car with a busted window. 

Izuku has a great time at the mall. They window shopped on their way to the arcade with a few stores catching their attention. The greenette was practically drooling at the sight of the hero merchandise store his eyes mesmerized by all the posters, figurines, and other collectables. So much so that Henzu had to drag him away. Even though Henzu was annoyed by the sight of the store he did find Izuku’s reaction a bit amusing. 

They eventually get to their destination, a brand new and expansive arcade with all the latest gaming technologies and games of all genres: shooting, dancing, racing, and even pinball. Henzu dominates most of the competitive games such as the racing game, Street Fighters, and air hockey. That said, Izuku does prove himself at the co-op shooting games, ski ball, and most solo player games. At one-point Henzu got into an argument with a group of delinquent high schoolers, Izuku tried to break them up before a fight broke out, but Henzu got an idea. A few minutes later, Henzu is walking away a little bit richer after defeating the punks at Street Fighters. Although, Izuku is pretty sure he cheated by absorbing some electricity to shock his opponents in order to throw them off. Deciding that it was enough the duo decide to head down to the cafeteria for some lunch. 

Izuku folds his arms feeling very disappointed while also trying to avoid bumping into other shoppers. “Why did you have to do that?” 

“What?” 

“You know…” 

Realizing what he meant, Henzu rolls his eyes. “Come on Izuku, they were asking for it. Someone had to put them in their place.” 

Izuku mutters under his breath. “You didn’t even win fairly.” 

Henzu suddenly stops becoming serious, he turns so he can face his friend face-to-face. “You’ve got to stop thinking like that.” 

Stopping, Izuku’s eyes widen. “Like what?” 

“That playing by the rules is going to lead you to success. News flash the concept of fair-and-square is total bullshit! Those rules are only in place to stop those that are superior from outshining their inferiors.” Henzu folds his arms, his eyes soften slightly, but he holds his serious expression. “This is something that you oughta know by now.” 

Izuku’s head droops. “That doesn’t make it right though.” 

“What’s right and what’s wrong are totally subjective.” 

Izuku is not entirely sure what his friend is talking about. 

Realizing this Henzu continues. “Okay for example stealing is wrong, right?”

“Of course.” 

“Okay, but what if someone stole so they could provide for their family? Is it wrong then?” 

That’s a tricky question. “Um, well, if they had the time, I’m sure they could find another way…” 

Henzu shakes his head in disapproval. “Time isn’t the problem. It's society, it’s the rules that govern it, that can lead people to break the rules, to not play fairly.” Izuku is still not sold on this idea. “Ultimately life ain’t fair, so why should you play fair? If you have the skills to survive and provide for yourself, even if it breaks the law, then you should be able to do it.” 

Henzu notices a girl strolling towards them, Izuku hasn’t noticed her. She has shoulder-length chestnut-hair with two longer clumps curving towards her round face. She is completely oblivious to the two of them within the bustling crowd. 

She passes them by without so much as a glance. 

As she walks away Henzu turns back to Izuku. “So, if I need cash for some new game system then I should be completely justified to take it, because I have the ability to do so without anyone noticing.” Henzu holds up a little pink wallet that clearly isn’t his. 

Instantly Izuku understands the situation; he pickpocketed the poor girl. “Henzu!! Stop! You can’t do that!” 

“Relax she didn’t even notice.” Henzu smirks feeling very cocky as he waves the wallet around. ‘ _Besides it’s not like you’d rat me out.’_

“Hey!! That’s mine!” A feminine voice with a crossed tone yells back at them. 

Henzu twists around as Izuku silently begins to panic. Behind them stands the same girl that Henzu just pickpocketed. 

She is a short girl of slender yet feminine build. She is fair-skinned with a perpetual blush on her cheeks. Her eyes are large and round, their irises a warm brown. She’s wearing a dark pink t-shirt and black gym shorts that extend to her knees, and white shoes. 

She holds her hand out trying her best to look firm. “Give it back.” She demands with as much conviction as she can muster.

Henzu gives Izuku a look, smirking mischievously, seeing an opportunity to have a teaching moment for his friend. 

Henzu gives the girl a nasty grin. “Aw, you want it? Then you’re going to have to take it back.” Henzu touches the ground, absorbing the tile thus changing his skin to the hardened substance. 

The round-faced girl tries her best to stay composed, but it’s clear that she’s not so sure about this anymore. But that’s all the money she has, she literally can’t afford for this thug to take it from her. 

Henzu is able to pick up on her hesitation. After years of taunting and picking fights you pick up on people’s mannerisms, especially when it comes to confrontations. Clearly this girl would like to run, but she won’t for whatever reason. It’s an opportunity to show Izuku that if she’s capable of taking the wallet back then she earned it, but if she has to use her quirk thus break the law to do so the better. Even if she doesn’t Henzu will still get his point across by using his quirk. That if you want something, you need to have the will to break the rules to get it. 

Izuku, not quite sure what’s going on, doesn’t want a fight to break out. Last thing he needs is for the authorities to arrest them for thievery and illegal quirk usage. 

With one swift motion Izuku swipes the wallet from the taller teen’s hand. 

He falls onto his knees bowing for forgiveness, holding up the wallet like an offering. “I’m so sorry! Please forgive my friend, he didn’t mean it!” 

The girl’s eyes pop out for a minute staring at the begging greenette. “N-no, I’m pretty sure he did.” 

Even Henzu has to agree. “Yeah, I did.” 

She scowls at him while he smirks in response. 

“I’m really really sorry! Please, I’m begging you don’t report us!” A fountain of tears gushes out from the greenette’s eyes so much so that it begins to soak through their shoes. Other customers notice and begin to move away. 

The girl steps back avoiding the growing puddle. “Ahh, okay, okay.” She takes back her wallet. 

Izuku sniffs, regaining himself. “Thank you!!” 

Henzu rubs his ear. “You’re too loud.” 

The girl firmly grips her wallet. “That said I don’t appreciate being robbed.” 

Henzu opens his mouth readying a smartass remark but Izuku jumps back up onto his feet “Here I’ll make it up to you! We were just heading to the cafeteria I can pay for your lunch; you can get whatever you want, it’ll be my treat!” 

Henzu isn’t so sure it’ll be that easy. _‘Nice try Izuku, but there is no way she’ll accept.’_

Her reaction is not what he’s expecting. Her eyes are glazed over, glowing with excitement, as drool drips from her gaping mouth as if imagining all the tasty treats she can have. 

_‘You gotta be kidding.’_

As the girl happily accepts the offer, the three teens don’t notice a smelly man with a large box walking past them. Dr. Animo gazes up at the pet shop a floor above them. He smiles putting his crooked teeth on display. 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

The round-faced girl holds her cheek, tongue sticking out, enjoying the delicious jumbo sundae that she ordered. “Hm, it’s so good.” 

Henzu is sitting across from her with a plate of cheese fries. He’s taken slightly aback by the result of his thievery. _‘I wasn’t expecting this.’_

Izuku is sitting between the two, tears streaming down his eyes, all he has is a cup of water. _‘My poor wallet, it’s empty.’_ Deciding not to feel down, Izuku attempts to distract himself. “So, can we assume that all is forgiven.” 

The cute girl nods her head, dipping her spoon in for another scoop. “Oh, heck yeah!” After taking a bite, she puts down the spoon. “Oh, I guess I should introduce myself my name is Ochaco Uraraka.” 

“H-hi, I’m I-Izuku Midoriya a-and t-this is Henzu Uuichi.” Izuku becomes very nervous now that he realizes that he’s actually having a conversation with a girl! 

“It’s nice to meet you Midoriya.” Her smile turns mischievous as she shifts her attention to the black-haired thug. “And it’s nice to know the name of the person who robbed me. Now I can properly file a report to the police.” 

Henzu growls. “Huh, where was that confidence earlier?” 

That immediately shuts her up, she pouts making her cheeks puff out in annoyance.

Izuku immediately jumps in trying to mediate the situation. “So, Uraraka what brings you here today?” 

The distraction works. “Oh, I’m just browsing for today, you know trying to get the lay of the land.” She becomes embarrassed, rubbing her head. “I actually don’t have enough money to buy anything too big.” 

Henzu sits up straight, deadpanning. _‘Then why did you stand up to me?!’_

“Lay of the land? Did you just move here?” 

“No, not yet. Well, maybe, it depends on if I pass the U.A. Entrance Exam.” 

The freckled face boy immediately lights up. “You’re going to take the exam too?!” 

“Yeah! Wait, so you’re taking it too? This is so great! I’ll know somebody maybe we can help each other out.” 

“Y-yeah.” 

Henzu throws his head back in exasperation. “Ah, not another one.” 

Ochaco looks to Izuku for clarification. 

“He doesn’t like heroes all too much.” 

“What?!” Ochaco can’t help but stare. “How could you not like heroes?” 

“What is there to like in the first place?” 

Ochaco looks ready to argue but from the corner of her eye she can see Izuku gesturing and shaking his head. Understanding that he’s saying not to drag out an argument, she shuts her mouth and sits back. 

Izuku gives her a grateful smile. 

“I don’t get something.” 

“What’s that?” 

“How are you two friends?” She points at them. “I mean you’re so nice while he’s so mean. You like heroes and he doesn’t. You follow the rules and he’s a delinquent.” 

Henzu grins and gives her a thumbs up, taking the insult as a compliment. “I can answer that question.” Said delinquents leans onto his friend. “This guy, despite his hero obsession, is one of the most honest and loyal people I know. No matter what bad shit I pull or drag him into I know he’ll have my back, and I have his. Right buddy?” 

“R-right.” 

Truth be told, Izuku is not sold with his own answer. Of course, he’ll always have Henzu’s back but as for the honesty part… He’s going to have to disagree with that statement. After all he still hasn’t told Henzu about his watch, or at least that he has a “quirk”. Sure, he promised Thirteen that he’d keep it a secret, but he did consider telling his best friend about it. Maybe he should say something now? If he gets into U.A. then he’s going to find out anyway, plus Thirteen and him have already come up with a cover story. 

“H-hey Henzu there’s something I need to tell you.” 

“What is it?” 

Before Izuku can tell him, a loud rumble and an eruption of screams resonate throughout the shopping mall. A cloud of dust and smoke emerge from the opposite end of the mall from the cafeteria. Some patrons, mostly those with small children, make their way to the exits as fast as they can while most of the bystanders stand and watch. 

“What was that?!” 

“Is it a villain?” 

“I wonder which hero is going to show up.” 

Ochaco is freaking out. “Oh my god! What are we going to do?!” 

Henzu replies, he’s really annoyed by how dumb some people can be. “Leave obviously.” 

Henzu grabs Izuku by the shoulder and begins leading him away. Ochaco fearfully follows them, unsure about what to do. 

While being led away, Izuku can’t help but wonder what’s happening. Force of habit is nagging at him to get his Hero Analysis notebook out, but there’s no way Henzu is going to let him stay and watch. 

Ochaco glances back at the smoke, fear and surprise spread across her face at what she sees. Without a second to waste she throws herself at the two boys. “Get down!!” She shoves them to the ground with her just as something big and screeching whooshes past their heads. 

Henzu, flipping himself over, snarls. “What was that…for?” The teen’s voice softens, staring wide eyed at the monster flying above them. 

Izuku, rubbing his head, looks up and begins shaking in fear. Flying above the open roof of the mall is a monster of a bird. It looks like a giant 6 foot-tall cockatiel with grey sharp-feathers, a jagged beak, and piercing red eyes. The mutant bird gives a terrifying and rattling cry before swooping down on the shocked crowd. People finally realize the situation and begin to panic, throwing the entire mall into chaos. The bird tries to snatch up a few customers only to grab their bags or miss them completely amongst the chaos, although it does manage to knock some poor people over. 

Izuku is shaking watching the chaos ensue. “What is that thing?!” 

Henzu picks himself up. “Whatever it is, I’m not staying to find out!” Henzu gestures to a nearby emergency exit; it’s gone unnoticed by the fleeing patrons mainly because it’s in a narrow hallway between two food stalls. 

The three rush over with Henzu flinging the door open only to stop dead in his tracks with Izuku and Ochaco slamming into his back. 

Izuku’s nerves are really getting to him. “Why’d you stop?!” Looking up he gets his answer. 

A giant monster frog with horns is staring down at them with four red eyes. 

The four individuals hold their gaze, unable to look away. 

“Nevermind.” 

And with that, the three kids scramble back through the emergency exit just as the frog lashes its disgusting green tongue at them. Luckily, Henzu is able to slam the door shut before it can reach them. 

Catching their breath, they check up on the situation within the rest of the mall. It’s a complete disaster although there are clearly less people around there are still a few that are unable to escape the onslaught for the entire mall appears to have been taken over by giant mutated animals. There are not only more mutated frogs and birds, but giant hamsters with spider-like eyes, mutated goldfish that have grown legs that look like a combination of fins and reptile feet, and saber-tooth like cats with spikes protruding from their backs. 

Ochacko is nearly in tears. “What the heck is happening right now?! There are monsters everywhere!” 

Henzu is not able to come up with a reply, even he finds the scene disturbing. 

Izuku’s heart beats faster, his breath stiffens, as he watches innocent people being attacked. Their screams and cries of fear fills his ears, they’re begging for help, for someone to save them, for a hero. 

“We have to help them.” 

It takes the other two a minute to realize what he just said. 

Henzu spins around so fast that Izuku thinks that his head would have flung off. “Are you crazy?!” 

Ochacko speaks up as well, although she looks a bit hesitant as if she wants to agree with Izuku instead. “The heroes should be here soon. There’s no need to put ourselves in danger.” 

“No, they won’t be. If they were then they’d be here already.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“That frog was guarding the exit. Not just to keep us in, but to keep anyone from getting in.” 

Ochaco puts two and two together. “As in keep in the heroes out?” 

Izuku nods, his eyes turning serious with worry. “Yeah.” 

Henzu throws his head back, really annoyed by the news. “Phft, typical, heroes are all talk and no bite.” 

There’s something else bothering Ochaco. “Wait, if that thing and others like it are on guard and other monsters are attacking. Then that means this attack was planned.” 

“Yeah, there must be a villain running around turning pets into monsters and is able to organize them. Probably with some kind of mind control.” The greenette begins to ramble on into a storm of muttering. 

The muttering weirds out the chestnut-haired girl. “He’s really good at figuring these kinds of things out, isn’t he?” 

Henzu deadpans. “You have no idea.” 

Izuku looks out again, he spots a TV across from them. The TV is on the news channel and is broadcasting the attack on the mall. From what he can tell several heroes have arrived on the scene, but as he thought frogs are guarding the entrance, mutant birds are blockading the sky, and even monster fish are patrolling the sewers. Help is clearly not coming anytime soon. 

“We’re wasting time. We need to save these people!” 

Henzu smacks Izuku over the head before hoisting him up by the collar. “Don’t be stupid! How are you supposed to help them? You’re quirkless, after all!” 

Ochaco’s eyes widen in surprise, she had honestly thought that there weren’t any quirkless people left in Japan, at least those that are around her age. Yet he wants to be a hero, that’s crazy, but also kind of inspiring and noble. 

Izuku’s eyes shift downwards. “Even if I’m quirkless, even if I’m crippled, even if there is no hope…I can't just stand by and do nothing. I have to do something. It’s a hero’s job to save everybody!” He locks eyes with his friend, daring him to try and stop him, his soul burning for action and to carry out his words. 

Henzu glares back feeling very frustrated right now. 

Izuku’s words ring throughout Ochaco’s head. _‘Save everybody…’_

Henzu looks away, his hair blocking the view of his eyes. “That’s very admirable, it is, but you… Are. Quirkless!!” Henzu shoves Izuku against the wall. “What do you expect to do?! Go out there and run around like a tasty treat for all those things?!” 

“No, I’m going to run out there and save them!” Abandoning his reservations about his “quirk” Izuku activates his watch. 

Henzu raises an eyebrow and Ochaco stares in awe at the alien green glow emanating from the strange device. Izuku rotates the dial, finding the correct transformation, and slams the dial down. 

In a flash of light Izuku disappears and is replaced by a blue raptor like creature. 

“You can stay here if you want, I won’t force you to help.” 

Henzu’s mouth drops in pure shock, and Ochaco’s eyes expand in surprise. 

“Oh, um, I’m not quirkless by the way.” XLR8 stats a matter of factually, he then notices a mutant hamster approaching a fallen girl. “Look, I’ll explain later, but for now.” A visor covers XLR8’s face before he zooms away, leaving the other two in a very stunned and confused state. 

Henzu continues to stare as the morphed Izuku zips around grabbing victims before they can be harmed and getting them to safety outside. Henzu notices the TV broadcasting the news from it he can actually see a blue blur moving in and out of the mall leaving behind surprised and dazed people.

His shock however turns into frustration. How could Izuku do this?! How could he lie to him?! Has he been lying the entire time?! Was he just playing everyone?! He’d be impressed if he wasn’t one of the people being conned. 

Ochacko is amazed at what she’s seeing. Her new friend just shapeshifted into a dinosaur that can run at lighting fast speed. It’s incredible he’s doing exactly what he said he would! He’s saving everybody, but she thought that Uuichi said that he was quirkless. 

Meanwhile, XLR8 is dashing across the mall snatching up people left and right before taking them outside and away from danger. He considered grabbing a hero or two and taking them into the mall, but they are too busy preventing any mutants form harming the people he just saved or the crowd of spectators that has formed around the entire mall. 

As he reenters the mall a well-timed tongue lash from a giant frog trips the speedster sending him crashing into a few tables in the cafeteria. 

Luckily his helmet is strong enough to prevent a concussion, but his body aches in pain. “Ouch.”

The frog croaks just before it lunges itself forward its mouth wide open to scoop up and chomp down on the blue reptile. 

XLR8 flinches his arms raised to protect himself, but nothing happens other than the sound of croaking moving away from him. Opening his eyes, he stares as the giant frog floats skyward into the air while it struggles to regain its balance. 

That’s when XLR8 notices Ochaco standing there with her hands raised forward. She couldn’t stand by and do nothing. Izuku is out here and giving it his all, she can’t standby and watch as he gets eaten by a monster. 

With confidence she presses her hands together. “Release!” 

The mutant begins to plummet crash landing onto a small kiosk. 

XLR8 dashes over to Ochaco. “Uraraka that was amazing?! Was that your quirk? Is it gravity based? Is it an emitter or a mutation? Can you use it on me?!” 

Ochaco can’t possible answer the barrage of questions, especially since XLR8 is throwing them out a mile a minute. “I, uh, um, it’s my quirk. It’s called Zero Gravity. I can make anything that I touch weightless.” She furiously rubs the back of head feeling very bashful. 

“Wow, so cool!”

The frog begins to stir. It corrects its orientation and lashes out its tongue. Acting fast XLR8 grabs Ochaco and runs away allowing the tongue to smash into a table. The frog continues its attack with XLR8 just barely managing to avoid the tongue lashes. XLR8 makes a mad dash for the nearby escalator, it should take them up to the second floor and away from the amphibian. 

Before they can make it, one of the mutated cats pounces out from above, blocking their path. Unable to stop XLR8 slides past the feral cat slamming into the wall, he uses his body to cushion the blow for Ochaco. 

The frog joins the saber cat, the two beasts growling as they prepare to maul the downed teens. The monster feline goes first, pouncing with its sharp black claws out and ready to slash them to ribbons. 

XLR8 instinctively moves to cover Ochaco, while she herself cowers in fear. 

“Get away from them!!” The sound of clanging metal bashes into the large cat’s head redirecting it and sending it crashing through the store window. 

A metalized Henzu, having absorbed the matter from a metal pipe, couldn’t let those two idiots get into trouble without him. He’s the ultimate troublemaker! It’s an insult if he stays back and misses the opportunity to break those stupid quirk regulation laws. Plus, the prospect of fighting giant monsters is way too awesome to pass up. 

Henzu turns to the other two who are staring at him in complete surprise. “Don’t gawk at me! We have some heads to bash.” He back hands the frog’s tongue away before it can hit him. “Also, Izuku, we’re going to have a long talk after all this.”

Ochaco and Izuku look to each other, they nod in agreement before getting up. XLR8 begins spinning around the frog distracting it, it works as the frog tries to lash out at him but misses every time. Ochaco presses her hands onto Henzu’s back pushing him up into the air. When he rises above the frog, she releases her Zero Gravity effect and he plummets downward. He piledrives into the frog’s skull smashing it into the ground and knocking it unconscious. 

Henzu raises his fists into the air. “I gotta admit, that was pretty cool!” He proclaims, grinning like an idiot all the while.

Ochaco gives a big thumbs up. “Yeah, it was!” 

XLR8 smiles as well but a distant scream startles him. “We’re not done. There may still be some people left!”

Ochacko frowns. “You’re right, we need to do something.” 

“We scour the mall and save whomever we can. Are you with me?” 

“Yeah!” 

Henzu jokingly postures himself to look like he’s thinking. “Hmmm, fine.” 

XLR8 smiles in appreciation. “Then let’s be heroes!”

The three unlicensed heroes make their way through the mall. Luckily most of the mutants have migrated outside the mall to help prevent pro heroes from entering. That said there are still quite a bit of them within the mall itself. With their speed, strength, and support they are able to fend off or at least distract the mutants allowing XLR8 to speed any victims away. Fortunately, there are not many people left behind.

Each of them gets a moment to shine throughout the next few minutes. Within a clothes store, XLR8 took a frog for a spin by using its own tongue to tie it up by running around it. In a video game store, Henzu punches a mutant hamster so hard in the face that he shattered its giant teeth; he also may have taken a game or two with him as he left. In a furniture store, Ochaco uses her quirk to move a large couch that she uses to pin down a mutated goldfish with piranha-like teeth. 

Later, inside a bookstore, Ochaco levitates a fallen shelf that landed on an unconscious woman, XLR8 picks the woman up and speeds away. Ochaco immediately barfs up what looks like rainbow glitter, the side effect of her quirk has finally caught up with her. 

Henzu fends off another mutant hamster. “You alright!?” 

Ochaco coughs. “Y-yeah…I just…need a minute.” 

XLR8 returns, tackling the hamster and knocking it away. “I checked the rest of the mall. We can make a run for it now.”

Henzu reverts his skin back to normal. “Was that a pun?” 

“Yeah, I thought it would be funny.” 

Between breaths, Ochaco chirps in. “It needs work.” 

“Noted. Anyway, we’ll do this one at a time. I’ll get you guys outside, and we can leave the rest to the heroes.” 

Ochaco nods, if she tries to talk there’s a good chance that her breakfast will join her lunch on the floor. Meanwhile, Henzu walks over to a broken cash register, grinning like a Cheshire cat, he immedialty snatches up any loose bucks. 

XLR8 bends down to pick up the round-faced girl who’s covering her mouth. “Good job, hero.” He picks her up bridal style. 

Ochaco looks away blushing. “Yeah, you too…hero.” 

XLR8 grins but his delightfulness is cut short by the sound of beeping and a flash of red light. 

Izuku immediately falls over, with Ochaco landing on top of him, as he returns to normal. Izuku has a hard time breathing with Ochaco sitting on his chest. Ochaco is too dumbfounded to move. 

Henzu finally notices, Izuku struggling underneath the confused girl. “What the hell happened?!” 

Ochaco finally scrambles away as Izuku sits up. “It’s my wat-Quirk!! It’s my quirk. I can transform but only for ten minutes.” 

“Cool, so just transform back.” 

“I can’t it takes another ten minutes for my…quirk to recharge.” 

“We really need to have a talk.” 

Before Izuku can respond, more rumbling and animalistic cries shake the mall. 

Ochaco chokes out in confusion. “What was that?” 

They sneakily peer out the store window seeing even more mutant pet animals patrolling the mall: large dinosaur-like turtles, horrifying lizards, and nightmarish rabbits. 

“There’s even more of them.” Ochaco whispers harshly as the three of them sneak back towards the end of the store to avoid detection. “What’s even causing this?” 

A fixated look crosses Izuku’s eyes. “The villain.” 

Henzu immediately recognizes that stupid look. “No way! You can’t be serious.” 

Ochaco is rightly puzzled. “What is it?” 

“He wants to go after the villain.” 

“What?!” 

Izuku has the decency to look embarrassed. “The heroes are still stuck outside, and there are even more mutants, if they get out, they can cause a disaster.” Not to mention haunt people’s dreams for years to come. “We have to at least slow down the villain’s plan until a pro hero can get here.” 

Henzu can’t help but be frustrated. “GAH! Do you have a death wish or something?” 

Ochaco doesn’t agree with that statement, but even she has to agree with him. “He’s kind of right, Midoriya… You don’t even know where the villain is.” 

That’s true, for all he knows this may be a horrible accident caused by radiation or a secret government experiment that’s gotten loose somehow. Izuku’s mind fills with every possible detail, explanation, and question. What do they want? What are they after? What is their quirk? Where are they? Izuku’s mind spins these questions around his head. Until it all clicks together. 

“The cell tower.” 

Ochaco tilts her head. “What?” 

“The cell tower. That’s what the villain is after.” 

“Why do you say that?” 

“Nothing is being taken, not even the money.” 

Henzu’s eyes dart to the cash register that he stole from. It’s true, the mutant hamster didn’t even glance at the money. 

“And even their assault. They weren’t trying to keep people in they were trying to chase them out.” 

Izuku’s reasoning begins to make sense in Ochaco’s mind. 

“And look where the monsters are coming from.” 

Ochaco glances over the shelves noticing that the monsters are all headed away from the same direction. “From the same direction as the cell tower.” 

“Yup.” 

Henzu folds his arms. “But why would the bastard want the cell tower for?” 

“Control.” He clearly lost Henzu and Ochaco. “If they can control these things, what’s to say they can’t control other animals, or make even more of them.” 

Ochaco considers the possibility. As she thinks about it, Izuku’s logic makes more and more sense. What if this is only the first wave, the calm before the storm? What would happen if more monsters appear or even if everyday pets go wild? The damage could be too great. 

The brunette nods, her hair bouncing slightly. “Okay, let’s go get that villain.” 

Izuku is a bit surprised, he really thought that they’d be unwilling. “Really?! You sure? You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.” 

Ochaco shakes her head. “It doesn’t matter if I want to or not. I have to do this; I can’t stand the thought of people getting hurt by these things. I’m with you, Midoriya.” 

Izuku gives her a grateful smile, one she is happy to return. 

Izuku glances at Henzu, he doesn’t have to ask but he does. “What about you?” 

Henzu looks away feeling very annoyed and upset. 

“You with me or not?” Izuku hesitates before continuing. “Or was all that talk about having my back a lie?” 

Anger flashes in Henzu’s eyes and Izuku immediately regrets saying anything. 

Henzu ultimately gives in. “I’ve got your back.” He gives the shorter teen a small smirk. “You know I’m kinda proud. That was a really dirty trick you just pulled.” 

“I learned from the best.” Izuku turns gazing out at the ever-increasing threat as his companions join his side. “Let’s do this guys.” His eyes fixate onto the distant cell tower and their goal. “It’s hero time!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, boo boo! A cliff hanger, boo! But it had to be done. I decided to split Ch.4 into 2 parts because it ended up being 50 pages long! I'm also hoping it will allow me time to work on Ch.6 since this is the case. That said please expect Ch.5 to be up sooner rather than later, I'll probably post it either on Monday or Tuesday.  
> Please leave a review, I absolutely adore hearing from you guys. 
> 
> *That's right I have officially incorporated Ochaco Uraraka into the narrative so get used to seeing her around, obviously.  
> *I loved writing for Dr. Animo mainly because his character is so cartoonish and over the top. Do you guys like the inclusion of this character?  
> *Also get ready for a new alien next chapter. Any guesses which one it is?


	5. Mutant Mayhem Part II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Izuku, Henzu, and Ochaco confront Dr. Animo and his mutants.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Holidays everyone please enjoy yourselves this Holiday Season. Now, enjoy Mutant Mayhem Part II.

The weakened All Might is strolling through the now repaired and calm Tatooin Station shopping district. He stopped by to do some grocery shopping and to reflect on his failure from a month ago. 

Pathetic. This place may be up and running with happy faces and a peaceful atmosphere, yet he wasn’t the one to help make it that way. No, he had to uselessly watch while someone else, a real hero, stepped in to clean up his mess. Dammit!! He already had the Slime Villain captured, but he allowed himself to be distracted. No, he will not blame the boy, actually, he feels even worse because of what he said to that kid with the mop of messy green hair and freckles. He’ll never forget the boy’s face when he told him to give up on his dream. Pathetic!! He needs to fix this, maybe he should track the boy down. Izuku Midoriya was his name. It would be pretty easy; he could just ask Tsukauchi to look him up for him. But what would he say? What could he do? Would the boy even want to talk to him? He knows that he himself wouldn’t want to. 

A small crowd has formed around a TV store, they appear to be watching the news. All Might is so lost in his thoughts to notice. 

“We’re live outside the Kiyashi Ward Shopping Mall, where animal-like monsters have gone on a rampage.” 

All Might stops and spins around, he tries his best to look over the shoulders of those in front. He can see the local news anchor standing in a parking lot, behind her he can see a few pro heroes wrangling what appears to be a large hamster. 

“According to our sources, the pro heroes cannot enter the premise thanks to monsters blockading the entire mall, even the sewers are blocked off by fish monsters.” 

A pit forms in All Might’s stomach. 

“However, one hero may have gotten in and has saved a number of victims.” 

A clip plays, it was taken by a hand held phone so the picture is not that good, but it’s enough. The cameraman is outside the mall watching the heroes fighting a mutant frog. A blue blur passes by them all, the camera spins around, showing a confused and startled woman with disheveled hair and clothes standing there as a gust of wind rushes by. The blue blur returns several more times and each time a new person is rescued. 

All Might watches in amazement; he can’t think of any hero with that kind of speed or wears blue. Sure, there are speedster heroes out there like Ingenium, but this doesn’t appear to be his work. Maybe they’re a new hero or someone who’s not as well known. Yet there they are running head first into danger, putting their lives on the line, in order to save others. A real hero unlike him. Shit!! He’s supposed to be a teacher soon and he has to find and mentor a new successor. But, how can he? Sure, there’s Sir Nighteye’s recommendation but what if he crushes his dreams, too? What if he’s not good enough to teach, to mentor, to inspire others? 

All Might shakes his head. _‘No, stop it!! Don’t think like that. Just keep smiling.’_

The young broadcaster continues her coverage while running. “We have a new development! More monsters have emerged from within the mall and are now driving back the heroes. We have been ordered to evacuate to a safe distance.” 

Monster turtles, lizards, and rabbits charge out of the main entrance where pro heroes intercept them. 

All Might glares at the offending beasts. That’s it!! No more standing by! He is determined to fix his failure and he can start now. 

The Number One hero pulls out his cellphone, making a quick call. “Tsukauchi, I need you pick me up from the Tatooin Station shopping district.” He takes off hoping to meet Tsukauchi halfway. 

Meanwhile, Thirteen watches the same broadcast from his desk computer at their agency. They immediately recognizes the blue blur as Izuku’s XLR8 form. 

Thirteen rubs their head, trying to stop a migraine from forming. “This kid is going to drive me insane.” 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Somewhere within Earth’s orbit, the damaged alien cruiser is still monitoring the Omnitrix’s activity. The commander is alerted about the Omnitrix activating again, thanks to their sensors pinpointing where it was activated. The monitor drone pulls up the same news broadcast that All Might was watching. An idea forms in the commander's head as he watches the mutant animals engage Earth’s heroes. 

The commander has a hard time speaking from within his medical tank. “This is…an opportunity.” 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

The cell tower is located in the middle of a large open ceiling room, surrounded by other service units such as air conditioners, fans, vents, electrical boxes, etc. 

A scientist with shaggy white hair and pale-green skin can be found at the base of the cell tower. Dr. Animo has installed makeshift computers and wires all across the tower. Mutant cockatiels are perched among the tower and other mutant animals patrol around it. He continues to jury rig the wiring trying to gain control over the cell tower. 

“Soon I will show the world the genius of Dr. Aloysius J. Animo!” He plugs in a few wires into the circular device on his chest. “With this cell tower I will be able to broadcast my mutation ray throughout a large area and with my transmodulator I will gain control over all those wonderful mutants! And then, and only then, will everyone see my genius!” Dr. Animo laughs maniacally, dreaming of his scientific victory. 

Behind a nearby air conditioning unit, Izuku, Henzu, and Ochaco sweat drop. _‘Wow, he villain monologued and everything.’_ They are really surprised that the villain was so idiotic to spill out all that information. 

The three of them had snuck their way over to the cell tower using the stores, benches, and anything else to hide themselves from the mutants. Ochaco even floated them across from the second to the third floor to avoid a prowling mutant cat. They arrived at the cell tower in time to hear Dr. Animo’s evil plan. Coincidentally, the time it took for them to get there gave Izuku’s watch enough time to recharge. 

Henzu can’t take his eyes off the madman. “This idiot is the one attacking the mall?” 

Ochaco and Izuku look downward with embarrassed grins, unsure on how to respond. 

Ochaco looks to Izuku for answers. “What do we do now, Midoriya?” 

“Well thanks to his *cough* speech we now know his full plan and quirk. So, the best course of action is to get that device.” Izuku points at Dr. Animo’s odd helmet and the device on his chest. 

“But he’s being guarded by mutants, how do we get close?” 

Izuku takes a second to think and consider the options. “I’ll draw them away with one of my transformations. That’s when you guys will double team him, get the device, and smash it.” 

Ochaco looks like she wants to say something but doesn’t. 

Henzu however notices. “Take Uraraka with you.” 

Both Izuku and Ochaco don’t see the question coming. “What?” 

“Two of you will make better bait, plus if something goes wrong both of you can cover for each other, besides I don’t think the quack is actually that dangerous on his own.” 

As if to prove his point, Dr. Animo zaps himself while hotwiring. 

Izuku nods. “Okay.” He turns to the brunette. “You ready?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Then let’s go.” 

The three split up with Izuku and Ochaco going left while Henzu heads right.

Once in position behind an exposed air vent, Izuku gives Ochaco a pointed look as he activates the watch allowing the faceplate to shoot up. “Once I transform, they’ll know that we’re here. Are you sure you want to do this?” 

Ochaco’s eyes tell him that she’s more than ready. 

“Alright, it’s hero time!” Izuku slams the faceplate down, hoping for Four Arms, and sending out a flash of green light as a result. 

The mutants’ and Dr. Animo’s attention are instantly drawn to the flash of bright light.

They spot, standing behind the air vent, a large bipedal turtle with holes in the front of its shell with large flipper-like arms, and stumpy legs. 

The turtle looks at his hands. “Uh, oh.” 

Ochaco’s eyes widen. “Uh, oh?! Why uh, oh?!” 

“I’ve never used this guy before.” The morphed Izuku states simply, shrugging his shoulders. 

Ochaco blanches as she screams in shock. “WHAT!?!” 

Dr. Animo’s voice calls out to them. “Hey, who are you?!” 

Izuku turns his head, finally realizing that all eyes are on him. He rotates his head making sure that there’s nobody else they could be looking at other than Ochaco, who they haven’t noticed yet from her crouched position. “Oh, me? I’m, um, um, you know what I’m not really that sure. Can I get back to you on that?” 

Dr. Animo snarls. “Are you mocking me? You dare mock the genius that is Dr. Animo?!” 

“What? Oh, um, yeah totally. I am totally mocking you. Yeah, you are such a…bad man.” 

Ochaco gives him a look from behind her hiding spot, silently asking if he’s serious. 

Izuku shrugs as if to say that he’s trying. 

“How dare you!!” 

Somehow his horrible attempt at mocking the villain works. Before he knows it, something fast tackles him to the ground. A big mutant cat has him pinned its claws digging into his chest, there is no pain thanks to the shell even if it does have holes in it. The cat growls and takes a swipe at his head. Instinctively Izuku retracts his head into the shell. 

“Woah, now. Let’s not lose are heads alright.” 

Dr. Animo slams a fist against the side of the cell tower. “What are you waiting for? Kill him already!” 

Izuku’s arm reach up, trying to swat the mutant away. “No, get away!” With his arms flailing about they begin to straighten before beginning to rotating much like a fan. The spinning rapidly increases until a large current of air begins to levitate the cat off of his chest. The surprised mutant is shocked but before it can process what’s happening the wind picks up sending the cat flying. 

Dr. Animo looks completely outraged. “What?!” 

Izuku stops spinning, popping his head out to look. “Huh, so that’s what he can do.” 

Ochaco stares in awe before shaking her head and helping the large turtle onto his feet. “What now?” 

Looking over to the psycho, Dr. Animo growls while his mutants group around him snarling. He jabs a finger at the offenders. “Get them!!” The mutants charge. 

Ochaco and Izuku scream. “Run!!” 

They both take off with Ochaco taking the lead seeing as Izuku is having a hard time running with his stubby legs. One of the mutant hamsters jumps onto Izuku’s back making him fall down face first. Izuku tucks his head in, his arms and legs begin to rotate again, and his entire body begins to hover off the ground. As they are lifted up the hamster loses its balance and falls off while unintentionally pushing the hovering Izuku forward. 

“I can fly. Sweet. Hey Uraraka?” 

Ochaco looks back while running. “Yeah, woah!” 

Using his shell, Izuku pushes her onto his back. “Hang on.”

Izuku propels the two of them away as the mutants give chase. The morphed Izuku heads towards the main stretch of the mall. 

Ochaco can’t help but smile at the sensation of flying. “This amazing, Midoriya!” 

“Terraspin.” 

“Excuse me?” 

“Sorry, Terraspin is the new name for this form. What do you think?” 

“I like it-AAHH!!” Something big and feathery knocks Ochaco off Terraspin’s back. 

A mutant cockatiel, that was patrolling the sky, spotted the two teens running away and had swooped down to intercept them. The cockatiel gives an earsplitting cry as it grabs Ochaco before taking off down the mall’s main open hall. 

“Uraraka!” 

Terraspin chases after them swiveling between pillars and indoor trees. 

Ochaco wouldn’t be lying if she said she wasn’t scared out of her mind. Is this how it ends for her? No, it’s not! She has to become a hero for her parents! She won’t let some overgrown chicken get in the way of her dream. 

Twisting her body, Ochaco presses her hands onto the bird’s leg hoping that the zero gravity will throw it off. It does, when the bird tries to make a turn to avoid Terraspin, it flaps its wings down but the force is so strong that it propels the bird towards the side where it crashes into the side of the second-floor wall. The impact is enough to drop Ochaco. Seeing the new development, Terraspin speeds up as Ochaco begins to fall. 

Terraspin stops rotating, grabs Ochaco, and lands on his back sliding across the tile floor until coming to a stop. “Are you okay?” 

“Yeah, I think so.” 

“Roar!!!” A loud roar startled them as the hoard of mutants that’s been following them finally catches up. 

“I got this!” Terraspin's arms straighten and his legs merge to form fan-like blades. The appendages begin to rotate and a current of wind hits the mutants at full force. But it’s not enough to deter them, they force themselves forward, pushing against the wind. 

Ochaco frantically looks around looking for a solution. One comes to her. “Hold them off for as long as you can!” 

“Okay, but hurry!” 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Back at the cell tower, Henzu is hiding behind an electrical box. He watched as a flash of green light and Izuku’s horrible attempt at insults somehow manage to distract Dr. Animo. Dr. Animo then idiotically sends all of the mutants after Izuku and Ochaco, admittedly Henzu assumes that Izuku transformed back into his blue raptor form. 

Henzu walks forward and leans against the electrical box, crossing his arms, and trying to look cool. “What’s up doc?” 

Henzu’s question startles Dr. Animo who flails his arms about in surprise. “What?! Another one?!” 

“Alright doc.” Henzu grips his trusty wrench absorbing its matter and turning his skin into iron. “You ready to take your medicine?” 

Dr. Animo growls but he soon transitions into a fit of maniacal laughter. 

The teen is thoroughly confused. “What’s so funny?” 

Dr. Animo wipes a tear from his eye. “You are. You see I’m not that kind of doctor. For you see I am a scientist! One that specializes in mutations and animal biology. Would you care to see my greatest experiment yet?” Dr. Animo excitedly rubs his hands together. 

Henzu becomes very alarmed as the ground begins to shake and a loud growl can be heard as something big approaches. 

“Meet my greatest creation!” Dr. Animo violently laughs as a monstrous being towers over the teen who struggles to keep his composure. And like the idiotic and campy villain he is he just has to add another villain trope into the mix. “And your doom.” 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Back in the main hall of the mall, Ochaco is running around and pressing her hands onto anything that isn’t bolted down while Terraspin continues his whirlwind as the mutants inch their way closer and closer. 

“Midoriya use these!” 

Terraspin pops his head out of his shell, taking a look at all the tables, carts, stands, and trash cans floating in the air. “Oh, I get it.” 

Terraspin flies back behind the floating items, the mutants take advantage and run forward. With Ochaco safely behind him, Terraspin renews his whirlwind launching the large objects at the terrifying creatures. With the objects moving quickly, Ochaco returns their weight making them the perfect blunt weapons. None of the mutants are able to avoid the attack with each of them getting smacked around, immobilized, or knocked away. 

When there appears to be no risk of being attacked anymore, Terraspin stops the vortex and lands beside Ochaco. “Great plan. Although it was a little more destructive than I would’ve liked.” Terraspin sweat drops at the sight of the wreckage: garbage is lying everywhere, the floor is partially torn up, the indoor trees are missing leaves, and of course mutant animals are lying about the place. 

Ochaco gives an awkward smile. “Oops. Well at least it worked.” 

“It sure did. Now let’s head back hopefully Henzu was able to stop Dr. Animo.” 

Without being told, Ochaco hops onto Terraspin’s back who immediately flies them back towards the cell tower. Terraspin goes through the mall not flying higher than the third floor since there are still some mutant birds patrolling the sky, although they seem to be engaged with flying based heroes and police helicopters. 

Now that the threat has passed, the teens make it back quickly, but they are in for a surprise. 

Dr. Animo stands victorious, laughing with pride, the antennas on his head glowing red with flying red sparks. But that is not what has the teens so scared but the monster standing beside him. 

A three headed dog that looks like it was summoned from hell itself, a Cerberus. The hellhound is about 20 feet tall, its fur is a mix of grey, black, and red with glowing red eyes and menacing fangs. 

And it’s using a metalized and banged up Henzu as a literal chew toy. Even with his skin made of iron, Henzu can still feel the pain of the sharp giant fangs trying to pierce through his hide. The head chewing on him tosses him up and the middle head snatches him by the foot. Henzu is in too much pain to put up much of a struggle. He tried his best at fighting off the monster, but it was far too strong for him. All he can do now is will himself to keep his quirk activated or risk being eaten alive. 

Dr. Animo continues to laugh while Ochaco and Terraspin are too stunned to even move. “Yes, soon my ingenious plan will come to fruition! I will have full control over every single animal in all of Kiyashi Ward. Just a few more minutes and I will have achieved greatness, hahaha!!” 

Terraspin and Ochaco have the same reaction. _‘He gave everything away again.’_

But what can they do? To be honest they’ve been really, and I mean, really lucky today. Seriously, nothing they’ve done should have worked as well as they did. And now, they’re up against a giant three-headed monster that managed to take out their best fighter. They have to do something, even the insane doctor himself said that his plan is nearly complete. 

They don’t get another minute to think up a plan before something big crashes right between the opposing sides. Dust and a large gust force everyone to cover their faces and to brace themselves. Dr. Animo, however, is frozen in time with a proud and ambitious expression on his face. 

Something tall and made of metal moves within the dust cloud, its red insect-like eyes scan the area before locking onto the symbol on Terraspin’s chest. 

Terraspin instantly recognizes the newcomer. It’s another attack robot, its identical to the one that attacked him less than a day ago. And like the last one, this one instantly draws its attention towards him. 

The robot lifts its insect-like leg, but it stops when a shout reverberates from below it. 

“How dare you!?” 

Dr. Animo is definitely not appreciating the interruption. “I will not let some government issued toy interfere with my genius!! Destroy that abomination of science!!” The three headed dog unceremoniously drops Henzu who bangs against an air conditioner unit. The Cerberus growls before lunging at the robot, taking a bite out of its arm and ripping it off. 

The robot’s eyes flash red as if to display how pissed off it is. In response a total of four hover drones are ejected from the slots within its shoulders. The hover drones take aim and open fire upon the Cerberus. The dog’s three heads bark and bite back in response, managing to bite down on one of the drones that got a little too close. 

With all the threats distracted Terraspin sees the perfect opportunity to get both Henzu and Dr. Animo. “Quick, while they’re fighting. Let’s grab Henzu, the device, and scram.” 

Ochaco rotates her head between the battle and Terraspin. “You sure?” 

“Yeah, I mean, it’s not like it can get any worse.” 

As if the universe itself was listening another attack robot smashes into the ground behind the two teens. 

The two shakily look up at the menacing figure. “Oh, never mind it just got worse… I’LL HOLD IT OFF!!!” 

Terraspin generates a powerful vortex and slightly pushes the robot back. 

“Uraraka! Get Henzu!” 

“On it!” 

The chestnut-haired girl sprints towards the downed Henzu who after his fall reverted his skin back into flesh. Not concerned with being seen Ochaco leaps and bounds over rubble and vents before pressing a hand onto Henzu’s back making him float. She pulls him by the arm like a balloon and away from the fight. Looking back, she sees that Terraspin is grappling with one of the robots while the other robot is blasting lasers at the Cerberus’ faces, one of its heads managed to take down one of the other hover drones. She stumbles as the ground shakes from the battle raging behind her, but she manages to get Henzu and herself to a narrow hallway that looks like it leads to several maintenance and tech rooms. 

She leans Henzu against the wall and out of sight before exposing him to Earth’s gravity. She finally takes a real look at him. He’s banged up, covered in scratches, and, ewe, is that saliva? 

Henzu breathes heavily, looking up at Ochaco. “Where’s…Izuku?” 

“Um, he’s there.” 

Henzu struggles to move his head but when he does, he isn’t happy with what he sees. Even as a transformed bipedal turtle, Henzu can recognize Izuku no matter how he looks, he just gives off a certain air or aura that screams foolish dedication to heroes. But what’s really got him upset is that not only was Izuku hiding a transformation quirk from him, but that he has more than one transformation! What else is he hiding from him?! How long has he been hiding the truth?! How many times has he lied to his face?! 

Ochaco decided to check up on the situation. It’s not good. Shrapnel and pieces of the hover drones are scattered across the battlefield; however, three other hover drones have joined the fight. They probably arrived with the second attack robot; from the corner of her eye she notices that one of the dog heads is chewing on a fourth drone. The first attack robot is wrestling with the mutant hellhound as one of the heads tries to bite it, the robot blasts lasers from its eyes in response. Dr. Animo is crazily shouting orders at his mutant dog, he is very aware that he has lost all control over the situation. Finally, two drones are circling the second robot as it holds Terraspin down by the back of his shell. Luckily, Terraspin managed to take cover in his shell as the metal enemy fires lasers at his armored hide. But the heat of the lasers are slowly working through his tough exterior. 

With Izuku in need of help, Ochaco doesn’t hesitate to run right into the fray. Her lack of hesitation should have been a clear mistake to her especially as a shower of lasers dance across her path. Jumping to the side Ochaco looks up to see the two other hover drones levitating over her head, their blasters aimed right at her. 

Ochaco can’t look away as a threatening buzz of the blasters charging can be heard. _‘This is it? I’m going to die. I couldn’t save Midoriya or Uuichi…I won’t be able to give my parents the life they deserve.’_

Ochaco closes her eyes, accepting her fate, but she would rather not like to see the end coming. 

A rumbling can be heard in the distance, at first it is soft, a mere whisper, but it grows increasingly louder. So much so that all parties slowly freeze in place, their caution taking hold as they try to identify the source. And in less than a second a powerful gust of wind zooms seemingly out of nowhere smashing into two hover drones, knocks back the attack drone, and grabs Terraspin. 

Ochaco covers her eyes from the wind and dust but looking up she can’t help but stare in awe of the figure posing above her. 

**“** **I AM HERE!”**

Everybody, even the mutant hound, shouts at the top of their lungs in astonishment. “All Might!!!” 

Henzu is the only to remain silent, frowning. 

**“YES, IT IS I, ALL MIGHT!”** The Number One hero, in his full glory and costume, stands tall with his immortal smile as he holds Terraspin up in the air. 

After seeing the news feed, All Might had Tsukauchi drop him off nearby. As they were approaching the mall, they spotted two large objects falling seemingly from the sky and into the far end of the mall as well as destroying the cell tower. Assuming that’s where the villain is, All Might charged right past the mutant animals that were blocking off the area, and straight to where the cell tower is located. 

All Might looks like the Greek hero Atlas as he holds a tucked up Terraspin up over his head like a glorified trophy. All Might smiles down at the amazed girl. **“FEAR NOT YOUNG LADY. I SHALL SAVE YOU FROM THESE MONSTERS AND MACHINES.”**

Terraspin’s eyes popout from his shell _‘Wait, monsters? He doesn’t think that I’m a mutant, too, does he?’_

Before he can say something, All Might throws him like he’s a giant frisbee right at the enemies. Izuku can feel his shell spinning through the air before slamming through a robot, completely destroying it. All Might must have watched those old Marvel movies because like Captain America’s shield Terraspin ricochets off the wall before slamming into the Cerberus pushing it back, and then the alien turtle crashes into the last robot smashing it to bits. 

Terraspin finally pops out of his shell, his head spinning, and his ears are ringing. “Ah, I think I’m going to barf, bleh.” 

A shadow falls over him. The Cerberus’s heads growl in unison at the offending turtle. 

Terraspin flails his arms about in an attempt to pick himself up. “Aaahh!!” 

**“DETROIT!”** All Might’s voice gains their attention. **“SMASH!”** The Symbol of Peace’s fist collides with the side of the beast’s face, the powerful blow dominos to all three heads, and the force of the impact launches the Cerberus right at the cell tower. 

The mutant dog wails as it crashes into the metal exterior, breaking wires, cables, and the base of the tower. Red sparks immediately fly out and fry the hound making it howl in pain before passing out. The red sparks however travel upward to the top of the tower where they violently discharge and dissipate. 

Dr. Animo watches in horror as his plan goes up in smoke. “No. No! NO!!!” Dr. Animo scowls at the Number One Hero. “How could you?! Do you have any idea what you’ve done?!” 

**“OF COURSE, I DO.”** All Might seemingly teleports in front of the villain. Before Dr. Animo could even process what happened, All Might grabs him by the collar and lifts him up to eye level. **“I SAVED THE DAY.”** All Might grabs the device on the doctor’s head and rips it off. 

The transmodulator bounces off the ground, an antenna breaks off from the helmet, and red sparks violently fly out before the device falls silent and the red glow from the antennas die out. 

“NO!!!” As Dr. Animo falls into despair red sparks begin to emanate from the mutant dog and from what they can see in the sky so do the mutant birds flying the perimeter. They can’t see it but all the mutants across the mall are having the same reaction. They all watch as the Cerberus begins to shrink and split apart become three small puppies. 

It appears that the mutations must cause some major regeneration to occur since the three puppies immediately wake up and begin playing around like nothing ever happened, their fur aren’t even messed up.

Ochaco holds her face, infatuation written all over her features. “Awe, so cute!” She runs over and scoops up the little darlings who happily wag their tiny tails and lick her face with affection making Ochaco giggle. 

Everyone watches in slight confusion.

Dr. Animo struggles waving his fists about. “Curse you, All Might!” He attempts to punch All Might, but he clearly has never thrown a proper punch in his life. “You’ll regret this!” 

All Might literally laughs in the face of evil, or in this case Dr. Animo, before cuffing him and dropping him to the ground. **“STAY PUT I WOULDN’T LIKE TO HURT AN ELDERLY GENTLEMAN SUCH AS YOURSELF.”**

“Who you calling old?! You’re only-” 

All Might chops Dr. Animo behind the head knocking him out cold. **“** **HAHA, THAT’S ENOUGH OUT OF YOU.”**

All Might finally notices something; that large turtle never transformed back… Oh, no. 

Terraspin is backup on his feet rubbing his head in pain. Terraspin flinches slightly as All Might approaches him, sweat dripping rapidly down his face. “Oh, uh, uh, uh, hi…” Terraspin cowers in fear. “Please don’t hurt me!!” 

Despite his giant grin a hint of shame can be expressed on All Might’s face. **“MY APOLOGIES PLEASE I BEG YOUR FORGIVENESS.”**

“For what?” 

**“FOR TREATING YOU AS A VILLAIN. WITH ALL THE DIFFERENT MONSTERS RUNNING AROUND I JUST ASSUMED YOU WERE ONE OF THEM.”**

Well technically All Might was correct, but that assumption still hurts. “It’s okay. I…get it. There’s no need to apologize. Besides” Terraspin knocks his flipper against his shell. “I’m pretty durable.” 

**“THANK YOU. HOWEVER, I DEEPLY REGRET MY ACTIONS. SO PLEASE LET ME MAKE UP FOR IT SOMEHOW.”**

“Oh, uh, there’s no need for that.” 

**“YOU TRULY HAVE A HEROIC SPIRIT. BUT PLEASE IF THERE IS ANYTHING, I COULD DO FOR YOU JUST SAY THE WORD**.” 

All Might’s eyes shift down examining the bipedal turtle before landing on the green hourglass-symbol upon the creature’s chest. Something seems familiar about the symbol. Where has he seen it before? Perhaps at the store? On a sign? Maybe a commercial? **“PARDON ME, BUT THAT SYMBOL ON YOUR CHEST. WHAT IS IT EXACTLY?”**

Terraspin begins to panic on the inside. “I-it’s a, um, a-” 

A voice calls out to them. “Ha, there you all are!” 

A hero in a spacesuit getup is jogging over to them waving. 

Ochaco instantly lights up in excitement. “Oh my gosh it’s Thirteen!” 

**“AH, THIRTEEN. GOOD TO SEE YOU.”**

Thirteen finally makes it to the group, they’re slightly out of breath. “Same, but we do have a problem.” 

Terraspin tilts his head slightly. “What’s that?” 

Thirteen deadpans. “You broke the law.” For a split-second Thirteen's eyes emit a terrifying and threatening leer at the transformed Izuku. “Both of you,” He gestures to Ochaco, who finally released the furballs. “took partook in illegal quirk use.” 

Terraspin’s stomach drops. _‘How could I forget my promise?! Please forgive me!!’_

Ochaco blanches. _‘This really is the end for me. There’s no way U.A. will accept me now.’_

**“THERE’S NO NEED TO WORRY ABOUT THAT.”**

The teens whitened faces regain their color. “Huh?” 

**“I’LL COVER FOR YOU, I’LL TAKE RESPONSIBILITY. PLUS, I HAVE A TRUSTED FRIEND IN THE POLICE FORCE THAT CAN HELP COVER THIS UP. DON’T WORRY HE CAN KEEP A SECRET, HEH.”**

Thirteen considers the suggestion, they are still pretty upset thou. “Hmm, alright. That works for me. I would hate to ruin future opportunities for them.” 

Terraspin clasps his flippers together as if praying and tears of joy stream down his face. _‘Thank you All Might. And thank you for forgiving me, Thirteen._ _’_

Thirteen places a hand onto Terraspin’s back as they start to lead him away. “I’ll lead them out to safety.” The rescue hero waves back at All Might. “You distract the other pro heroes and the media. No doubt they’re swarming the place as we speak.” 

**“RIGHT, I’M ON IT. FAREWELL YOU TWO, BUT BEFORE WE DEPART CAN I AT LEAST GET THE NAMES OF TODAY’S REAL HEROES?”**

With amazement still glues to her face the chestnut-haired girl answers first. “I’m Ochaco Uraraka.” 

“And I’m…” For some reason Izuku’s mind flashes back to his conversation he had with All Might from a month ago and the despair he felt afterwards. He also remembers that he told All Might that he was quirkless! How is he supposed to explain his sudden quirk?! Shit he’s been waiting for too long. How should he respond? His mouth seems to come up with a response for him. “Deku… I’m Deku.” 

Ochaco and Thirteen are rightfully confused but they choose not to say anything; one out of respect for Izuku’s wishes, while the other assumes that Izuku is trying to keep his “quirk” and himself undercover. 

Thirteen’s eyes tell Terraspin that they expect an explanation later. 

All Might raises an eyebrow finding the name a bit odd, but he doesn’t comment on it. **“THANK YOU FOR INDULGING ME.”** All Might notices that Dr. Animo is stirring from his position on the ground. The hero throws the villain over his shoulder. **“NOW IF YOU EXCUSE ME I HAVE SOMEWHERE TO BE!”**

And with that All Might disappears in a gust of wind. 

The three left behind have that same reaction. ‘ _There he goes.’_

Thirteen claps their hands together. “Anyway, let’s get you two out of here.” 

Terraspin remembers something very important. “Wait, our friend is here, too! He got really banged up during the fight!” 

Thirteen silently fumes in exasperation. “Where are they?” 

Ochaco waves them over to the hallway where she hide Henzu in. “He’s over here, follow me.” 

They are in for a surprise when they arrive. 

Ochaco holds her head in alarm. “Where’d he go?!” 

Indeed, Henzu is no longer present near the emergency exit. Quickly scanning the area, they confirm that he is no longer in the mall. 

“I can call him.” Terraspin pulls out his cell phone. 

Ochaco’s eyes widen in wonder. _‘Where was he keeping that?’_

Terraspin fumbles with the phone before accidently dropping it. He leans forward to grab it, but his fins just can’t seem to grip the tiny object. “Curse these giant flippers!” 

After what seems like forever, the watch finally times out and in a flash of red Izuku turns back to normal. Izuku grabs his face to confirm it, sighing in relief, he bends down, and finally snags his phone off the ground. 

Thirteen's eyes widen, trying to act like they’re amazed. “Ah, you must have a transformation type quirk.” 

While dialing Henzu, Izuku gives his mentor an odd look. Thirteen returns the silent inquiry with an expression that says: act like we don’t know each other. 

Izuku catches on. “Oh, uh, right. I-I mean, yes.” 

Izuku lifts the phone up to his ear, but the call goes straight to voicemail. “He’s not answering.” But when he thinks about it. It makes sense that he would bail, after all he’s been arrested a few times already. Plus, Izuku has seen him take some real beatings before, he’ll bounce back quickly. “He should be fine though.” 

Thirteen doesn’t look too sure. “Are you sure?” 

“Yeah, I can check up on him in person if need be.” 

“Okay, anyway I need your names and some basic info.” 

Ochaco and Izuku visibly tense up. 

“Don’t worry. It’s just so we can properly cover this up.” 

Izuku continues the act. “Oh, um, I’m Izuku Midoriya.” 

Izuku looks to his accomplice. “Ochaco Uraraka.” 

“A pleasure to meet you both. Now let’s get you both home before your parents worry. But before that I’d like to take you both to the hospital, don’t worry I’ll cover all the expenses.” 

The teen bow in gratitude. “Thank you for everything.” 

And with that said the three sneak their way through the emergency exit and towards Thirteen’s car. A detective by the name of Naomasa Tsukauchi intercepts them and he explains that All Might has already filled him in on the situation. He does admit that he doesn't fully approve of it, but he ultimately sees no issue with it considering the circumstances. He also takes the time to thank the teens for putting their lives on the line. The two adults then lead the teens to Thirteen’s car acting like they were victims that got caught in the attack as to not draw suspicion. Tsukauchi waves them off as they drive away. 

The hospital is relatively close by, even so traffic seems to have built up thanks to the attack. “Hey, Midoriya.” 

With the adrenaline out of his system, Izuku reverts back into his old shy self now realizing that a real girl is seeking conversation with him. He shifts in his seat so he can face Ochaco. “Y-yeah?” 

Ochaco gives him a kind smile one that’s full of respect. “Thank you.” 

“For what?” 

Ochaco runs a hand through her hair, her finger plays with one of her bangs. “You were really inspiring. You encouraged me to be a hero today. I don’t think I could have done what I did without you there with me.” 

“Oh, well, I, um, thanks for supporting me as well.” Izuku looks away trying to hide his furiously blushing face. It finally hits him that not only is he talking to a girl but that he’s been interacting with her, working with her, even physically coming into contact with her all throughout the day. It’s too much to take in. But it all happened so fast, he wasn’t even thinking when she climbed onto his back, or when he decided to pick her up and get her to safety. 

Ochaco’s voice brings him out of it. “Can I get your number?” 

“Huh?!” 

“Well, you said you wanted to get into U.A. earlier. You know before…this all happened. And I think it would be great if we continued to support each other.” 

He did mention that, earlier didn’t he? The greenette doesn’t take long to think about it. Having another friend would be nice, especially one that won’t drag you into trouble might be a nice change in pace. Wait, didn’t he do that to her? “Yeah. I’d like that.” 

With a smile, Ochaco holds her hand out for his phone. Izuku obliges her, handing it over. She immediately types in her contact info. 

Ochaco hands it back. “By the way can I call you Deku?” 

“Wha?” 

“Oh, well, it’s what you told All Might to call you. Is it a nickname?” 

Izuku’s nerves shoot up. “N-no, not exactly. I-it’s actually an insult.” 

“What? That’s so weird. I mean, Deku sounds like it gives off a ‘you can do it’ vibe. So, I kinda like it.” 

A blushing and a highly strung Izuku stiffens. “You can call me Deku!” 

Thirteen chuckles from the driver's seat. 

The teens freeze up, they totally forgot that the hero was even there. 

“Oh, don't mind me you two. Just pretend that I’m not here.” Thirteen laughs, amused by their antics, and by the blushes that now adorn their faces. Moments like these are what makes being a teacher worthwhile: the opportunity to embarrass teenagers. 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Within a dark and garbage ridden alley, a dark-haired teen limps by with an angry scowl. Henzu has definitely looked better, but he can’t really complain. When All Might arrived, he took that as a sign to hightail it out of there. He has no desire to be arrested, usually he’d feel pretty bad about leaving Izuku behind to fend for himself, but that anger and betrayal he feels about being lied to stops him from even thinking about it. 

What really set him off is when All Might so casually proclaimed that he’ll take responsibility for their actions. Or as how Henzu sees it, All Might wants all the glory for himself. The Number One hero himself is going for an easy win that he didn’t earn, and he’s going to lie about it to the masses, for more fame and glory. Fuck that! 

Luckily, sneaking out of the mall wasn’t too difficult. The exit he used was near the back of the mall and most of the crowds had gathered near the front of the mall as to get a better view. Henzu limped away until exhaustion hit him, leaning against the wall of the alleyway, he collapses to the ground. 

Henzu snarls, absolutely pissed with this whole fucking situation. _‘Damn, these heroes. And damn, you Deku…’_

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

An armored police transport is making its way towards Tartarus prison. From within the holding cell Dr. Animo sits alone, cuffed, and soundly beaten. 

“Curse those meddling kids! Curse that teenage mutant turtle! Curse you All Might!! Nobody, nobody understands the true genius, the epiphany of brilliance, that is Dr. Animo!” 

A calm yet shadowy voice whispers. “I beg to differ.” 

Dr. Animo frantically looks about the cabin. “What? Who’s there?” 

A wisp of black smoke swirls over Dr. Animo’s head. 

The pale green man stares up in both awe and fear as the shadowy voice whispers its answer. “Someone that can appreciate your…genius.” 

And without a sound the swirling mass expands, engulfing the mad doctor. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, it's done! Man this took me nearly 2 weeks to finish, Ch.4 and Ch.5 were over 50 pages combined! (I wrote them as one chapter originally and then split it in half). It's also why the ending might seem a bit...rushed at times, I just really needed to finish this. Anyway please leave a review and again have a Happy Holidays! 
> 
> *So I want to apologize and point out a mistake. After I had finished writing this chapter did I realize that I went over Izuku's ten minute time limit. I had him in his Terraspin form for way too long, oops. I will do better with that next time, promise. That said I hope you still enjoyed the screen time Terraspin had.  
> *I also apologize for not showing off more Omnitrix aliens, that said I hope Ch.6 will make up for it.  
> *During fights, I want Izuku to be spitting out one-liners and quips as he fights, but I rather have him develop that habit as the story goes. So, for now his attempts at taunting will be mediocre at best.  
> *I have exciting plans for most of these characters that appeared during this chapter: Ochaco, Henzu, Dr. Animo, All Might, etc. Some of these plans will begin to play out within the next couple of chapters, but others may take a little longer until you see them playout.  
> *Also, we are getting really close to all the U.A. stuff so please be patient with me. After these next few chapters I will begin the U.A. Entrance Exam, and then the story really kicks off.  
> *Finally, I will post Ch.6 by next week. This way I can try to get ahead in some of my writing.


	6. Rebel Without a Cause

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Izuku works somethings out with his best friend, Henzu Uuichi, but not everything can be resolved peacefully.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year!!! To commemorate the start of 2020 I made this chapter a longer one than usual. Warning thou, I tried to make this chapter a bit more emotionally driven, but I still got a lot of alien action in. So, please enjoy. 
> 
> Important notice in Author's Note at the end of the chapter.

It’s early in the morning, the sun having just barely risen less than an hour ago giving the sky a beautiful hue of colors and producing a tranquil atmosphere. But a loud clang of metal disrupts this atmosphere as a stream of highly pressurized water blasts apart a trash heap. Scraps of metal and garbage are thrown across a beach splashing into puddles of water while a red, mollusk-like humanoid with green eyes blasts water out from their palms. 

“I gotta admit Water Hazard is pretty nifty.” Water Hazard blasts a rusted car, the blast sends bits of trash and broken car pieces into the air. Seeing an opportunity Water Hazard quickly fires out another stream of water, propelling the debris away. “Ha, this is actually kinda fun.” 

“It’s NOT supposed to be fun!!” 

The transformed Izuku stumbles in place. Watching or more like glaring at him is a steaming Thirteen. The pro hero is rightly pissed about Izuku’s stupid stunt at the mall a few days ago. That said on one hand, the mentor side of Thirteen couldn’t be prouder, but the professional and more responsible side of the hero overrides most of that feeling and replaces it with righteous fury and disappointment. 

As a result, Thirteen has been working Izuku’s butt off this entire week during training sessions. So much so that Izuku has passed out on his bed whenever he gets home afterward. His mom actually had to shake him awake in order to feed him dinner and get him to bathe. 

However, through all of this, Izuku doesn’t peep a word of complaint. He does have to face the consequences of his actions, if only those consequences didn’t spread to school as well. The attack on the mall or better known as the “Mutant Siege” is the only thing anyone seems to be able to talk about. The media is blowing it up with praises of All Might for his victory against Dr. Animo and his evil army of monsters. 

Speaking of the quack, the police are under fire for losing the villain that managed to organize a terrorist attack while holding off the heroes. The police transport vehicle arrived at its destination, but they were in for a shock when they had no prisoner and no trace of where he went. Of course, the media swarmed upon them like flies on a corpse demanding to know how and why the police could let this happen. 

And of course, Izuku’s classmates just have to give their opinions on both matters. Most aren’t really concerned with Dr. Animo’s disappearance. Instead they can’t help but find the monsters cool and obviously All Might is always the highlight of any conversation. 

All the chatter around the two just hammer on Izuku’s conscious, afterall he did get a good scolding from Thirteen afterwards because of the villain. But what really has him bothered is Henzu. While he was getting checked over at the hospital, Henzu finally texted him back saying that he was fine but would rather be left alone for a while. Figuring that he would get a chance to talk to him at school, Izuku shrugged it off as nothing to worry about. It’s been five days and Izuku’s nerves of guilt and worry can’t seem to leave him be. Apparently Henzu skipped school on Monday and Tuesday and then on Wednesday he outright avoided Izuku. That move alone made Izuku feel absolutely shitty. In fact, he spent all of Wednesday chasing after his friend, but to no avail. Henzu actually ended up ditching class halfway through the day just to get out of interacting with his liar of a best friend. 

“Don’t just stand there. Keep it up!” 

Water Hazard snaps out of his musing, but since he’s not paying attention, with his hands down he accidently releases a blast of water downward causing water, sand, and a bit of trash so shoot back up at his face. “Ah, sand in my eyes!” 

Izuku furiously rubs his eyes until he remembers that he’s a living water gun before firing water at his face. The blast is a bit too strong and it actually knocks him backward. 

Thirteen watches blankly shaking their head as Water Hazard splashes himself in the face. Sighing the hero pinches the center of their helmet where their nose would be. “Alright, let’s take a quick break.” 

With a heavy sigh, Water Hazard unceremoniously falls back onto his rear accepting the order. He could keep going, but he’s just not really feeling up to it. This predicament with Henzu is really weighing on him, the guilt just won’t go away. Afterall he lied to his face, Henzu probably thinks that he’s been lying to him since they met 4 years back. There’s got to be some way to make it up to him or at least to explain himself. 

Water Hazard falls back on the beach grabbing his forehead. _‘Maybe I should tell him the full truth: the watch, the Plumbers, the aliens? NO!!! Bad idea, I promised Thirteen that I wouldn’t tell a soul. Heck, I haven’t even told my mom. Well I mean I did sorta mention my new “quirk” to her, but that’s it I swear!’_ By that he means he told her about developing a quirk late in life.

Water Hazard comedically flails about in the sand, unsure about how to go about this situation. 

Thirteen can’t help but find the alien flailing in the sand a bit odd. Sensing that something else is bothering their young protégé. “Hey, are you feeling up to this today?” 

Water Hazard springs up, sitting up straight. “Wha?! Of course, I am!” 

Thirteen isn’t convinced. “No. You’re not.” 

It almost seems like the watch agrees with Thirteen because it coincidentally times out then and there. Rather than argue Izuku blinks before slouching down in silent defeat seeing no point in continuing to argue. 

Thirteen takes a knee trying to be at eye level with the youth. “You want to tell me what’s bothering you?” 

Izuku glances away, as if in deep thought, though he probably doesn’t know what to say. 

“Midoriya.” 

Izuku doesn’t turn to look. 

Understanding that Izuku’s not going to participate in the conversation, positions themselves as to appear a bit more relaxed but still holding their attention on the boy. “I understand if you don’t want to say anything to me, but it’s not good for you to keep your feelings pent up.” Izuku’s head turns slightly. “Whatever’s bothering you, you need to confront it, say what’s on your mind, do what you have to, do what feels right. Okay?” 

Izuku nods, accepting the advice. “Okay.” 

Thirteen nods. “Good,” Thirteen pushes themselves off the ground. “let’s call it early today. Why don’t you get ready for school in the meantime?” 

Izuku doesn’t respond, allowing the soft breeze of the ocean to calm him but yet one can tell that he’s uncomfortable, not because of the soft wet sand he’s sitting on but from something internal.

Assuming that they won’t get an answer Thirteen turns to leave. 

“Thirteen.” Thirteen turns and is greeted by a pair of emerald eyes staring back at them. “Thank you. For everything.” 

Thirteen smiles, and even if it’s behind their helmet, Izuku can sense that they’re smiling. “You’re welcome. Just keep at it, the Entrance Exam will be here before you know it.” 

Izuku raises his left fist and gives his mentor a curt nod. “Right.” 

And with that Thirteen turns to make their commute to U.A. _‘This boy has a lot of growing to do. Not just with his skills but mentally and emotionally as well…I can only imagine what he’ll become.’_ Thirteen looks up at the awakening sky with a faraway look in their eyes as they reminisce about the past. There are still some stars lingering above, not yet having been outshone by the sun. _‘He’s just like you, senpai.’_

As Thirteen heads off for work, Izuku takes a minute to think about his options. _‘I need to confront whatever’s bothering me…’_ Maybe he should tell Henzu? Afterall Henzu’s been nothing but honest with him even when telling him to give up his dream, he does it not out of spite or prejudice, but because he cares. And it’s an insult that he’s not as honest in return. He has to make this right. He will make this right! 

_‘Today. After school, I’m going to tell him all about the watch. Sorry, Thirteen I know I shouldn’t, but I have to.’_

Izuku is back on his feet, watching the sunrise make a full appearance in the horizon. _‘I’ll make this right. I promise Henzu.’_

Izuku takes off for home so he can take a quick shower and get some food in his system. _‘Um, maybe I shouldn’t mention Thirteen and the Plumbers…I mean it’s not lying if I don’t say anything. Right?’_

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Izuku is practically shaking with anticipation watching the hands on the clock tease his freedom from the classroom. It’s been a painstakingly slow day, so much so that Izuku’s nerves and mumbling has disrupted the class several times throughout the day. Usually resulting in him getting embarrassed, mocked, and/or laughed at by his classmates. Thankfully the one advantage of the slowly paced day was that it gave the nervous wreck of a teen time to think of the best way to tell Henzu about the watch. 

Izuku was hugging his backpack ready to just spring out of his desk and make a run for it. If he’s not on top of this, he’ll miss his opportunity. He already knows that Henzu will try to be the first one out of his class, so he’s got to be there immediately. 

Finally, after hours of anticipation the bell rings and Izuku doesn’t waste a second. He practically jumps out of his seat, nearly toppling his chair, and sprints the hell out of there. His classmates blink in confusion but don’t pay it any mind, assuming the quirkless weirdo is just being his normal odd self. 

Bakugou glares at the door having just watched Izuku book the hell out of there. He tsks figuring it’s not worth his time to chase the nerd down. But a small nagging part of him can’t help but feel the urge to find the useless prick and get some info from him. Don’t think that he hasn’t noticed the subtle changes in Deku: he’s been more confident, not breaking down into a ball of nerves as often, he even looks to be in better health these days. There’s got to be a reason for that right? No way the nerd is doing some kind of training for U.A. That thought alone nearly makes Bakugou laugh out loud. _‘Besides even if he trains his body, there’s no way U.A. will accept a useless fuck like him. Ha.’_

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Izuku arrives at Henzu’s classroom, Class 3-E, just after the students started to leave for the day. 

There amongst the crowd Izuku can see his friend’s black-hair as he attempts to leave in the opposite direction. Not caring about the others in his way Izuku pushes and budges his way through, throwing out a few apologies here and there. 

“Henzu!” 

“Henzu!” 

_‘Dammit.’_ It looks like he’ll have to go there. “Henchan!” 

Henzu instantly spins around, looking very annoyed. “I told you not to call me that!” The scope of what he did hits him. “Fuck.” 

Izuku can’t help but chuckle, calling him “Henchan” never fails to get a reaction. “Henzu. I have some explaining to do.” 

Henzu rubs his neck, trying to act annoyed while not making eye contact. “Yeah. Let’s talk somewhere else though.” Henzu eyes dart to his classmates who are sidestepping around them. “Too many ears here.” 

Henzu turns and leads Izuku away to a staircase that leads up to the roof. 

Once there, the two teens stand opposite of each other with a fair distance between them.

They remain like that for several minutes, while Izuku is literally twiddling his thumbs unsure on how to start. “I, um, I guess I should start with that I’m sorry.” 

Henzu doesn’t respond and Izuku can’t gauge his reaction thanks to his black-hair covering his eyes. 

Unsure how to continue, and his nerves starting to rise up within him, Izuku figures that he’s got to power through this. “I’m sorry I kept this from you. I’m sorry that lied to you.” He takes a breath, making sure he says all the right things. “And I know that I hurt you by hiding the truth I should have told you right away.” 

“Yeah, you should have.” 

The response throws Izuku off but he shakily continues. “R-right. And well I want to make amends and do what I should have done from the start.” He’s going to go through with this. Izuku fearfully raises his left hand, displaying the alien watch. “You see this…watch?” 

“Hard not to.” Henzu glares at the watch as if it personally offended him. “Let me guess you lied about where you got it.” 

“Y-yeah. Sorry. But, um, it's the reason…” Izuku stops, his breathing is shaky, and his body is trembling in worry. 

Henzu is clearly losing patience. “The reason?”

Izuku takes a deep breath, now is the time for the truth. “The reason why I have a…quirk.” 

Henzu blinks in confusion. 

“Truth is…I have always been quirkless.” 

“Phft, no you’re not.” Henzu laughs but it quickly dies down to that of a growl. “Dammit, Izuku. I thought you were done with the lies.” 

“I am! Just-just let me finish. Alright?” 

Henzu tsks. “Fine.” 

“About a month ago, after school, I went to Dagobah Beach where I found this sphere, this pod, and inside was this watch.” He taps the watch making sure Henzu is following along. “When I reached in to grab it…it latched itself onto me.” He rotates the watch to show that there’s no clear way to remove it. “And I can’t seem to find a way to take it off.” 

_‘Not that I want to.’_ Izuku thinks briefly. “Anyway, this watch. After I found it, I discovered what it can do. While fiddling with it I activated it and it gave me a _quirk_ …” Izuku makes air quotes when he says quirk. “or quirks if you will.” 

Izuku pauses to allow the teen a moment to process the information. 

“Wait, are you saying that that watch is the reason why you can transform?” Henzu asks in disbelief. 

“Yeah, I know just bear with me.” 

Henzu’s eyes narrow, but he nods giving Izuku permission to continue. 

Izuku has to choose his next words carefully. After a moment to think he figures that he’s blown his friend’s mind enough and he won’t mention anything space or alien related. “Anyway, I have no idea where it came from or who made it. All I know is what it can do.” He silently begs Henzu for forgiveness, since he once again is omitting some info. 

“And that is?” 

“It can transform me into nine different forms such as the ones you saw last weekend.” 

Henzu’s mind is going at hundred miles per hour as all these new revelations circle through his head. A few memories standout in his mind. “Wait, a month ago? Was that the same day-” 

“As the Sludge Villain attack? Yeah.” 

“By chance, that hero with the black skin and tentacles was that was you?” Henzu makes hand gestures as to mimic having tendrils on his head and rear.

Izuku, although still nervous, stands a bit straighter feeling somewhat proud. “Yup, and just for the record that form is called Feedback.” he smiles, proud of the name. 

“That’s a stupid name.” 

Izuku falls over feeling dejected. 

Henzu eyes the watch, but now that he understands the full implications of the item, he needs to see it in action. “Show me.” 

“Huh?” 

“Show me what you can do.” 

“Oh, um, not here.” 

Feeling a little more confident now, Izuku takes Henzu to his favorite (and only) training site, Dagobah Beach. Once there Izuku doesn’t waste a second, he’s too afraid that if he does, he’ll break into a wobbling nervous wreck, and he transforms into an alien. After a few moments of Izuku demonstrating his form both Henzu and him are laughing their asses off. 

“FOUR!!! … Arms, hehe.” Four Arms swings a large heavy pipe right into a microwave like a golfer, sending it flying high into the sky before it curves and crashes down into the ocean. 

Henzu is clapping his hands together laughing with joy as he nearly falls from his seat atop of a refrigerator. “Oh, oh, oh, man!” 

Izuku cannot describe how happy he is with how Henzu is taking this. Feeling so overjoyed he swings the pipe right into a junk pile blasting the garbage away like a burst of confetti. 

“Woah-ho, now that is cool!” 

“I know right?” Four Arms drops the pipe. “Check this out.” He falls to the ground, catching himself. With a cocky grin the alien starts doing pushups after every push he removes one appendage until he’s using one hand. “Look, one hand.” 

Henzu is in such a good mood that he doesn’t bother calling Izuku out on the lame joke instead he laughs along. 

For the next ten minutes or so the two friends take time to make up for lost time. At one point, Henzu absorbs some nearby iron and he lets Four Arms to chuck pieces of scrap metal at him, Henzu in return punches the projectiles breaking them into smaller pieces. Later Henzu, still encased in iron, allows Four Arms to use him like a bat to smash at various appliances: washing machines, fridges, and even a few cars. The two teens are laughing like idiots the entire time as they enjoy their stupidly violent fun. Eventually though Izuku returns to normal and while he finds a comfy spot in the sand, Henzu goes off and comes back with sodas from a nearby convenience store. 

The rugged teen returns after a few short minutes. Henzu lazily falls back onto the sand next to Izuku, handing his friend a soda can. “I gotta admit, but that watch was a pretty great find.” 

Izuku takes the soda. “Thanks. And I couldn’t agree more.” 

The two take a moment to enjoy their fizzy soft drinks as they watch the beautiful horizon. Izuku hasn’t been this happy in a while now, finally he can share this amazing secret with someone, and not just anyone but with his best friend. Maybe he can talk Thirteen about letting Henzu in on the Plumbers and alien stuff, too. That’d be fantastic just imagine them teaming up to fight aliens, robots, and mad scientists! Oh, wait they already did that. 

Henzu is also having some fond thoughts: just imagine what they can do with this…wait why think about it? He grins mischievously finishing his soda. 

“Hey, Izuku.” 

Izuku takes a gulp of his drink. “Yeah?” 

“Have you registered the watch-er your…quirk yet?” 

Izuku can’t help but feel a little embarrassed that he forgot to do that exact thing. “Oh, um, no not yet.” He was going to wait until he had a good handle on each of his abilities.

“Is that so?” Henzu’s smile turns wicked as he crushes his empty soda can. “Let’s take advantage of that and have some fun.” 

“Wha-What?!” Izuku’s eyes practically pop out of their sockets. 

“Oh, come on.” Henzu stands up tossing the can to the side. “Let’s go make some trou-…fun, let’s go have some fun. I mean it’s not like you’ll get caught.” 

“Wha-What a-are you saying?” 

“Let’s ditch this literal dump and continue our reunion! It’ll be great, it’ll be you, me…and possibly the cops.” He throws in the last part as an afterthought. 

“What?!” 

Not acknowledging the greenette, Henzu continues. “Come on, Izuku! You already bailed on me once before.” For a moment, Henzu’s eyes glaze over with spite. He gestures at his wrist, Izuku understands that he’s indicating to the watch. Izuku’s shoulders slump as guilt once again overcomes him. “Just go along with this. Just, think of it as you making it up to me.” 

Izuku is thrown for a loop. On one hand he still feels guilty and thus he has to do more to make up for his mistake. On the other, this can turn out really badly for him in the end. But he owes him, he’s done so much for him, he has an obligation to make amends. 

Henzu’s smirk widens. “So, what do you say?” 

“I…I guess it wouldn’t hurt.” 

Henzu ecstatically claps his hands together in victory. “My man!” 

That doesn’t make Izuku feel better in anyway. _‘Something tells me that I’m going to regret this…’_

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Henzu, why are we here?” 

The two teens currently find themselves within the confines of a local grocery store hidden by the freezer section. There’s nothing too spectacular about the store, it’s perfectly normal with no signs of trouble. The only things out of place are them amongst the small crowd of shoppers bustling across the various aisles. 

Henzu is leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. “Relax man, don’t worry about it.” He pushes himself off the wall and slings an arm over Izuku’s shoulders. “Just do as I tell ya and it will all workout.” 

Somehow that only makes Izuku feel worse. The blood is gone from his face, and tears threaten to leak out. Something’s not right here, Izuku’s been dragged into Henzu’s…schemes before and none of them ended well. Sure, nothing too terrible took place, but it was always murder on his spirit.

Henzu releases the nerved racked Izuku, clapping his hands together. “Alright, first order of business. Go ahead and transform!” 

Sighing in submission Izuku activates the watch and transforms. Luckily their location is secluded enough that no one notices the flash of green light. 

The morphed Izuku lightly knocks his red shell. “I call this guy Water Hazard.” 

Henzu’s smile widens. “Cool, so I assume he works with water.” 

Water Hazard nods. “You guessed it; in this form I can fire out high pressurized water from my palms.” 

Henzu’s eyes flash with opportunity. “Really? Alright, go ahead and spray the floor.” He gestures towards the freezer aisle. 

Water Hazard tilts to the side; why the hell would he do that? “Spray the floor?” 

“Yeah, give it a good wash.” Henzu slaps Water Hazard’s back, shoving him forward. 

Izuku takes note of how the slap didn’t hurt him, thanks to his exoskeleton. 

Anyway, Water Hazard shrugs. “Um, okay, not sure what the purpose is, but okay.” 

He walks forward, before squatting down, and placing both hands onto the floor. Water Hazard looks back up at Henzu, silently asking if this is okay. To which Henzu silently replies with a confident yes. 

Taking a deep breath, Water Hazard releases a stream of water against the floor. The pressure is low enough not to make too much noise but high enough that a large puddle of water starts to flow through the aisle. 

When a good layer of water has spread across the tile, Izuku cuts off the flow of water. “Now what?” 

Henzu laughs to himself. “Now we wait.” 

_‘Wait? Wait for what exactly?’_

Izuku would soon get his answer. A group of shoppers obliviously march through the soaked aisle and the result is immediate. The shoppers begin to slip, fall, and crash into the hard-wet floor. Their carts are flung forward causing them to crash into shelves and/or each other spilling their contents of food products across the aisle. It’s a huge mess and the screams and yelps of the victimized shoppers just add to the total chaos especially as employees of the store run over to check the situation only to end up slipping across the tile themselves. 

All the while Henzu is laughing his ass off. He’s brought to tears and his gut is hurting from how hard he’s laughing. “Ha, this is great! Hilarious! Hahahahaha! Look at them all! Hahahaha!” 

Meanwhile, Water Hazard’s reaction couldn’t be more different to his companion’s. _‘This is awful! Those poor people, I have to help th-’_ Just as he’s about to move a strong hand pushes down on his shoulder. 

Turning around, Water Hazard stares up at a smirking Henzu; who somehow was able to recover quickly from his laughing hysteria. 

“Just relax, man.” 

“But Henzu-” 

“Seriously dude, it’s alright. It’s not like we’re committing a crime.” 

“But-” 

“Come on, just let this one go. Afterall,” Despite his smile Henzu’s expression turns shady. “you owe me, Izuku.” 

Water Hazard freezes. He’s right, he caused Henzu a lot of grief. So maybe just this once, he’ll let it go. That of course is easier said than done. 

The poor victims of their prank finally manage to compose themselves and begin to recover. Seeing that the fun is over Henzu takes off for the exit with a large grin on his face. Water Hazard shyly yet hastily chases after him, not wanting to be left behind. 

Henzu leads Water Hazard out and away from the store. 

Henzu’s smile never fades as the duo enter the main downtown area of Mustafu. They pass by various people as they go about their day. “That was hilarious!” 

Water Hazard catches up to the delinquent. “No, it wasn’t! That was awful, I can’t believe I caused that. Those poor people I bet they hate me. They must be covered in bruises, someone really could have gotten hurt, and we could have been caught! I really hope no one finds out about this-” 

Not wanting to let Izuku’s muttering storm to strengthen Henzu cuts him off. “Dude chill out. No harm was done, trust me.” 

“Are you sure?” 

“Hell yeah.” 

“Oh…that’s good.” He’s not convinced. 

The two weave in and out of waves of people. 

“Don’t let this get you down. We’re just having some fun after all. Besides, technically, we’re not doing anything illegal since you’re technically not using a real quirk.” 

“I…guess that makes sense.” Still doesn’t feel right though.

“It makes complete sense. Now let’s head out.” Henzu turns and starts to cross the street. 

Water Hazard stops to watch him. “Head out? To where?” 

Henzu makes it across and spins around, smiling. “Anywhere that we can have some fun,” He turns around and continues walking with a smirk. “and stir up some trouble.” 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

And stir up trouble they did. As it turns out the prank at the store was just the beginning. 

After Izuku transformed back into human, Henzu lead him to Tatooin Station. The place was packed with people commuting home and while others waited for their trains, they enjoyed themselves at one of the many food stalls and vendors. 

For most it was a rather quiet afternoon but that couldn’t be said for others. Since a gang of Dittos were running around causing trouble by committing pranks on poor unsuspecting commuters. Henzu assigned each Ditto with a different prank ranging from tying shoe laces to elaborate schemes. 

For example, Henzu pressured a duo of Dittos to drop banana peels across various areas. One Ditto lazily tossed the peels around while the other Ditto ate so many bananas that his stomach expanded. 

Another pair of Dittos each stood at opposite ends of a hallway with a rope between them. They pulled the rope at the same time, tripping over a wave of oncoming people. The Dittos ran off before anyone could spot them. One Ditto found the whole thing very amusing, but the other clone was quick to reprimand him. 

Other Dittos ran about tipping over trash cans, placed gum on top of water fountains, a group of clones poured paint atop a group of people, and one copy even made a stink bomb and threw it into the middle of a crowd… admittedly some of the Dittos started to enjoy themselves a little too much; prompting Izuku to take a mental note to ask Thirteen if Ditto’s clones can have slightly altered personalities. All the while the original Ditto cowered in shame next to Henzu, who was absolutely enjoying the show. Izuku was just happy that because of the huge crowds of people no one was really able to notice the little aliens running around… hopefully. 

Afterwards at a nearby road crowded with more commuters a huge whirlwind swept through the street stopping people in their tracks as they braced themselves. Unfortunately, many of their loose belongings such as cash, papers, hats, trash, and anything else that wasn’t tied down were blown off their person. 

If any of them had looked up, they would have been surprised to see a flying turtle shell hovering above them. A terrified Terraspin quickly disappears over the buildings allowing everyone a reprieve. Many of them are disheveled as they try to gather their things and clean themselves up. At the same time, Henzu casually strolls up and snatches up anything of value he finds on the ground: money, cards, he even found an expensive watch. 

Later at a local beach many beach goers are screaming in fear as they flee towards their cars. A depressed, and slightly insulted, Ripjaws watches them from the water. Henzu had him swim around and bare his fangs at a few swimmers. Speaking of that devil, Henzu was busy scavenging through everything that was left behind by the beach goers. 

After that last incident Henzu really started to push the limits of how far he could push Izuku into doing what he wants. 

He took Izuku to a junkyard and had him fight off some thugs as Four Arms. He was nice enough to allow the morphed Izuku to disguise himself, albeit with a big blanket that he used as a cloak. The fight was less of a fight and more of Four Arms throwing the thugs around, one of them managed to hit him with a bat but it split in half when it collided with the brute’s tough red hide. The whole time Four Arms is profusely apologizing for his actions. Henzu of course was digging through the guys’ hideout for “merch” and “goods”. 

They then went across town to a storage facility for a video game company. There the black-haired delinquent got Grey Matter to hack the security system and allow them access. The whole time Izuku let his worries and fears heard, but Henzu expertly persuaded him to see this through and he promised that he wouldn’t take anything; he just wanted to checkout the newest games coming in. The tiny alien somehow bought the act, mainly because his worries clouded his judgment, but he remained outside while Henzu browsed the large crates and boxes. As they left, Grey Matter hopped a ride on the taller teen’s shoulder; from up on his perch he could have sworn that he saw Henzu tuck something away into his pocket something that said Sumo Slammers or something on it. 

Finally, the “partners” in crime made their way to an arcade. There Feedback used his tendrils to hotwire the rows and rows of arcade machines and games causing them to spark to life and shoot out a torrent of coins, so much so that the aisles were flooded with the stuff. Henzu was nearly swimming in quarters as he used a trash can to scoop up the loot.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Izuku is exhausted both physically and emotionally; this is all too much for him. Sure, he wants to patch things up with his best friend, but is this really the best way to go about it? This entire day is like nothing he’s ever experienced; he’s never felt so terrible or ashamed of himself until now. And with every task and scheme the seemingly endless pit in his stomach worsens. 

And the current setting is not helping. The subway tunnel is cold and damp the only light sources are the dim lamps creaking above their heads. Izuku’s pretty sure that a rat ran across his foot at one point and he doesn’t want to even think about what that gooey substance he stepped in was. 

Henzu’s voice pierces through Izuku’s daze. “Alright we’re here.” 

Izuku nearly trips as he comes to a halt. Shakily looking up he finds himself in what appears to be an abandoned subway station with several tunnel entrances and a pair of train tracks running parallel to each other. The place clearly hasn’t received too many visitors over the years, yet the train track still look to be in good condition so trains must still be running through here. 

“Come on.” Henzu rushes over towards a fusion box and trailing point where a track intersects between the parallel rails. 

Henzu places his hands on the fusion box, absorbing the electricity that sparks off his bare arms. When he has enough, he grabs the large trailing point lever charging it up until the train order lights turn on and the lever shifts. At the same time the tracks clank in place diverging the tracks into a single point. 

Izuku looks between the tunnels unsure about what’s going on. “What are you doing?” 

Henzu smirks. “A cargo train that’s supposed to be carrying a shitload of gold is supposed to be coming down this track.” 

Izuku’s stomach drops. “And?” 

“And so, when it crashes into the oncoming subway train…Boom! Instant payday! You’ll transform into that XLR8 guy, grab the gold, and get us the hell outta here.” 

“What?!” Clear panic rings through Izuku’s voice. “No! No way. I’m not going through with this.” Henzu can’t be serious. Taking quarters from an arcade is one thing, but a train heist is something else entirely… Wait. Did he say subway train? No. 

“Henzu… the subway train… is it…” The question dies in his mouth. It can’t be true, it can’t. 

“Don’t you worry about that just worry about your part.” 

Izuku’s breathing becomes heavy and despite the cold of the tunnel he’s starting to break into a cold sweat. “Part?” 

Henzu, sensing Izuku’s hesitation, decides to divert his attention. “After this we’ll be square.” Izuku is so shaken he struggles to come up with a response, but his eyes turn towards the taller teen. “Look at it this way when this is over all will be forgiven between the two of us, he’ll be set for life, and no one will ever find out about this.” 

But they’ll know… he’ll know… How can he live with himself after this? Henzu has always been… rough, but he’d never intentionally hurt anyone.

That’s a lie, he’s obviously not against hurting others. He steals, he hurts, and he doesn’t care about the consequences of his actions. 

Izuku’s legs are shaking, his cold sweat has become worse, and the tunnel seems so dark and cold now. The shadows crawl up towards him ready to devour him into despair and agony. He tries to speak but a terrified choke squeaks out instead. He has to say something, do something. He can’t let this happen! 

A single word manages to escape his lips, it’s more or less a whisper but nonetheless it is audible. “No.” 

Henzu’s smile disappears and the spark of mischief in his eyes are gone and replaced by that of malice. 

He can’t bear to look at Henzu’s face. “I… I can’t do this… it’s wrong so wrong. People can get hurt, can be killed. And… if I want to call myself a… hero one day then I have to stop this.” He takes a shaky breath lifting his head up to face this challenge with a smile just like All Might. “I have to be a hero.” He gives a shaky smile as to show his determination and hoping that Henzu will see reason. 

Henzu’s fists ball up, his temper rising to dangerous levels. He’s absolutely pissed off by this second backstabbing! How dare this wimp, this wannabe standup to him? Who in the hell does he think he is? He’s no hero. 

The thug snarls. “Shut the fuck up.” 

Izuku freezes in place, his pupils dilating out of dread. 

“Who the fuck do you think you are, huh? All Might?!” Henzu grinds his teeth trying to hold himself back. If he screws up there’s no way, he’ll have another opportunity like this. “You listen to me you bastard,” He jabs a finger into Izuku’s shoulder. “you owe me.” 

Izuku’s fists ball up. _‘No, I don’t. I’ve done more than enough, you’re just… taking advantage of me… And I won’t stand for that.’_ He leers up at the taller teen. “I don’t owe you any-” 

“YES, YOU DO!!!” Henzu roars out in fury. 

Izuku stumbles backward not expecting that response. 

“You owe me you piece of shit! And I’m not just talking about these favors.” 

Izuku’s breath hitches in surprise. 

“You owe me for defending you from that living pile of trash, Blasty. You owe me for hanging out with you.” Henzu’s rage is so toxic that he’s shaking even though his muscles are tense. “You owe me,” Through his black strands of hair he locks eyes with Izuku. “for making me _trust_ you! And calling you a FRIEND!!” Henzu grabs his head, throwing it back as if in defeat. “In this world… everything is give and take. No one really cares for others. Even those stupid heroes are in it for their own gain whether it’s for fame, money, or attention! The only thing you can trust is that people will use each other to get what they want! So, you can’t trust anyone! Yet… you were able to make me trust you!” Within his rage and despair he begins to laugh hysterically as if this is all a cruel joke.

He fell for it again, he can’t believe it. He promised himself that he’d never be betrayed by someone that he trusted again. “Ha…ha…hahahaha!! Ha, it’s hilarious! A quirkless useless wimp with no hope for the future was able to gain my trust, and make me open up to someone…” His expression turns dark once again. “But then you go behind my back and betray my trust. And that… is unacceptable.” 

It hurts, the insults hurt but they don’t compare to the pain and regret he has for his friend, his best friend. After all, it really was a challenge for them to even consider themselves as friends. 

##########(Flashback)#########

It was the end of the school day for the students of Aldera Junior High. A ten-year-old Izuku Midoriya was strolling down an empty hallway heading towards the principal’s office to drop off some papers that his homeroom teacher asked him to deliver for her. 

“Hey, broccoli head!” 

“Huh?” Izuku turns his head to a see a taller boy with long black hair jogging towards him with a friendly smile and wave to boot. 

The taller boy catches up to Izuku. “Phew, I caught up to you, ha.” 

Izuku nervously yet curiously pipes up a question. “C-can I help you with something?” 

The taller boy’s expression brightens. “Yeah.” He pats Izuku’s shoulder. “Give me your money.” 

“What?!” It’s a shake down?! 

The delinquent lightly grabs Izuku’s shoulder. “Yeah, I’m short on cash and I really need some right away.” The delinquent places his other hand against the wall. “Just think of it as giving to charity.” He activates his quirk, absorbing the matter of the wall and thus transforming his skin into the same thing. His grip tightens around the greenette’s shoulder and despite his friendly smile the atmosphere around him is that of danger. “So, do ya think you can help a friend out?” 

Izuku’s legs nearly give out from under him. “Some charity!” 

And just like that Izuku’s wallet was drained completely dry and the delinquent got away scot free. 

Izuku is bent over on the floor his wallet laying below him, a few tears leak from his eyes. “My poor wallet… I hope this never happens again…” He has a feeling that that promise won’t hold true. 

Sighing he grabs his wallet along with the papers and continues on towards the principal's office. _‘Who was that guy? And his quirk I wonder what it is? It looked like he absorbed the wall or something. Can he only absorb what he touches? And if so what kind of substances can he absorb? I bet with a quirk like his he can become a very versatile hero.’_ An idea strikes him. _‘I know! I’ll ask him, tomorrow… But maybe I’ll just leave my allowance at home tomorrow.’_

The following day, Izuku manages to locate the delinquent’s classroom. He asked some of the older students about a guy with absorbing powers and, luckily, they knew who he was talking about, but that doesn’t explain why some of them look scared when he asked about the boy. 

Izuku arrives at the classroom, he’s in luck the only soul present is actually the person he’s been looking for. 

The person in question is sitting at his desk polishing what looks like to be a wrench. He spots Izuku at the door. “Whadda you want?” 

“Oh-um, I, uh.” 

The delinquent springs from his chair and casually yet confidently sways towards the smaller student. “What? Want me to shake you down again? Because I will.” 

Izuku gives a nervous laugh. “No, no. I huh just wanted to ask you something.” 

The delinquent frowns and his eyes furrow. “Oh, yeah? What?” 

Izuku begins to sweat and shake with nervousness. “I, um, I’m I-Izuku M-Midroiya and, well, you see, I uh-” 

“Spit it out!” 

Izuku yelps, shutting his eyes. When there’s no strike he opens his eyes and holds up his notebook, it’s titled “Hero Analysis For The Future #10”. “I uh wanted to ask you about your quirk.” Izuku gives him a cheery smile that would lighten up even the darkest cave. 

That was not what the black-haired boy was expecting. “Wha?” 

“Yeah, I wanted to learn more about your quirk. So, can you absorb anything or is it more of a specialist type quirk? Would you classify it was an Emitter, Transformation, or Mutation? How-” 

“Shut up!!” 

Izuku’s mouth clamps shut as his body goes stiff. 

The delinquent is angry, the last thing he needs is for some stupid punk to try and get one over on him. “That’s my business and my business alone. The only ones that can know that kind of stuff are those I trust, but guess what? That means nobody. So, do yourself a favor and buzz off.” The boy slings his bag over his shoulder and pushes past Izuku, knocking into his shoulder. The hit shoves Izuku into the door frame. “Don’t bother me again or you’ll regret it.” He marches off leaving a shaken Izuku behind in his thoughts. 

_‘What the heck was that?! Did I offend him somehow?’_ He takes a breath, calming himself back down. _‘You know… he almost seemed sad. I wonder if something happened to him. Maybe I should apologize.’_ He tucks his notebook closer to his chest and decides to head home for the day. _‘He did say that those he trusts can know him so maybe that’s what I’ll do. Yeah, I’ll get to know him and then he can tell me all about his quirk!’_ With a shit-eating grin on his face Izuku takes off for home so he can come up with the best way to approach the prickly boy. 

What followed the next few days was a series of failed attempts to even approach the black-haired boy. Everyday whether during, before, or after school Izuku was doing whatever he could to approach the delinquent. The greenette tried intercepting him at his classroom in the morning but when the delinquent spotted him, he turned right around and left. Izuku stayed there at least until the bell rang, he later returned but found out that the guy had actually ditched class all day. 

The next day Izuku tried to locate his target within the cafeteria. The truant was sitting alone at his own table in the corner, Izuku was radiating with glee at the opportunity, but one mean look from the black-haired boy sent Izuku backing away. His sense of self-preservation was actually able to influence him for once. 

More and more attempts were made in similar fashions. Occasionally they were a bit more creative for example Izuku straight out tried to ambush the delinquent by hiding in a tree near the school gate. The guy in question easily spotted Izuku and simply kicked the tree causing the smaller boy to lose his grip and crash to the ground. Fortunately, it was a rather short fall thanks to the bushes. 

After a bit, the delinquent actually found the attempts somewhat entertaining, but in an annoying type of way. 

Finally, on the thirteenth attempt did Izuku’s luck change. 

“What’d the hell did you just say to me you bastard?!” Bakugou’s voice rings out from the school yard. 

Izuku rounds the corner so he can see what the commotion is all about. A ten-year-old Bakugou and a few of his cronies are standing off with the same delinquent Izuku’s been after. The guy looks confident and really smug, he probably said something to piss Bakugou off. Although that’s not really that difficult to do. 

The guy smirks with spite. “I asked, if you farted would an explosion come out of your ass?” 

Izuku can practically feel Bakugou’s fuming anger from his position and it nearly makes him pass out from shock. 

“You bastard! You’re dead!!” The angry blonde charges his palms bared and ready to strike a powerful blow. 

As if on instinct Izuku’s feet take off from the ground. “No don’t!” 

The delinquent's grip tightens around his wrench ready to absorb the material. 

Bakugou’s hand lunges forward. “Now DIE!!!” 

Just before an explosion can be let loose a green blur jumps between the two punks. Bakugou’s blast shrouds the figure in smoke and heat. 

The delinquent can’t help but stare in confusion and shock at the kid with burnt green-hair lying on the ground writhing in pain. _‘No way? Why would he do that? Is he stupid or something?’_

Bakugou’s scowl hardens when he recognizes the interloper. “Dammit, Deku! What the hell are you doing?! You wanna die or something?!” 

Izuku gives the hot-tempered blonde a fearful grin. “Ah, uh, no Kacchan I just sort of moved on my own. Without thinking I, uh-”

“Shut the fuck up, Deku!!” 

Izuku screams in response. 

Bakugou swings his right arm back for another attack, but the delinquent quickly realizes what’s about to happen.

The angry boy gives his lesser a nasty glare. “Just move it…or die!!” 

Another explosion fires out from his palm. But this time when the explosion was detonated someone else had taken the brunt of the attack except this time not a scratch or a burn mark could be found on the back-haired boy’s literal iron hide. 

Bakugou is of course outraged as if what he’s witnessing is blasphemy. “What the hell?! That should have burned you to a crisp!! No one can stand up to my quirk!!” 

The defiant thug smirks with spiteful intent. “Oh, yeah? Then this must be extremely embarrassing for you? Huh, Blasty?” 

“Don’t fucking call me that, you son of a bitch!!” 

“I’ll call you whatever the hell I want. Got it, Blasty?” The delinquent’s smirk becomes larger. “Of course, you could always try and make me stop,” He bangs his iron fists together and the sound of heavy metal clanging together echoes out. “but you’ll have to make me.” 

Bakugou’s only response is to snarl. Izuku stares up at the iron-hided boy with something akin to admiration. 

“Just keep in mind, I’m sure a teacher or two heard your foulmouth and, in all honesty, I could care less about getting into trouble. So tell me,” The delinquent's smile becomes wicked. “which one of us has more to lose here?” 

Bakugou’s hands are furiously popping out mini explosions, he so desperately wants to kill this smug faced fucker, but even he has to admit that this guy has a point. If this becomes a drawn out fight the teachers will have no choice but to write him up, and the last thing he needs is a stain on his perfect record. 

“Whatever!” Bakugou spins around, stomping away. “If I ever see your stupid face again, I’m going to blast it into a million pieces!” He shouts back as his cronies nervously trail behind him. 

The delinquent's skin turns back to normal as he chuckles to himself. “I doubt that.” 

With that out of the way that only leaves one more nuisance to deal with. 

“So,” The guy looks down on the greenette who has yet to pick himself off the ground. “care to tell me why you jumped in like that? What do you have some kind of death wish that involves a “blaze of glory” type thing or what?” 

“Huh?!” Izuku flails his hands in denial. “N-no! Nothing like that. I…just thought that, well, you may have, um, needed some help.” 

The guy raises in eyebrow in confusion. This guy is so weird to him. Who in their right mind would take an explosion head on and defend someone he barely knows? He must be after something…maybe. “You’re an odd one, aren’t you?” 

Izuku responds with a sheepish laugh. “Yeah, I guess you can say that.” 

“So, did you do that just so you can find out about my quirk? For your own interest?” 

Izuku stops laughing, staring up at the taller boy with silent confusion and wariness. “N-no. I mean sure that would be a plus but that’s honestly not why I did it. So, no I didn’t do it for my own interest.” 

That actually surprises the delinquent. “Come on there’s got to be something you want from me?” 

Izuku blinks, he tilts his head down thinking over his response. “Well I guess there is one thing…” 

The guy tenses up ready to hear what this kid, this enigma, is after. 

“How about…your name?” 

For a split second the only noise is that of the wind rolling across the lawn as the black-haired boy deadpans. “HAHAHA!!!” 

The sudden burst of laughter makes Izuku cower in surprise. 

“Hahaha! Really?!” The delinquent asks between laughs. “You’ve been chasing me all week and you don’t even know my name.” He wipes a tear from his eye. Man, what a surprise this turned out to be. This kid is really entertaining. 

Izuku sweat drops. “Yeah, well it’s not like you gave it to me.” 

The guy chokes back his laughter. “True.” He stops to think, smiling softly to himself. Maybe this one time someone won’t betray him. But there’s only one real way to find out. “Alright, then let’s start from the beginning.” He reaches his hand down towards the smaller youth. “The name’s Henzu Uuichi.” 

Izuku smiles warmly. “Nice to meet you, Uuichi. I’m Izuku Midoriya.” He grabs Henzu’s hand.

“I th-think we’ll be good friends.” 

… 

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves…” 

########(End Flashback)####### 

Izuku cries out, shouting in desperation, he has to make this right! “I am your friend! And as your friend I would never betray you! Did I lie to you? Yes, that was wrong of me, and I’m so sorry!!” 

Henzu roars back at him with fury that can outmatch Bakugou’s. “SHUT UP!!! You’re not my friend! You’re just a useless, quirkless… DEKU!!!” 

Something inside Izuku snaps. Henzu…how could he? He knows. He knows what that name means. How could he? Izuku feels like part of his heart had shattered, every memory of Henzu replays in his mind like a film, but rather than the usual bright colors and fondness those memories usually bring to him this time they are seen with regret and melancholy. 

“Even with that garbage on your wrist you'll never be anything more. Now get out of my way, Deku!!” 

There it is again. He called him…Deku… ‘ _No. I’m not a Deku… I’m not… I’m not!’_ All of Izuku’s regret and sorrow has festered to that of anger. “NO!!! I’m not a Deku! I’m Izuku! I’m a…Hero!!” 

Henzu rage subsides thanks to being surprise by Izuku’s outburst, but before his rage can spring back Izuku continues his tirade. 

“I am a hero, dammit! I’ve fought killer robots! I saved people’s lives! I even saved Kacchan!” The sheer anger and resolve in his eyes are enough to make Henzu take a step back. “And if I want to continue to call myself a hero, then I can’t let you do this, Henzu!” 

Henzu is more than a little shocked. This can’t be right? Izuku has never stood up to him before. He’s too much of a coward. He’s weak and quirkless. He’s supposed to be his friend, someone he can trust, but here he is defying him. But if he’s being honest with himself maybe they were never truly friends, hell he had a feeling that it would never last anyway. Remember in this world, it’s every man for themselves and sometimes you have to step over others to get what you want… “Are you really going to get in my way?” 

With a determined glare Izuku activates the watch, disappearing in a flash of green light, and having his human form replaced. 

More precisely, he’s replaced by a tall alien with its head floating between arch-like horns on its shoulders. It’s black with yellow markings along its crab-like claws, feet, and chest. Izuku has transformed into the alien he calls Lodestar. An alien he first transformed into during his off time a few weeks back. He had wanted to see what other aliens he had, and this one is currently his ninth. 

Lodestar looks back at Henzu who is starting to come to his senses after staring at this odd form. He glares, standing tall and with a purpose he gives his answer. “Yes.” 

Henzu grinds his teeth together in frustration, it’s official now, they are no longer friends. Deku is no longer his friend. He slams his hand against the track lever, absorbing the steel into his body. “Fine then, just remember,” Using his strength, added with the strength of steel skin, he snaps the lever in half before throwing the broken half away. “you asked for this!” 

He charges readying his fists, trying to make the first strike. 

Lodestar aims his arm out and an invisible force waves out from his hand. Suddenly the steeled Henzu finds himself flying backwards away from the extraterrestrial. He falls backward and is pushed across the ground until Lodestar cuts off his power. 

“It’s not too late to stop this, Henzu.” 

Henzu doesn’t respond instead he gets right back up and charges ahead at full speed. 

Lodestar pushes him back once again but this time the pulse is so strong that Henzu is flung against the wall. That’s when he realizes this transformation’s true power. 

Smirking he gets back on his feet, grabbing the wall, and absorbing the stone instead. “I get it now. That form messes around with magnetism, doesn’t it?” 

Lodestar doesn't like that he was able to figure it out so quickly, but he nods seeing no point in hiding the truth at this point. 

Henzu chuckles, he’s thrilled with his discovery. Now he knows he can win. “You’re going down Deku!” He charges and this time Lodestar can't stop him. Even with this distance between them not even Izuku can come up with a plan to win. 

_‘What do I do!?!’_ Lodestar is internally panicking. He hasn’t had a lot of practice with this transformation all he can do at most is repel and attract metal… ‘ _Wait, that just maybe enough.’_

Acting fast Lodestar sticks both hands forward allowing a field of magnetism to grow and intensify. The tunnel rattles and even shakes, dust falls and spurts out from the air as nails, screws, metal shards, loose piping, and metallic trash comes flying towards the tall being. _‘Time it just right and now!’_ With expert timing Lodestar is able to adjust the pull of the magnetism just before a swarm of metal can lodge themselves into him making the items crowd around him like a large veil of metal. 

Seeing that Henzu is close now Lodestar proceeds to step two of his plan: reversing the pull of the magnetic field. Acting fast Lodestar holds himself tight, holding back the energy before releasing a powerful pulse that launches all the metal surrounding him backwards and right into his attacker’s path. 

Seeing the wave of scrap and metal flying at him Henzu stops and braces himself. The metallic items crash into him: tin cans harmlessly bounce off, some nails are able to embed themselves into his skin, but they don’t go far, the most damage comes from the bigger pieces of scrap metal and pipes which are able to knock him back. 

Henzu growls. “Throwing garbage?! That’s you’re plan?” He flexes his muscles breaking off the nails, thus removing any hindrances. “Is that really all you got?! I thought you were able to fight off monsters and robots? Or was that all just dumb luck?” 

Lodestar gives Henzu an offended look. “It wasn’t dumb luck.” 

“Oh, yeah?” 

“Yes, and I can prove it.” Lodestar points towards the broken track lever. 

Henzu warily yet curiously glances over and what he sees makes him gasp out loud. The lever and the tracks have been switched back to their original positions. But how?! 

Lodestar must be able to tell what he’s thinking just from his expression. “The final magnetic pulse had enough strength behind it to push the lever to reset the track. Good luck trying to reset it.” 

It’s true since Henzu broke the top half of the lever the only part of the lever is what’s encased in the ground, thus inaccessible to him. His plan has failed, there will be no payday today. 

Henzu roars out in anger as he charges forward, and this time Lodestar has no time to react. “You bastard!!” His fist slams into Lodestar’s gut making the alien wheeze and bend over in pain. 

Henzu flings his knee up striking his former friend in the gut again before raising his elbow and slams it down on his back; Lodestar hits the ground hard. Lodestar groans in pain as he rolls over but before he can pick himself up Henzu pushes him down with his foot, the heavy stone easily pins him down. 

Henzu glares down at the altered form of his former best friend. His eyes screaming at Izuku that his betrayal hurt him more than he could ever know. He’s breathing heavily but he refuses to let up his quirk. “You cost me a fortune. You owe me for that.” 

Lodestar is able to choke out an answer. “I don’t…owe you… shit.” 

That actually makes the delinquent laugh a little. “Ha, tough guy. Look at you, huh?” He jabs a finger at the dial on Lodestar’s chest. “But that tough guy act is a facade, these transformations are nothing but costumes, masks, for you to hide yourself behind. Isn’t that right Deku?” 

_‘No, that’s not true. This is me…right?’_

“The only reason you can do what you can do now, why you can call yourself a hero is because of this thing! All because of dumb luck and by chance you found it at a dump of all places. Ha, fitting since you’re a piece of trash anyway. Now that’s the real you! The real you is useless. The real you is quirkless. The real you isn’t a hero. And this will prove it…” Henzu gives Lodestar a malicious frown as his hand opens up and over the watch’s faceplate. 

Lodestar’s eyes widen with worry. “Wait, what are you-” 

Henzu cut off, not by a shout or scream, but by a whisper. “You don’t deserve this gift.” 

Henzu grabs the dial, activating his quirk. As he tries to absorb the energy, to absorb the watch, and take it for himself green-energy sparks wildly out of control from the alien device. 

Lodestar screams out in pain. It hurts, it hurts so bad! But why?! Why does it hurt so much?! It’s as if his heart is being pried right out of him. “Stop it! Stop it!” His cries of pain go unanswered as Henzu continues to tug at the device. 

“Come on, give it up.” He groans trying his hardest to pry the device away. “Since you made me lose out on being set for life, I’m going to take this as compensation.” Henzu’s starting to feel it, whatever energy this watch is omitting is finally starting to be absorbed by his quirk, and that makes him smile. “I bet I could get a real pretty penny for it.” He grins crazily, feeling excited as the prospects of what this could mean for him are. “Or maybe I’ll just use it for myself and go on a crime spree. With access to so many powers and my quirk no one would be able to stop me! Not even All Might!!” 

Even though he’s in pain, and the green energy has only begun to become more erratic as it discharges from the device, Lodestar is able to speak. “T-that’s…n-not… going to happen, Henzu!!” He can’t let it end like this, he can’t let this villain take the watch for himself, just imagine the harm he’ll do with it. _‘I refuse, I refuse to let this watch fall into the wrong hands. It’s my responsibility as a hero to keep it out of the wrong hands!’_

And just like that the sparking dies down and the device becomes silent. 

Henzu smirks. “Ha, what was that you were-” 

BANG!!! A blast of green energy bursts out from the watch engulfing both combatants. The two boys are flung backwards, and both had returned to their original states. Henzu is now leaning against the opposite wall and a normal Izuku is lying between the two parallel train tracks. 

The boys groan in pain, they are bruised, battered, and dirty. They struggle to pick themselves back up, that blast really took it out of them. 

Izuku is able to lift himself up before bowing over in pain, clenching his wrist, and struggling to breath. He felt like he was being choked to death suddenly. It must be a side effect from trying to extract the watch. 

Henzu meanwhile is able to get on his feet, he’s breathing heavily, and something definitely feels broken. But that doesn't matter, what matters is finishing what he started. 

He barely takes a step before a cargo train speeds right past him its whistle howling through the tunnel. Henzu blinks in confusion he also notices that the subway train is running along the opposite track. An important detail sticks out to him, Izuku is trapped between the two trains. The black-haired teen smiles finding this amusing, of course Deku’s luck would put him in a situation like this. He places his hand against the wall, ready for his quirk to take effect. 

A moment passes and there is no change, wind whips at his face as the trains continue to zip by. Izuku meanwhile is stumbling about trying to pick himself back up, but failing. 

Henzu stares at his hand in confusion, he counts all five fingers, he’s touching the wall. What could be the problem? He thinks for a moment trying to come up with a possibility. Then it hits him like a truck. He. Is. Now. Quirkless. “NOOOOO!!!!” 

Henzu slams his hand against the wall trying to get his quirk to work. To see if it’s still there. “No! No! No!! No!! NO!!!” He slams his hand against the cold stone wall. His hand stings and it’s bleeding there’s even a red print of his hand on the wall’s surface now. ‘ _This can’t be happening. It can’t. Now I’m just like-’_ He spins around locking eyes with Izuku through the gaps of the train. Izuku is breathing heavily and staring back at him. _‘I’m just like Deku now.’_ That thought alone almost wants to make him fall over and cry, but he won’t he has to get out of here. Now, now Deku is the strong one. Henzu turns around and sees an old sewer drain. 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Izuku is exhausted he can’t stand much more of this and the watch has timed out for some reason; it’s blinking red and making that annoying buzzing sound as it recharges. He can somewhat see Henzu through the gaps of the train but it’s hard with dust and wind whipping past him. But it doesn’t matter. He will defend himself; he will fight for what he knows is right. 

Both of the trains disappear through their respective tunnels leaving Izuku alone in the dark and cold silence. Izuku cautiously scans the tunnel before realizing that Henzu is gone. He left, ran off to save himself, and leaving an exhausted Izuku behind. Henzu has officially turned his back on him and left him behind. And with that, their friendship has officially ended.

It hurts, it hurts more than the cuts and bruises coating his body. Not even the tears that stream down his face provide any relief. Izuku drops to his knees, the tears pour out as he cries out in anguish and grief. “I’m sorry, Henzu! I’m so sorry for ruining our friendship!!” 

The only response are the echoes of his own wails of heartbreak from losing the only friend he had. 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

_‘Dammit.’_

_‘Dammit!’_

_‘Dammit!!’_

Henzu’s limping and holding his side, he knew something was broken. He hates this, especially how the tunnel reeks plus it’s filthy, but that’s a given. A few rats scurry about running away from the much larger being. 

_‘I hate you Deku. I fucking hate you!’_ Henzu grips the wall trying to prevent himself from falling over. “Next time I see you Deku you’re so dead!!” His fingers scrape the wall in anger, but he doesn’t expect the sound of shredding metal to accompany the action. 

Staring up at his hand Henzu’s eyes widen in shock and amazement. His hand has claws, large sharp claws with webbing, and coated in dry grey scales. Bringing his hand to his face Henzu stares at it trying to comprehend what has happened to him, the rest of him looks normal but his hand is… his hand is… Then he realizes the truth, this glorious truth, and it makes him laugh. He laughs hard with maddening joy. He didn’t notice it before, but he feels the change, he can feel something where his quirk used to be. He throws his head back letting this new found power to invade his entire being: he can feel scales spread over parts of his body, a fin or two stretch out from his elbows, and the sharp jagged teeth only help to make his smile that much more menacing. And why shouldn’t he smile, just imagine what kind of trouble he can get into with this new found gift.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yeah, that happened. Please leave a review about your feelings and thoughts of the events of Ch.6. How were the alien scenes? Did you see this betrayal coming? Did the emotional scene's work? Please let me know so I can properly adjust and improve my writing accordingly. 
> 
> IMPORTANT NOTICE: Updates will have longer waiting periods so I may only update every 2 weeks. This is because I had up tp Ch.5 done ahead of time but because of life I've caught up to it already. So, updates will be slower. That said I will try my best to get them pout on a weekly schedule. Sorry, please understand that I'm only doing this so I can make sure that I have a good and well written story to publish. Thank you. 
> 
> *Quick reminder that Henzu Uuichi, is essentially Kevin Levin from Ben 10, so that should clarify somethings.   
> *Water Hazard and Lodestar are Izuku's 8th and 9th official alien transformations. However! That doesn't mean he won't be getting more aliens in his arsenal. We will have new ones but it will be a bit of a wait (hopefully not that long).   
> *I have also planned out when Izuku will be receiving new aliens and how.   
> *Also, some of you may have noticed that I described Lodestar's powers a bit differently than what he does in the show. That's because I want Izuku to work/train his alien powers rather than be a master in them as soon as he transform into them for the first time. So as time passes on in this story, he will become more proficient with his powers and abilities.   
> *Look forward to chapter 7, admittedly it will also be more emotionally and character driven but it will still have a good portion of action in it. I will also be using a lesser known Ben 10 character in Ch.7. Any guesses on who? I will also bringing in guest star, Ochaco Uraraka, back for Ch.7. So look forward to next time. If things workout I can have Ch.7 up by next week.


	7. Lost One's Rojo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Izuku deals with the aftermath of losing a friend through his new friendships. However, later when he's accompanying Ochaco Uraraka an unknown villain interrupts their day and causes some trouble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I'm sorry for being late things have not been working for me as of late. My job had me work seven days in a row and I was really running on fumes near the end, but I tried my best to get this chapter done as soon as I could. This chapter is 54 pages long!!! Holy shit, I think I was a bit too ambitious with this one. I just really wanted a lot of different things to happen, that said I still think I did a good job all things considered. I did have to take a few things out that I will either explore or explain in the next chapter. Either way enjoy Ch.7 it was a bit of a wait after all and you all deserve a reward for your patience.

Things are not going well. 

Thirteen is tapping their foot watching as Lodestar struggles to levitate a swarm of swirling metal trash over his head. “Come on, concentrate.” 

The sad part is he really is. 

“I am.” Lodestar replies impatiently, his arms are shaking slightly from the tension of the magnetic waves he’s producing. 

For the last week Thirteen and Izuku have been training on Izuku’s Biosovortian form. Their goal is to get Lodestar to compress his magnetism as to focus in on singular objects rather than generating an entire magnetic field that affects everything in the vicinity. 

“You need to focus.” 

The swarm of trash shakes violently as the magnetic wave begins to falter. “I’m trying!!” 

The magnetic pulse begins to break apart, some of trash manages to get loose and gets flung away. In the end though Lodestar can’t hold it any longer and the hoard of trash comes crashing down onto the beach below. 

Lodestar glares at the trash like it personally offended him and in a roar of frustration he releases a magnetic burst that blasts away several trash piles surrounding him. 

Luckily, Thirteen happened to be standing by a pile of tires; thus, they were able to use them as a blockade. The pro hero steps out from their hiding spot shaking their head in disapproval. 

The alien device blinks red as it does Izuku falls back onto the sand with a humph. 

Thirteen strides over as Izuku falls back staring up at the few seagulls flying above, their squawks kind of sound as if they’re mocking him. And they might as well be because Izuku’s progress hasn’t exactly been that remarkable all week, unless you count failing every exercise this week remarkable. All because of the heavy weight on his heart. 

Thirteen’s head comes into his view blocking out the seagulls. 

“How are you feeling?” 

Izuku gives his mentor a look at asks if they’re being serious. “Frustrated.” 

“That’s obvious, I meant what’s bothering you?” 

Izuku turns his head, he can feel sand grinding against his green locks. “Nothing… I’m just kind of… out of it.” 

Thirteen sighs crossing their arms, they’re looking for a real answer. “Be honest with me, Midoriya. I am a teacher after all I can tell that something’s weighing on your mind.” 

Izuku’s cheek presses on the sand, he can’t bother to look Thirteen in the eye. “It’s… nothing, really.” 

_‘He’s lying, anyone can see that. But why? Something must have happened.’_

Rather than call him out, Thirteen steps over Izuku’s prone form and sits down next to him. They gaze out of the ocean silently, not speaking a word, just watching as the waves roll across the shore the setting sun gives the view a magnificent hue of color. God this beach would be beautiful if it wasn’t so trashed, but it is getting better thanks to Izuku’s efforts. At least now there are parts of the beach where they can sit on the sand without having to worry about shards of glass and nails. 

Izuku lays there waiting for Thirteen to speak. After a moment the teen props himself up, following Thirteen’s line of sight he too watches the ocean. 

The two sit in silence gazing out towards the warming light and soft ocean breeze. Izuku inhales the calming smell of the sea letting it ease his frustration away. 

Thirteen takes a soft soothing breath releasing all of their tension. “It’s okay to be frustrated, just don’t let it fester.” They wait for Izuku to react before continuing. “You don’t have to tell me what’s wrong, but everyone needs someone to confide in.” Hopefully, this advice will get through to the boy. “Sometimes it’s good to get everything off your chest, to let it all out, and just by talking to someone you can ease your troubles.” Thirteen looks over and finds Izuku watching them with a thoughtful expression. “Do you get what I’m saying?” 

The soft wind makes his hair sway as he thinks for his answer. He gets what Thirteen’s saying but honestly, he’s not so sure he can follow through with it. Either way he quietly nods his head. 

Thirteen appreciates the answer thou. “Take the weekend off alright? Take it easy and figure out your feelings. It’s never good to let them build up.” 

And like that, they are back to enjoying the serene atmosphere. 

“Thirteen.” 

“Hmp?” 

“Thanks.” 

“You’re welcome.” 

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Inko leans over her plate as to get closer to her son who’s busy fumbling his food around his plate. “How was your day, sweety?” 

“Good, Mom.” Izuku states rather bluntly without looking up from his distraction. 

“What’d you do today?” 

“Train.” There it is again, the uninterested and somewhat annoyed tone, and he’s back to stirring his food around his plate. 

Inko’s gaze falls to her own dish feeling rather dejected. “Izuku.” She speaks gently not wanting to upset her dear child. “Is everything alright?” 

“Yeah.” 

“You are sure? I’m here if you want to talk.” 

“I know, Mom.” 

With that the two Midoriya’s fall into a sullen silence with only the clink of their plates and utensils making any sort of noise. Inko really looks like she wants to say something, but she hesitates and allows the stillness of the room to overtake them. 

An excited smile stretches across her face as a great idea pops into her head. With an excited smile she stretches her hand out, she activates her quirk, and a few moments later two letters float towards her from the living room. She grabs the letters from midair. “These came in today.” She holds out the letter that hasn’t been opened out towards Izuku. “It’s a letter from your father.”

That gets his attention, although he doesn’t show it, his eyes shift towards the letter observing the crinkled edges and somewhat faded scribble of their address.

“He actually sent two but this one is for you. I’ve already read mine, oh, that man he’s such a charmer.” Inko holds the side of her face reminiscing about the good old days when they were both young. 

For some reason the disappointment in Izuku’s heart grows as he hesitantly grabs the letter. _‘At least she has fond memories of him.’_

“It’s such a shame his job sent him away for so long, it’s been a decade now.” 

_‘Yeah, a shame and convenient that his “job” pulls him away just after the doctor identified me as quirkless.’_

“But I guess that’s to be expected when you work for the Self-Defense Force.” 

_‘Of course, he has to “work” for his family rather than be here with them.’_

“I’ve already written my response; I even mentioned how hard you’re training now a days. He’ll be so proud.” 

_‘Would he?’_

“Oh, I know you, should tell him about your quirk finally awakening!”

Izuku’s breath hitches and his grip nearly tears through the letter. 

“That’ll really surprise him, it sure did for me. To think you were just a late bloomer. I’m so happy for you Izuku!” 

Even though he appreciates the sentiment, he can’t deal with this right now. Izuku springs out of his chair, startling his mom. “Thanks for dinner, Mom.” 

“Oh, uh, sure honey.” 

Without looking at her face to gauge her reaction he unceremoniously grabs his plate before trudging off for the kitchen. 

Inko is internally panicking. Did she upset him somehow? “Is everything okay?” 

“Yeah…” Izuku dumps out his leftovers and heads for the sink. “I’m just tired.” 

“Oh, well, alright.” Inko grabs her plate and follows. “Why don’t you just leave the dishes there, I’ll take care of it.” 

Izuku nods and walks off for his room. “Alright.” 

Inko watches in quite remorse as Izuku walks away from her, his head hung low, and the letter being harshly crumbled into his fist. Clenching towards her heart she turns to stare longingly at an old photo hanging on the wall. It’s one of her husband who’s holding up a baby Izuku in his arms. She holds up the photo staring longingly for her significant other, Hisashi Midoriya. 

She takes a moment to examine his handsome features, she can’t help but notice how much her boy has grown to look so much like his father. The resemblance is uncanny the main differences obviously being age, Hisashi’s hair being black, their eyes with Hisashi’s being brown, and the fact that Izuku’s face is much rounder, but that’s as far as the differences go. They both have similar freckles speckled on their cheeks, unruly hair that can’t be tamed no matter how much Inko tried to comb it back, and that special glint in their eyes that just radiates cheerfulness and goodwill. 

Inko strokes a finger across her husband’s smiling face, hoping that he’d return. “Oh, how I wish you were here. You would know what to do.” 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Izuku falls back leaning against his bedroom door, the room is dark since he doesn’t bother to turn on the lights. His mind mixing between anger, regret, and depression and all of those feelings are now focused in on the wrinkled letter. 

Izuku lumbers over to his closet, pausing slightly he slowly swings open the door. There’s nothing out of the ordinary in there, except for Izuku’s collectable All Might hoodies. However, tucked in the corner behind a strategic pile of laundry is a little shoe box. Getting onto his knees Izuku digs it out from its tomb. The box is old and covered in dust but despite that it actually has some weight to it as the contents shift inside. 

He holds the letter his finger playing with the folds but there’s no real attempt to open it. “Proud of me, huh?” He gently takes off the lid revealing a stockpile of old unopened letters each one written out to the same person and address. “I have to wonder if that’s even true.” 

He has no intention of ever opening or answering those accursed letters; they’re just sad attempts for that man to say he has some sort of connection with him. But they don’t. It’s even gotten to the point that Izuku doesn’t even register the few photos that there are of the man. But why should he? He took off a little after reality tried to crush his hopes and dreams. He’s just using work as an excuse to not admit that his own son is a quirkless weakling. 

He drops the letter, adding it to the ever-growing number of unread questions, stories, and possible connections with his father. 

With the deed done, Izuku places the box back into its hiding place and hoping that his mother never finds it. 

Izuku scoffs at himself. _‘God, I never learn.’_ After all, lying and keeping secrets from those he cares about is what got him into this state of mind to begin with. Just look at the secrets and lies he told. He lied and betrayed his only friend, he lied about his “quirk” awakening late to his own mother, he even has the gull to keep the truth of it all away from her even now. _‘Maybe the universe just hates me or something.’_

Things after all have been pretty shitty all week and not just from his lack of progress during training but at school too. His grades haven’t been too hot this week, but that’s the least of his concerns. What’s really weighing on him is Henzu’s absence. He never showed up for class the entire week; Izuku even contacted Henzu’s foster home but they didn’t seem too concerned since Henzu rarely spends any time there. He tried calling him too but Henzu’s phone is no longer in service, so no dice. In full honesty, he’s not going to put in a police report for several reasons: 1. He already betrayed Henzu once so he can’t bear to rat him out to the police. 2. Henzu has some experience with avoiding police, that should have been a red flag, but he was the only one that was nice to him. And 3. It may draw unwanted attention to himself and more importantly the alien watch. So, he has even more secrets and lies to keep. 

_‘God, I have a problem.’_ I guess this is how things are going to be from now on. He grips the watch remembering the choking feeling of Henzu trying to pry it from his chest. _‘I’ll just have to deal with these issues myself.’_

*Ping* 

Izuku’s eyes snap up at attention his eyes quickly scanning the room. But there’s no other soul in sight. “What was that?” 

*Ping* 

That ping is familiar to him. “Oh… it’s my phone.” 

Yup, it was a text that snapped him out of his daze. There are two texts on his phone: the first text was a simple greeting with Ochaco stating that it’s in fact her contacting him. The second text was her explaining how she wants to explore more of Musutafu, but she’d like someone local to guide her and the only person she knows is him. 

Izuku is not sure how to respond. Should he say he’s too busy? He’s not available? No. Those are just more excuses and lies, he can’t be doing this for every single thing. Besides, it might be good to get out of the house for a while. Especially because his mom is going to be even more attentive to him after his episode. 

After weighing the pros and cons Izuku decides to accept the invitation. 

Ochaco is quick to respond with a resounding Great and smiley face emoji. 

They agree to meet up tomorrow at the train station. 

That makes Izuku sweat a little, his mind flashing back to previous events. 

Once all of that is set, Izuku flops onto his bed staring up at the blank ceiling. Maybe he should grab a new All Might poster while he’s out he has a great space for it. 

Trying to distract himself Izuku pulls up his phone to read up on some of the latest hero activities. 

_‘Huh, looks like Kamui Woods is chasing after a thief that raided a hero commission transport vehicle. I wonder what was inside.’_

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Damn that was close.” 

A shifty silhouette props open a window of an abandoned warehouse that contains nothing but large crates, some heavy machinery, and a number of pests scurrying about the dust and grime. 

They swing their leg over the ledge and into the warehouse from atop a pile of crates and from there they jump down to the ground. 

This person approaches a single table, the only item that isn’t covered in a layer of dust, and conveniently has the only light source hovering above it as the only working lamp swings above it. 

They are a woman, one in their early twenties, she has dark maroon hair and pale skin. Her lips have been applied with black lipstick that matches her brown jeans and gothic black jacket with its spikes and skull insignias on each shoulder. Her piercing and the spikes of her jacket sheen in the light. On her side is a large brown duffle bag which is clearly holding something large and bulky. 

“Ha, oh, Rojo you’ve done it again.” Rojo praises herself, as she drops the heavy bag onto the table letting it clang against the hard metal surface. 

She really did a good job: she not only was able to rob a heavily armored transport vehicle from “the” hero commission, but she managed to escape scot free. Well mostly her favorite blaster got scrapped by that human tree guy; damn, it was a costume job, too. 

“This thing better have been worth it.” Rojo opens the bag before lifting up the contents. 

She glides her hand across the slightly bent surface of the heavily damaged hover drone. The drone is heavily damaged, its head is bound to its body by wires, an insectoid arm dangles from its side, and the outer shell is heavily dented. 

Apparently, it’s part of one of the rumored robots that attacked some mall along with some giant monsters or whatever. The sight of the item makes Rojo’s heart pump, this will hopefully give her the edge she needs. For you see, it’s all part of her quirk. 

Her quick, Attachment, allows her to attach technology to her body. It does have its limits for example just because she attaches a phone to her arm doesn’t mean she can use it at will, she would still need to physically type into the phone to make a call. She’s also limited, she can only attach tech to the surface of her body and even then, she has to be sparse with it or it’ll hinder her maneuverability. 

That’s kind of why she’s upset about losing her blaster. She had it embedded into the top of her arm and a special activation switch on her hand that acted as a trigger. This way she wouldn’t have to be holding the gun, and she keeps her hands free. But Kamui Woods latched onto the blaster, thus forcing her to release it so she could escape. 

That’s why this score better be worth it. Apparently, this robot was able to hold its own against the mutant monsters and sure it may have gotten obliterated by All Might but so what? It’s not like she plans on taking him on any time soon. Either way, if she can figure this thing out, she might just change her luck. But first she has to make sure it can actually power on. 

She lugs over a car battery and after some tinkering, she’s able to successfully attach the robot to the battery. 

“Come on. Come on.” She tries and tries but the robot just won’t activate. “Dammit!” Rojo yells out in anger slamming her fist onto the table, denting it slightly. By some miracle the orange-red eyes blink to life as electricity surges through its components. “Yes! Haha!” 

The drone makes strange sounds as it tries to move and access its missing limbs. 

Rojo grabs and pokes at it. “Now what is it you can do?” 

Rojo watches curiously as the drone shakes and shifts, and then suddenly, without warning, wires and cables burst out from its body and latch onto Rojo’s arms and torso. 

“Woah, what the hell!?” Rojo tries to step away but the drone refuses to release her. “Fuck, let go of me!” She struggles to free herself as the cables tighten around her. Acting on instinct, she activates her quirk, Attachment. The effect is immediate, suddenly the entire drone seemingly jumps up and latches onto her like a metal parasite. 

Rojo panics screaming and flailing her arms about to get the thing off of her, but all attempts fail. The husk of the drone seems to meld onto her body, she can feel as electricity and a powerful headache strikes her making her scream out in both pain and shock. The cold strange metal claws at her skin as it imbeds itself. Finally, after a few grueling minutes the pain is over. 

Rojo is freaked out, breathing frantically, holding herself up against a crate trying to regain herself. 

She grabs her head, trying and failing to stop a migraine. “Glad that’s ov-AH!” Her hand! What the hell is wrong with her hand!? It’s not her normal pale tone but dark red with long metallic fingers that look like they can tear through a car. After some internal panicking she rushes over where she knows there’s a mirror. She finds it behind a junked forklift, she throws off the blanket that’s covering it and what she sees nearly sends her jumping back in fright. 

It’s her she’s looking at, she can tell right away, but she’s drastically different from before. Her entire body has been transmuted to a shade of red, she has not two but four red cybernetic eyes, and strange red orbs protruding from her shoulders. Running along her arms are sharp gleaming blades. She’s buffer too, she can feel how much her muscle mass has increased so much so that her jacket and pants have torn around her arms and legs, even her feet have expanded to the point that they ripped through her boots. 

“What the hell?” She grabs at her face trying to comprehend what had happened to her. 

Then it hits her, and it makes her smile. This had turned out better than expected, she’s been upgraded. For once her quirk was actually useful and whatever this robot was it has power strange unexplainable power. And she loves it. 

“This is so great!” She eyes the forklift, smiling she slashes at the vehicle creating a huge gash into its side while also pushing back. “This is so goddamn great! I wonder what else I can do.” In response the red orbs on her shoulders move upward, propped up by metal limbs, the orbs glow red before beams of light shootout burning away at part of the ceiling. Rojo grins with mad amusement as she traces the scorched marks left behind. “With this power, I can get my biggest score yet!” She glides her long claws long body as the orbs retract themselves. “Look out Japan because Rojo’s going to have some fun.” 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Izuku is so not ready for this. Currently he’s in downtown Musutafu waiting by a water fountain surrounded by crowds of people. He’s fidgeting in place pulling at his collar, his hands are clammy with nervousness. If it weren’t for the fact that he’s in public right now he would be having a full-blown meltdown. The reason being is a girl. It didn’t hit Izuku until this morning that he had agreed to meet up with a girl; he agreed to take Ochaco out by himself, with nobody else, in public. 

Man, he’s so nervous, so much so that he begins to spout out his concerns under his breath. “Holy shit this is happening. Should I have combed my hair? Did I over dress? I mean it’s just a black polo and khakis, but still. Oh, no! What if I’m underdressed!? What do I do!? What do I say!? I don’t even know where to take her. What would we even talk about? Maybe about heroes… the weather … life changing questions!? And-“ 

“Hi, Deku.” 

“Ahah!” Izuku nearly falls backward in surprise. 

Ochaco Uraraka looks a bit worried, Izuku’s response kind of startled her. “Are you okay!?” 

Izuku tries to save some of his already little dignity by standing up straighter and fixing the hem of his shirt. “Y-yeah, I-I’m all good.” 

He takes a moment to examine her. She’s wearing a lavender shirt with a teal skirt and black leggings. Along with pink converse and a matching drawstring bag on her back. 

“That’s good.” Ochaco leans forwards smiling up at him, pumping her fists. 

_‘She’s so close!’_

“Thanks again for accepting my invitation.” 

“O-oh, it was no problem.” 

“Yeah, well, it would have really been boring by myself so thanks anyway.” Ochaco claps her hands together, smiling with anticipation. “Now what do you say for getting this show on the road?” 

“Oh, uh, yeah sure. Let’s do that.” 

Ochaco’s smile brightens in appreciation. She twirls around and heads for the nearest shop that had caught her interest. 

Izuku tails behind her before matching pace with her. 

She gives him a cheery grin to which he returns in a similar fashion, albeit sheepishly. _‘Maybe this won’t be so bad afterall.’_

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Master!” One of the humanoid drones in red and black armor reports to his ship’s commander. Who is still regaining his health from their battle. “We are receiving a combined signal from the planet.” 

The commander takes a minute to breathe through his breathing apparatus. “Explain…” 

“One of the drones has somehow merged with one of Earth’s lifeforms.” The drone types away into a table like device, pulling up more information. “We are receiving one combined signal and that signal is on the move.” 

“Hmmmm. An interesting…development. Perhaps one head…is better than two.” 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Look out!” 

“What is that?!” 

“Ahhhhh!!” 

The sounds of lasers being fired out in tandem can be heard emanating from within the jewelry store. It’s a small store located in a less populated part of town, which means not a whole lot of heroes patrol this area thanks to the lack of news coverage. And that is unfortunate for some of the local shops such as this one. 

People flea in fear from the jewelry store as laser fly at them, thankfully none connect. 

Rojo is grinning, she’s very happy with how easy this job is. All she had to do was give a mean glare to make them runaway, albeit the lasers shooting out from her shoulder-blasters did help. 

She aims one of the lasers, protruding from her shoulder, down at the glass display. She fires out a laser melting away the top part of the display case. Her smile widens as she reaches in and grabs the jewels inside. She opens her palm admiring the very expensive gems, wondering how much they’ll fetch for. Her thoughts are interrupted when a high pitch sonic wail pierces through her head. Rojo groans in pain holding her head before falling to her knees. 

The high pitch sonic wail ceases but is replaced by baleful voice. “Listen to me… whoever you are…” 

She wobbles as she tries keeps to pick herself up while still holding her aching head. “Where… are you? Who are you?” She’s able to fight through the receding pain so she can stand back up. “How’d you get in my head?!” She frantically observes her surroundings looking for the culprit. Looks. 

“No questions!” The voice screams out in irritation. “You are here to serve me.” 

That makes Rojo scowl. “Guess again. I work for me and only me!” 

The high pitch sonic wail returns but this time is far worse. The wailing is louder and a shock of pain courses through her entire body causing her to keel over, screaming out in pain. Mercifully the shocking stops rather quickly, but the threat is clear. 

“You now possess power you could have never imagined.” The voice continues to echo through her ears. “Fulfill my demand and I will give you even more power, more technology for you to equip… However, if you fail me then I will turn you to dust!” 

The proposal is tempting. This voice, whoever it is, must be the creator or owner of that robot she stole. And look at what one broken drone did to her, what would happen if she got a hold of more tech just like it. She could be unstoppable… “So, what do you want?” 

She can almost hear the voice smirk despite not seeing their face. “Only one thing. A piece of valuable technology missing from my possession. And luckily you are already programmed to find it.” In that moment, a visual display like that of a video game appears in her vision. It already appears to be tracking the item in question. “Now go and get me my Omnitrix.” 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Awe, what a cute little playground.” 

Ochaco gushes at the public playground just a few yards from their perch on a park bench. The recreational area is decently sized with trees, large playground sets, a volleyball court, gazebos, and even a pond for ducks and fish.

Izuku figured that he should show Ochaco some of Musutafu’s main attractions. And what else than the local park? 

Izuku visibly relaxes in his seat. “Yeah, it’s pretty nice here. It’s a great place to hang out outside, get some exercise, and think.” 

Ochaco nods in agreement, watching as a mother duck leads her young towards the water. “No doubt, this will be perfect when I eventually have to move here. Or I should say “if” I have to move here. Hehehe.” 

Izuku grimaces with tension, although the U.A. Entrance Exam is still a way off they still have a lot of work to do. Far more work before they can even consider passing the exam. “Oh, yeah. You plan on taking the U.A. Entrance Exam, too right?” 

“Sure do!” Ochaco sheepishly rubs the back of her head, trying not to look overconfident. “But I have to admit that I’m still pretty nervous about it.” 

“Yeah, same.” An idea pops into his head. “Oh, hey, Uraraka.” 

“What’s up, Deku?” 

It makes him flinch when she says Deku, but she doesn’t seem to notice. That’s good because he really doesn’t want to start feeling depressed anytime soon. “I had some questions about your quirk. Would you mind answering some of them?” He holds up his “Hero Analysis for the Future #13” notebook for Ochaco to see. Making her wonder where he was keeping that thing anyway. 

Ochaco is slightly put off, but she sees no harm in it. “Um, sure. Why not?” 

With the go ahead, Izuku begins his interview. “So, your quick, Zero Gravity, allows you to make anything you touch weightless, correct?” 

“Yes, but there's more to it than that.” The gravity manipulator holds out her open palm, displaying the tips of her fingers. They somewhat remind the greenette of paw pads on a cat. “It’s my fingers, all five have to make contact with whatever it is I want to float. Admittedly, there’s also a limit before I get nauseous.” She looks a little embarrassed admitting that. “It’s really nothing that special.” 

Izuku can’t help but feel somewhat offended, not for what she said. But for what she implied; that her quirk isn’t good enough, that she isn’t good enough. “Are you kidding!?” 

“Wha-!?” 

“You have an amazing quirk! With a quirk like that you’d be a key player in rescue operations especially in disaster zones. You could float rubble away from civilians, heck you can even float large heavy objects at villains to use them as weapons.” 

Ochaco blinks not really sure how to take all this praise. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” She twiddles her thumbs not sure how to feel. “But it’s nowhere as versatile as your quirk. What does it do exactly?” 

Now it’s Izuku’s turn to blink, yeah, he totally overlooked that part. “Oh, yeah I guess I never fully explained it, did I?” He already knows this will leave a bad taste in his mouth, but he can’t tell her the truth. So, for now, he’ll use the cover story both Thirteen and him worked out. “My quirk is called… One Man Army. It allows me to reconstruct my DNA so I can transform into about nine different…forms. Oh, and each one has its own abilities, weaknesses, and I think they somewhat alter my personality a little bit.” Izuku chuckles thinking about Ditto’s sass, Four Arm’s confidence, and XLR8’s excitable demeanor. 

Ochaco stares, that’s mind blowing. How could one person be so lucky to be born with a quirk like that? “Wow, now that’s amazing. Almost seems unfair...” She can’t help but sulk about her own usefulness. 

Izuku can seemingly sense the doubt she has in herself, afterall he has a lot of experience with that. “I, uh, wouldn’t say that after all I have a time limit of when I can use… my quirk and that includes a recharge time. Oh, I also have to use this special device,” He taps a finger against the bulky watch. “to help me activate my quirk; it also acts as a timer. Letting me know when I can transform and even helping me select which form to take.” 

Ochaco eyes the watch and Izuku has a hard time gauging her thoughts. _‘Please buy that explanation.’_

Ochaco shrugs, figuring that it makes sense: nearly all quirks have some kind of drawback after all. Well except for maybe All Might’s quirk; whatever it is. “Huh, well, it’s still a pretty awesome quirk though, right?” 

“Yeah…” It is amazing, this watch has an impossible ability, but yet it’s sitting on his powerless wrist. “but sometimes I think this power is more trouble than it’s worth…” Afterall it did cost him a friendship. 

Ochaco notices the change in Izuku’s demeanor. His shoulders are sagged, and his eyes have a far-off look. “Hey, Deku.” 

Izuku tenses but he slumps over trying to look calm. 

“Are you okay?” 

“Huh, I’m um I’m fine.” 

That’s all the brunette needs to hear. “No, you’re not.” She states with all seriousness. 

He looks away trying to avoid eye contact. 

Ochaco leans forward trying to keep his attention. “I can tell when people are trying to keep their problems to themselves.” My parents often try to do the same thing, especially when the bills start to build up. “and I can tell that it’s weighing you down.” 

Ochaco silently assesses him, he’s clearly trying to think of what to say, and she doesn’t want to interrupt his thought process. Honestly, she might be pushing him too far. They don’t really know each other that well, heck, this is only their second time interacting with each other. So, he really doesn’t owe her answers, but she can’t just let this sit. He’s clearly hurting, and if she can help then she will. 

Izuku’s astonished she saw right through him. Then again, he was never very good at hiding his emotions. But what can he say? Tell her that he’s one of the soul keepers of some ground shattering secrets: aliens, the Plumbers, and this powerful watch. How is he supposed to explain his feelings while also withdrawing information? 

He remembers how Thirteen also tried to help him by getting him to converse. He remembers their advice; that sometimes talking to someone can help ease one’s pain. So, maybe he can talk about something, talk about what’s really plaguing his mind. “There have been some… things bothering me recently.” He admits, his eyes hesitate to meet Ochaco’s. 

The round-faced girl shifts from her spot, situating herself, allowing Izuku to know that he has her full undivided attention. 

Izuku prepares himself, taking a breath, trying to ease his worries. “Do you remember Henzu Uuichi?” 

Ochaco nods. “Yeah, your… friend from the mall.” 

“Yeah, well, we sort of got into a fight and now…” Izuku can feel tears begin to form, so he looks away slightly as to not let Ochaco notice. “we’re no longer on speaking terms.” Izuku presses a hand over his heart remembering the ripping away sensation when Henzu pried on the watch. The pain almost seems unbearable now thanks to the betrayal and shame he feels. 

Ochaco notices the change in Izuku’s emotional state. “I’m so sorry. Are you alright?” 

“I’m fine physically, but… emotionally I’m not.” He takes a shaky breath; God why is this so hard? A bit of tears starts to drip from his eyes, he runs his hands together trying to keep himself together. “He was about to do something that we’d…both regret and I had to stop him.” He begins to sniffle; he runs his arm across his face in a poor attempt to wipe away his tears. “I know I did the right thing, but…it hurts. Why does it hurt so much?” The dam broke, tears streaming down his face he hides his head in his arms trying not to let Ochaco see him. Why does it hurt so much? I did the right thing. I did what a hero should, but…I lost a friend…the only friend I’ve ever known or had. “And the worst part…” He’s shaking while festering in a pit of melancholy and regret. “the worst part is that…I caused all of it.” He’s having a hard time speaking between his tears and sniffs. “I lied to him and…so that propelled him to do it. If I had been honest…from the start…then we’d…still be friends. And none of this would have happened!” Izuku wails out throwing his head down in defeat, giving up on trying to hold back his emotions allowing the tears to flow unhindered. 

Ochaco isn’t sure what she could say to make him feel better. So, she doesn’t say a thing. She shifts over, placing a gentle hand on the boy’s back letting him know that he’s not alone in this. 

Izuku remains in a heaping mess as he lets his tears run their course. After a few minutes he finally calms down enough to wipe his face clean. 

Izuku is able to compose himself and get his breathing under control. “Thanks, Uraraka. *Sniff* Sorry, for dumping all of that on you.” 

“It’s okay.” Ochaco keeps her hand on his shoulder allowing him to lean on her slightly. “Just tell me, do you feel better now?” 

Izuku thinks about and honestly, he does feel a lot lighter and somewhat refreshed now. “Yeah., I do. It felt really good to get that off my chest.” 

That makes Ochaco smile both for Izuku’s emotional health and the fact that she was able to help him in a small way. 

Izuku can’t help but smile, too. He really does feel a whole lot better. _‘I guess Thirteen was right after all, sometimes it is good to just talk to someone, even if it doesn’t solve the issue, it does help to calm my emotions.’_

*Grrrrr* 

_‘What was that?!’_ Izuku flails his head about looking for the source of the growl. 

*Grrrrr* 

Ochaco covers her mouth trying to stop herself from outright laughing in his face. “Pft.” 

Izuku hears that, he spins towards her his eyes wide and nervous. His expression is what sets Ochaco off into a fit of laughter. 

As Ochaco tries and fails to hold back her laughter, Izuku stares at her as if she’s gone mad only for another growl to resonate…from his stomach. _‘Oh, it was me…’_ The realization make Izuku want to crawl into a hole for a little away, at least until the embarrassment wares off. “I think that’s a sign for us to have lunch.” 

Ochaco manages to take a breath, clearing her eyes of tears. “Sounds good, any place in mind?” 

Feeling like he regained some dignity, Izuku stands up. “There’s a great restaurant I know of not too far from here.” 

“Sounds good,” Ochaco follows his example. “lead the way.” 

And with that the two teens make their way out of the park and towards the downtown area. 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Rojo is frustrated to say the least, she’s still trying to understand all the strange symbols showing up on her visual display the only comprehensible icon on her display is that of a lock-on symbol that has her tracing it with her eyes. The target symbol is moving across the screen, but she can’t see or even tell how close the Omnitrix is. So, to help locate it, she climbed onto the tallest building she could find in the area. “Now where is it?” She scans the area until finally the target symbol moves towards the open street and locks onto a black watch with a green hourglass symbol on it. “There you are.” 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Meanwhile, Izuku and Ochaco stroll through the street passing by quiet stores, services, and a small number of pedestrians. 

Ochaco leans in close, staring in awe at the green glowing watch wrapped around Izuku’s wrist. “Woah, so what’s that one do?” 

Izuku can’t help but chuckle. He’s currently walking Ochaco through his arsenal of transformations, by displaying their silhouettes on the watch’s dial. “I call this one Ripjaws. Basically, I become a tall fishman with razor sharp teeth and claws.” 

“Haha I bet it's hilarious to see.” 

Izuku winces in embarrassment. “Eh, I wouldn’t hold my breath.” He grins awkwardly hoping his joke was somewhat funny. 

It works in a way, because Ochaco spittakes in response. “Pft, was that a joke?!” She tries and fails to hold back her laughter making Izuku slouch in humiliation. 

“It was that bad, huh?” 

“No, no.” Ochaco waves off his concern. “It was good, just need to work on your delivery.” 

Izuku is able to smile appreciating the advice but feeling self-conscious for even having to be given advice at all. “I’ll try.” 

A moment of silence falls over them as they continue their trek. “Uh, h-hey, Uraraka?” 

Ochaco stops, blinking in curiosity. “Yes, Deku.” 

“I…I never asked, but,” Oh, God is he nervous. “How are you doing?!” 

“Um, I’m doing fine?” Why is he asking this now? Is he trying to start a conversation? Or what? 

Sensing her confusion Izuku clarifies. “What I mean is, how are you doing after…the mall trip?” 

“Mall trip?” She takes a moment to think about what he means and when she makes sense of it, a feeling of dread fills her stomach. “Oh, yeah…that trip.” She’s clearly become uncomfortable, Izuku notices but he’s unsure what to do about it. He’s too afraid of accidentally upsetting her. He attempts to reach out to her, but his handshakes so badly with nervousness that it’s slow to get there. His hand never reaches her shoulder to comfort her thou. “The day in the mall…when I really think about it…it was the SCARIEST thing I’ve ever done in my life!!” 

The blood drains from Izuku’s face. 

Ochaco cradles her stomach as if she’s going to hurl as the images of mutant animals and a deranged doctor flow through her head. “It was terrifying, we could have been killed!” Tears start to leak out from her eyes. “We shouldn’t have gone after the villain! We should have never even fought those monsters!” She grabs at her eyes trying to stop the inevitable stream of tears to break through. “I can’t bear the thought if one of us had died…and what that would mean…for those we care about…” And like that the dam breaks and tears pour out as Ochaco chokes on her regret. 

Izuku is beyond stunned, but mostly he feels guilty. Guilty because it was him that dragged her into it, it was him that nearly got her killed, it was him that nearly cost her everything. “I-I’m…I’m sorry…” 

Ochaco gives a harsh sniff wiping her nose with her arm. “W-why are you sorry?” 

“It was all my fault. I led you and Henzu into that fight. I was the one that risked our lives. And I am so sorry for putting you through that.” That’s right, he’s the one at fault. And he truly regrets involving them in his theatrics, but in all honesty, he doesn’t regret what they accomplished. “In full confidence thou, I’m obliged to say that I don’t regret what we did.” 

Ochaco’s eyes widen in shock. How could he be so insensitive? 

Realizing how badly he worded that, Izuku continues. “What I mean is, that I regret forcing you to action, but I don't regret nor am I ashamed that we were able to save lives that day.” He states this like the fact it is, full of confidence and conviction. “We saved a lot of good…innocent people that day.” His eyes lock onto to the brunette’s. “We were heroes.” He gives her the most comforting smile he can offer. 

Ochaco inhales sharply, even though she still feels like she’s going to breakdown from the experience, she can’t help the sense of pride and gratification she feels as well when she really thinks about it. A tiny soft smile just barely begins to form on her face. 

A woman’s voice interrupts in a sarcastic tone of voice. “Awe, ain’t this cute?” 

Both teens look forward and instantly alarm bells are ringing in Izuku’s head. Something's not right about this woman. Her… features are off but they're familiar. And then it hits him. _‘The alien drone… Is she one of them?’_

Ochaco, also senses something off, she can’t help but find something familiar about this person. “Who are you?” 

“Me? I was a nobody, but now,” Rojo smirks flexing her metallic claws. “I can be whatever I want, and I want to be powerful.” 

Well there goes the possibility that she’s friendly. 

Izuku and Ochaco take a step back ready to run if need be. Izuku leans forward and positions his hand over the watch. _‘I guess she’s not an alien robot then, she must have merged with one somehow… maybe it’s her quirk.’_

Rojo notices Izuku’s hand hovering over the watch, reminding her of her mission. “But I can only do that if you hand over the Omnitrix.” 

That throws Izuku off. “The what?” 

Ochaco looks over towards the greenette. “What’s she talking about?” 

“Don’t play dumb!” Rojo snaps annoyed with their reactions. The red plates on her shoulders move upward and begin to buzz as a laser begins to charge. “Now are you going to hand it over or will I have to take it from your melted corpse?” She sticks her hand out ready for these kids to willingly handover what she’s looking for. 

Ochaco turns to him, worry written across her face, looking for an answer. 

_‘This is bad.’_ Izuku grimaces. What’s he supposed to do? What is she even talking about? What could she possibly want from them? 

Rojo is losing patience, she needs the Omnitrix in exchange for more technology. “Okay, kid. Time’s up give me the Omnitrix” She stomps forward standing next to a light pole, she swings her arm slashing through the steel with her razor spines on her arms. “or I’ll slice off your arm to get it.” The light pole tips over, crashing onto the street with a loud clang. 

_‘Arm? What is she…’_ Izuku slowly peers down at his wrist as realization dawns on him. She’s referring to the alien watch! 

No, he can’t allow her to take it. If someone like her would to have control over this device, it could be catastrophic. Who knows what mayhem she’ll cause or how many people she’ll harm? 

One thing is clear though. He’ll do what he can to stop her from getting it. 

Izuku grips the…Omnitrix ready to defend it. “If you want it,” He grips the Omnitrix, disappearing in a flash of greenlight. “you’re going to have to pry it from my cold dead hands.” Four Arms flexes raising his fists as to exaggerate his point. _‘Nailed it.’_ He thinks smugly, happy that he was able to get a quip in. 

Ochaco gasps silently at Izuku. Is he crazy!? They should run and call the police, maybe find a hero to handle this. 

Rojo is taken aback by this development. That damn voice should have told her about this kid’s quirk. “Woah, hey what the hell just happened?” 

Four Arms grins. “Simple, I buffed up.” 

“Tsk, funny guy. Well I’m more than willing to accommodate.” Rojo raises her claws positioning herself like that of a beast ready to pounce. “Let’s dance big boy.” 

And with that Rojo leaps into action. She’s fast, in less than a second, she’s cleared over half the distance between them, her arms stretched to the sides as to ready slashing attacks. 

Four Arms, noticing the outstretched claws, readies to defend himself. By some odd coincidence, his experiences with Bakugou as well as analysis heroes and their battles over the many years have given Izuku a good, albeit inexperienced battle sense. But as of now they are paying off seeing as his prediction was correct. 

As she approaches Rojo draws back her left arm before lunging it forward towards the red alien. Using his bulky forelimb, Four Arms easily parries the attack. Rojo swipes with her other claw but it’s effortlessly blocked. 

Now that both her attack and defense are down, Four Arms uses his two lower arms to grab onto Rojo’s arms. 

“Damn!” Rojo snarls trying but failing to pull away thanks to Four Arms’ grip. “Let go of me!” 

“Sure thing.” Four Arms swings his body pulling the robotic villain along with him. “There you go!” He throws her around both him and Ochaco towards the upper floor of a nearby building. 

Rojo bounces off the brick wall before landing with a loud crash onto the hard street below. 

She doesn’t move, thinking they’re fine Four Arms takes a moment to check on Ochaco. 

Her face is written in worry and nervousness, her eyes glued to the still form of the villain. 

“Uraraka,” She flinches, drawing her attention towards the hulking mass of muscle. “Go ahead and-” 

“You bastard!” Ochaco gasps as Izuku scowls when they realize that Rojo is fine. 

As she stands up Four Arms takes note of the fact that there’s not a single scratch on her. She doesn’t even look fazed by being thrown at a building. 

“You think you’re hot-stuff? You think that thanks to your quirk than that makes you some kind of hero, don’t ya?” Although she’s fine physically it’s clear to anyone that she’s more than pissed. “Hate to break it to you but with my new power,” Her fingers begin to shift becoming thinner and notably sharper. “not only will I be taking the Omnitrix, but I’ll make sure to hurt you so bad that you won’t even be able to hold a fucking pencil!” Her newly formed claws sheen in the light of the day, they are twice as long as they were before, they are more akin to blades. “Prepare yourself for a world of pain!” She runs forward swinging her blades wildly with no real technique or plan other than to tear through the kid’s hide. 

Fearing for not only his life but Ochaco’s, Four Arms grabs the brunette before jumping backwards just barely avoiding Rojo’s attack. She doesn’t let up though as she chases after her prey who has little to no time to defend himself as he continues to dodge attack after attack. Four Arms, using one arm to secure Ochaco, does his best to parry, dodge, and defend from the onslaught. Luckily, this alien’s hide is tougher than one would think so not many of the slashes actually pierce through the skin, thankfully. However, human flesh is a different story. One wrong move and he risks Ochaco’s life and if he doesn’t finish this or get them away in time he’ll revert back to human and it’ll for sure be over for them both. 

Ochaco is terrified, this villain really has her on edge. All she wanted was a peaceful afternoon, one that doesn’t involve monsters, robots, or villains. _‘But Why? Why is this happening? What the heck is she after? And why? Why aren’t I doing anything?’_ Four Arms dodges another slash, acting fast he grabs Rojo’s wrist, and then he flings her into a light pole. The light pole bends as the villain is slammed into it. _‘Deku is so amazing. He’s scared, I know that, but he’s still able to stand and fight. And here I am terrified out of my mind, unable to help.’_ Rojo quickly springs back up and continues her assault but this time Four Arms is able to counter with his own punches. While using his body to shield Ochaco. _‘I’m a hinderance. He’s only trying to defend me.’_ Rojo manages to get a clean strike to Izuku’s chest making him wince as he stumbles backwards. _‘I’m slowing him down!’_

Rojo lands a solid punch to Four Arms’ gut making him keel over, wheezing from the blow. “Not so tough now are ya?” 

While bent over Four Arms latches on to Rojo’s leg lifting her up. He then swings her downward slamming her into the ground again and again until he launches her away. The robotic woman skids across the ground the sound of metal scraping across the concrete accompanies her. 

With a small moment of reprieve Four Arms finally puts Ochaco down. She wobbles on her feet, her nerves now allowing her to keep her balance. “Uraraka, go and call for help.” 

Ochaco looks somewhat relieved but still very much worried. “Ar-are y-you sure?” 

Four Arms nods his head. “Yes.” 

While those two have a quick strategy meeting Rojo leaps back onto her feet. Seeing that his opponent is back on their feet Four Arms readies himself to continue. Meanwhile, Ochaco remains rooted to her spot her eyes glued to Rojo’s metallic red form. 

“What’s going on here?!” A male voice shouts out from afar. 

Four Arms and Ochaco spin around spotting what appears to be a hero running towards them. They must have received a call about a couple of mutant quirk users duking it out. 

The pro hero appears to be Mr. Brave at least that’s what Ochaco and Rojo are able to make out from Four Arms’ muttering from when he recognizes the lesser-known pro hero. 

Rojo also spots the pro hero making a beeline for them. _‘Shit! I got to think fast here.’_ This is bad, she’s already wasting too much time with this overgrown child and now a hero is here to arrest her. If this fight drags on any longer no doubt more heroes will show up to help take her down. She may now be stronger but even she knows that the numbers in battle can defeat the strongest of foes. She has to think of a way to keep the hero at bay while also getting this brat alone… She glances over taking note of the girl that the red brute’s been hauling around. Rojo smirks gleefully as a devious idea forms in her head. 

Mr. Brave is nearly upon them and with no time to waste Rojo sprints forward and grabs onto her target. She binds her arm around the surprised and terrified Ochaco before jumping onto the outer wall of a five-story building. She digs her free claw and her clawed feet into the WALL allowing her to hold to the side. 

Four Arms realizes his blunder of letting his guard down, fearing for Ochaco’s life. “Uraraka!” 

“Deku!” Ochaco screams out squirming in Rojo’s tight hold. She is unable to get her hands free and thus unable to reach anything that she can use her quirk on and allow her to break free. 

Rojo crawls up the wall as Ochaco squirms and begins to tear up. As she hops onto the roof, she calls back down at Four Arms. “If you want your girl back, you’ll have to give up the Omnitrix you brat!” And with that she takes off via leaping from roof to roof. 

“Hey, get back here villain!” Having just witnessed a kidnapping Mr. Brave takes off after Rojo, but due to lack of acrobatics he must follow from the streets below. 

Four Arms calls out to the pro hero. “Hey, wait!” But it’s too late the pro hero is already out of earshot. _‘This is really bad.’_ Four Arms takes off running, chasing after the pro hero and the villain. _‘This is all my fault! How could I have let her get taken like that?! Oh, I hope Uraraka is okay!’_ He’s now in a full-on sprint passing by driving cars and unsuspecting bystanders, from above he can spot Rojo roof jumping with a struggling Ochaco in her arms, and not too far away is the hero Mr. Brave who looks to be calling in backup. _‘What do I do?! What do I do?!’_

Rojo turns her head to analyze the situation, she grins spotting both the hero and big red muscle head following below. She continues on her way but with much more urgency. 

Noticing the change in speed Four Arms attempts to speed up as well but he’s so busy trying to keep an eye on the kidnapper that he fails to pay attention to where he’s going. More precisely, he fails to see oncoming traffic. 

*CLANG!!!* 

A truck slams right into the bulky alien. Four Arms yelps as he bounces off the grill and onto the street. Pedestrians gasp and some even wince as they witness the large mutant getting plowed by the heavy vehicle. 

“Ow.” Four Arms groans as he pushes himself off the ground, holding his head with one hand, and holding his side with another. After taking a moment to pat himself down he’s happy to report that nothing appears to be broken the worst thing he has is probably a very large bruise and road burn, thank God he was Four Arms and not Ditto he definitely would have ended up like a bug on a windshield. 

People surround him asking if he’s alright but he’s a bit preoccupied he’s scanning the roofs looking for Rojo. _‘Shit!’_ He can’t see her, nor does he spot the pro hero anywhere. _‘No. No! No!! This can’t be happening!’_ He’s panicking as he stumbles here and there trying but failing to gently move those around him as they can only stare at him in confusion or concern. “Where are they?! Where are they?!” 

“They went that way.” A cool calm voice responses from within the crowd. 

“What?” Four Arms spins around and for a second, he thinks he’s staring at another alien, but he quickly brushes off that idea. 

A tall and rather muscular young man with pale gray hair, that’s swept forwards, and that covers most of his face and his eye. He has six arms that are all attached to each other by a web of skin, his two upper arms have hands at the end but the rest end in what appear to be ears, eyes, and even a nose. He’s also wearing a blue mask that happens to cover the lower half of his face. Izuku is instinctively curious of what’s under the mask. 

The young man steps forward as he approaches Four Arms takes note that the young man is about a foot shorter than him. “You were chasing after that villain, right? The one carrying the girl?” 

Four Arms’ heart begins to race as he remembers his mission .“Yes, she took my friend! Do you know which way they went?” 

“Yes, I saw them heading in that direction.” The multi-armed man points west. “I can even hear them from here, just go down a few blocks and you should be able to hear sirens. When you do follow them.” 

Those are some specific directions, must be thanks to his quirk. “Okay, thanks so much!” Four Arms bows his large body making it a rather hilarious sight. “I really appreciate it!” 

“No thanks are necessary.” The young man waves it off as Four Arms stands backup. “Now you better hurry, sounds like things are only escalating over there.” 

“Right,” Four Arms breaks into a run, as he does, he waves back at the helpful soul. “thanks again.” 

The masked youth gives the red hulk a thumbs up in response. 

_‘What a nice guy.’_ Izuku thinks to himself. 

As he rounds the corner the watch or more precisely the Omnitrix flashes red regressing Izuku to his original form. And it couldn’t have happened at a worse time, even though he’s been training his athletic ability is nowhere near Four Arms’ meaning it takes him longer than anticipated to get into earshot of the sirens the tall muscular man had told him about. After nearly three minutes Izuku can finally hear the sound of police sirens in the distance, he follows the sirens until it’s clear where they are originating from. 

After taking a shortcut through an alleyway Izuku finds himself lost amongst a rather large crowd of people. “What da?” Due to his stature he is unable to make out what is happening. 

So, he follows along the edge of the crowd making his way around until he gets a clear enough view of the situation. A number of police and pro heroes such as Mr. Brave, Air Jet, Death Arms, Backdraft, Slugger, Kamui Woods, and Mount Lady are present and they seem to be surrounding a store that seems to specialize in selling various appliances: fridges, washing machines, dishwashers, etc. 

“What’s happening? Where’s Uraraka?” 

A very familiar and welcoming voice calls out to Izuku. “Midoriya!” 

Instantly recognizing that voice Izuku spins around and spots someone approaching him from behind. “Thirteen!” Indeed, Thirteen has arrived behind is their car left a distance away from the crowd as to not get in anyone’s way or to draw attention. “What’s going on?!” 

Thirteen frowns. “It’s not good a villain has taken a hostage.” 

“I know that already!” Izuku stats rather bluntly. 

… 

Thirteen gives him a questioning look. “Excuse me?” 

Rather than let his blunder throw him off Izuku focuses in on the main issue. “The villain took Uraraka while we were together!” 

Thirteen recognizes the name as the girl that Izuku fought Dr. Animo with. “Alright, explain everything.” 

“Alright,” Izuku takes a single deep breath before explaining all that’s transpired. “We, Uraraka and I, had met up earlier today and while we were heading for lunch when the villain.” 

Thirteen nods. “Right and then they kidnapped Uraraka.” 

Izuku tenses up realizing that Thirteen doesn’t in fact understand the full situation. “No, the villain they…they wanted something…from me.” Izuku grips the watch in a tight hold as if even finishing the sentence will magically teleport the device away. 

Thirteen instantly picks up what Izuku’s trying to say. “They wanted the watch.” They say it like it’s a fact and not a question. 

Izuku nods. “They wanted the Omnitrix. It’s what she called the watch.” He finishes after Thirteen gives Izuku a puzzled look. 

“The Omnitrix, huh?” 

“Yeah,” Izuku nods, his hands fumbling together. He’s trying his best from his letting his nerves take over and he goes into a panic. “she demanded that I hand it over and when I didn’t, she took Uraraka.” He takes a quick shaky breath in the meantime Thirteen keeps their full attention on the fearful greenette. “And that’s not all. The villain it looked like she’s fused with one of those attack drones we’ve been encountering.” Thirteen’s eyes visibly widen. “It must be thanks to her quirk or something, but she’s fast, strong, and dangerous. Oh, she also doesn’t know what the Omnitrix does, but for some reason she’s after it.” He throws in the last bit of info rather half-hazardly. 

Thirteen allows all the information to process in their mind. “Okay, that explains quite a few things: I had gotten a ping on my surveillance system about alien technology being activated and I tracked it here.” Well that explains why they’re here in the first place. “However, the fact that the technology has fused with the villain is not at all comforting.” Izuku begins to shake, but he wills himself to keep it together. “Whoever this person is they know about the wat-Omnitrix, a major power boost with unknown capabilities, and a hostage. We’ll have to search for answers later, especially about why they’re after the Omnitrix in the first place if they’re not even sure about what it does.” 

Now comes Izuku’s panic attack, he’s sweating as dark thoughts swirl in his head. “This is terrible. It’s all my fault. I must have done something, someone must have found out about it and hired her to get it or something.” Maybe it was Henzu Uuichi. “And now Uraraka could be hurt or worse. And the villain might get away. And if they get what they want, who knows what they’ll do. And-” 

A firm yet comforting hand grips Izuku’s shoulder. It’s a firm grip that is well practiced in calming panicking and hyperventilating victims in disaster zones. Izuku calms down, allowing Thirteen’s presence to comfort him. “Relax, alright?” 

Although he was much calmer now, he still can’t help the feeling of dread and regret rise up in his throat. “How am I supposed to relax? When it’s thanks to me that my…friend is being held against her will. Those robots they’ve been targeting me and while I’m around everyone I care about is at risk. How can I just standby and do nothing while those I care about are caught in the crossfire?!” 

Amongst the storm of Izuku’s tirade Thirteen’s firm voice cuts are through the barrage of panic. “Then don’t.” Izuku instantly quiets down, unsure what the pro hero means. “You’ve never, not once, since I’ve known you have you been willing to just wait for someone else to save the day.” 

That is somewhat true Izuku thinks. 

“It’s why you’re so quick to use the Omnitrix because for the first time in your life you have the power to do something, to save others, and that’s incredible. So, why stop now?” Thirteen grabs both Izuku’s shoulders and gives him a quick shake, anticipating an answer. 

Izuku is still lost. “What are you getting at?” 

Thirteen sighs, he needs to be forward with this one. “I’m going to be honest with you. What I’m about to say could get me reprimanded, but I think it’s necessary. The villain has the appliance store sealed really good and we, the heroes, don’t have a clear idea about what’s going on in there.” Izuku’s breath hitches. “The villain is refusing to respond to police negotiations and none of the heroes can make a move without risking Uraraka’s wellbeing.” 

“Why are you telling me this?” 

“I’m telling you all this, because I…” They pause to correct themselves. “we need you to sneak in there and stop the villain.” 

“What!?!” 

Thirteen isn’t at all surprised by the teen’s reaction. “I know but hear me out.” Thirteen points at the store. “That villain has fused with technology. Alien technology. Meaning this situation falls under Plumber jurisdiction, but…” Thirteen leaves the sentence hanging hoping their message finally clicks with Izuku. 

It does. “We can’t risk being found out.” Izuku finishes, his voice is serious but obviously full of fear. 

“Exactly, and if pro heroes get involved not only will they have the villain, but they’ll have access to level 10 alien technology.” Thirteen shivers not wanting to think about what could potentially happen if that’s the case. “And that could be catastrophic. And since there’s no chance that I can get in there, let alone by myself, I need you to go in there and stop this villain. I need you to disable the alien technology within them. And I…we need you to save your friend.” 

Saying that this is a lot of responsibility is an understatement. How can he possibly do this by himself? This different than anything he’s tackled to this point so far: monsters and robots are one thing. They can’t strategize, adapt, or process emotions…but a villain, a human, with the ability to make decisions and a hostage is a whole other ballpark. 

Noticing Izuku’s discomfort Thirteen decides that he should be responsible and not try to force his protege into this. “If you don’t feel comfortable with this than I understand.” 

Izuku can tell what they’re trying to do, they’re trying to give him an out a chance to step away. But that would mean risking the risk of alien technology being released into the world, the villain getting away, and abandoning Ochaco. How could he possibly do that? Can he really just walk away? … No, he can’t. 

Despite his nervous disposition he delivers a steely glare. “I’ll do it.” 

Thirteen is a bit surprised, but they really shouldn’t be. They definitely can’t stop the sense of pride rising in their chest. 

Izuku gives the pro hero a shaky and somehow a confident grin. “And I think I have a plan.” 

If Thirteen wasn’t wearing a helmet Izuku would have seen one of the biggest grins of his life. “Then let’s hear it.” 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

A few miles away All Might, in his civilian clothes, holds up a very dizzy and possibly concussed purse thief. “FEAR NOT CITIZEN THIS THIEF WILL NOT TROUBLE YOU ANYMORE.” 

A small crowd of admiring faces have gathers aweing in All Might’s glory. A single woman bows repeatedly as All Might returns her purse to her. 

“HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY, NOW WATCH AS I MAKE MY EXIT!” 

*Whoosh!* 

And just like that All Might disappears in a blink of an eye the only evidence of him ever being there is the and tied up unconscious thief and a gust of wind. 

The small crowd barley starts to disperse many of them are still hyped up about encountering and witnessing the Symbol of Peace in action. 

“Woah, look at him go!” 

“How? He took off so quick.” 

“He’s so cool!” 

“You’re amazing All Might!” 

An extremely thin All Might overhears and blushes from the praise, glad that he could help. He steps out from his hiding spot, the backside of a nearby dumpster within a nearby ally. He takes a moment to regain his breath after all he’s nearly at his limit for the day already. He’s just about to walk away as the chatter behind him continues. 

“I wonder where he went?” 

“Probably to that hostage situation across town.” 

That makes the pro hero freeze up. _‘A hostage situation?’_

The two pedestrians continue not noticing the skeletal man eavesdropping on their conversation. “Yeah, the heroes got the whole place taped off and they can’t seem to get inside. Apparently, the villain has a strong quirk and the hostage is just some middle school girl.” 

“That’s too bad. I hope it all turns out okay for her.” 

“Yeah, me too.” 

All Might’s mind can’t help but remember the Slime Villain attack, but more precisely he remembers how useless he was. He couldn’t be the hero that day for a lot of people: not for the crowd, the hostage, and definitely not for that boy, Izuku Midoriya. 

No matter how much he’d like to he’ll never forget what he did to that poor boy. A Quirkless boy so full of hope and he outright crushed it with little to no remorse. _‘I could have done more…I should have done more, but I didn’t I just turned his back on the kid.’_

He feels uncomfortable when he considers how much that must happen to the boy, how often people turn their backs on each other because of their status, appearances, and/or abilities. _‘Maybe…he was the one.’_

It’s not the first time he’s considered this; perhaps that boy could be his successor, but… _‘Would he even want to see me? Would he even listen? Would he even accept after everything I said?’_

A dreadful feeling tells him that no the boy would not accept him. Sure, he could go and track him down, but would that really fix things? Probably not, and they may never know. Maybe in an alternate reality it all worked out from them. But in this reality, he has to find the right successor one that understands what it means to be a hero and can become a symbol. 

But for now, he’s the holder of One For All and the Symbol of Peace so for now he’ll focus on his duties as such starting with the hostage situation. 

As fast as he can muster, while in his weakened state, All Might takes off calling Tsukauchi to find out where the villain is held up. Hopefully he can make it there in time. 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

*Sniff* 

_‘Someone please hurry.’_

CLANK!!! 

The sound of metal being smashed echoes throughout the building making Ochaco recoil in fright. 

Rojo pulls her fist away in frustration from the smashed washing machine. “Dammit, he’s taking too long.” Rojo snarls kicking a different washing machine. She kicks it so hard that it’s flung away, bouncing off other appliances before landing hard onto the tile floor. 

Ochaco flinches from her seat on the cold floor. Her wrists are bound to a pipe as to not let her slip away. The villain also took her phone and her bag throwing them towards the opposite corner away from her. 

Ever since Rojo brought her here, after nearly making her lose her lunch from hopping from rooftop to rooftop, they’ve been cooped up in this appliance store for nearly fifteen minutes and already she can hear the sound of police and heroes surrounding them. It gave her hope knowing that they’re here, but it’s been fleeting ever since they tried to hail the villain to negotiate, but she answered back with a round of lasers from her shoulder blasters. 

Now here she is, scared witless as a killer robotic psycho paces back and forth through the store as if expecting something to happen. 

“Arrrgh!!” Rojo screams out slashing down at a refrigerator knocking it to the ground in a fit of rage. She spins around marching straight towards a terrified Ochaco. “Where is he!?!” She screams directly into the girl’s face, Ochaco can smell the older woman’s breath, and she grimaces as specs of spit fly at her face. 

“W-who’s he?” 

Rojo spits out her reply. “You’re boyfriend!” 

_‘Oh, Deku…’_ Wait. “He’s not my boyfriend!” She (comedically) yelps out in embarrassment and shock. 

Rojo clicks her tongue. “Whatever, either way he’ll be showing himself sooner or later.” 

Ochaco tenses up, knowing the risk of accidental provoking the villain. “W-why do you say that?” 

Rojo smirks, she can practically taste victory. “Simple, he knows what I’m after.” She pinches Ochaco

‘S face with two metallic fingers, squeezing her cheeks. Ochaco has to fight the urge to pull away as to not risk getting her face sliced off. “And if he doesn’t want anything to happen to your cute round face” Rojo clutches her hand. “Then he’ll have to deliver the Omnitrix to me on a silver platter.” 

Rojo mercifully releases the girl’s face. 

Ochaco rubs her cheeks. “T-the Omnitrix?” 

“Yeah, that thing on his wrist.” 

She can’t be serious. “His watch?” Why would she be after that thing? It’s only function, as far as she knows, is to help Izuku control his quirk. She doesn’t know why but she has one final question that needs to be answered. “Why?” 

The question makes Rojo pause before drawing her full attention onto the prisoner. “Why? Why do people do anything?” 

Ochaco’s not sure if she should answer so she remains quiet. 

“People will do anything for power and money! Those are the only things that drive people to do anything in this life!” Rojo states this with such righteous confidence that Ochaco actually starts to consider what she’s spouting out. “Just look at me I’m fucking jacked!” Rojo gestures to herself admiring her red and mechanical physique. “I finally have the firepower to do what I want and after this I will be even more powerful.” The blasters on Rojo’s shoulder extend and blast an unexpecting dishwasher burning a hole right through it. “And with this power, this strength, I can take and do whatever I want! I’ll be rich and known as one of the greatest bandits in the whole world! After this I bet, I’ll even be able to take on All Might himself!” 

A shiver runs down Ochaco’s spine. _‘She’s insane.’_

Rojo seems to notice Ochaco’s reaction. “You’re right to be scared, because no hero will come to save you.” 

“Th-that’s n-not true.” 

“Isn’t it?” Rojo asks rather coldly. “Those heroes out there are not here to save you. But to make themselves look good so they can become famous, get a fatter paycheck, and with that comes power. That’s also why they won’t risk coming in here. Because if they fail then that’s bad press, with bad press comes a loss in popularity, which equals a real loss of money.” 

Ochaco hates how much sense the villain is making. 

With a giant grin, Rojo glances towards the large store windows watching the number of heroes, police, and innocents outside waiting for something to happen. “Don’t you see? The only way you’re getting out of here is if your…friend delivers the Omnitrix or…” Rojo makes a slicing motion to her neck. “in a body bag.” 

Ochaco breaks down into a fit of tears, turning her head away as to not give the villain the satisfaction of seeing that she got to her. 

Rojo chuckles to herself satisfied with the girl’s reaction, she then marches off to survey the situation outside. 

Ochaco is really having a tough time keeping it together as she slumps down in defeat, her hands bound over her head thanks to the binds. She just really wants to be home right now with her parents wearing her favorite pajamas. She’d rather be anywhere but here. _‘It’s not true. She’s wrong! Someone will come. The heroes will come.’_

“Don’t let her get to you.” A squeaky voice chirps out from above her head. 

With tears clouding her eyes, Ochaco peers up not knowing what to expect, she certainly didn’t expect to see a grey frog with bulging green eyes staring down at her. The little frog like thing is hanging off the side of the pipe that she’s bound to. She blinks away the tears and that’s when she notices the familiar green hourglass symbol on the medallion like disc on the frog’s back. 

“Deku?” 

Grey Matter nods gesturing for Ochaco to keep her voice low. “Yeah, it’s me.” 

Ochaco stiffs up and in a fit of panic she quickly scans for Rojo, but the villain isn’t in her direct line of sight. “What are you doing here?” She whispers harshly at the grey bipedal frog. 

Grey matter slides down the pipe until he’s resting on Ochaco’s arm. He grabs the bindings, sticking the rope into his mouth, before biting down hard. As he chews away, he tries to reply. “I, grrr, came to, grrr, get you, grrr, obviously.” 

*Snap* 

And with that Ochaco’s arms are free. The brunette rubs her wrists gently trying to regain blood circulation within her hands. Rojo is nowhere in sight, thankfully, but she can return any moment and how the hell are they supposed to get out of here? Make a run for it? No, they’ll get caught before they can even make it to the door. Hide? She’ll easily find them. Fight? No chance. 

Even though she’s no longer tied up, the cage of defeat still looms around her. She holds Grey matter in her hands, the little alien looking up at her with his big eyes that are full of concern and worry. “You should just leave.” 

The question comes totally out of nowhere for Grey Matter. What could she possibly mean? Just what did the villain do to her? “Uraraka, I can’t just leave you here. We need to get out of here.” 

Ochaco gives her little friend a soft but deeply saddened smile. “Thank you, Deku. But you shouldn’t have come.” 

Grey Matter has no idea how to react to this, should he say something? What should he do? 

Ochaco chokes back a sob. “Why risk everything for me? I’m no hero.” That really hurts to admit. “I can’t do what you can do. I’m not powerful, I’m not skilled, I’m just a stupid girl with an unachievable dream. So, please Deku…just leave me…” 

_‘Uraraka…I’m so sorry, this must be so terrifying for you. And it’s thanks to me that you’re even here.’_ He has to make this right, but first he has to get her out of here. He will get her to safety, and he’ll beg for forgiveness, he’ll do whatever it takes to make it up to her. “Uraraka I-” 

“What’s this?!” A red hand seemingly out of nowhere snatches onto the tiny alien. Ochaco yelps back in fright as Rojo holds up the frog-like alien examining it and noticing the dial on its back.

Grey Matter flails about struggling to break free from Rojo’s grip. “Ah, Ah!” 

“Deku! Are you okay?!” 

Grey Matter tries to push and pull himself free of Rojo’s claw. “Yeah, she just has really cold hands!” That’s probably not the most pressing matter at the moment. 

Grey Matter’s body seems to squeak like a rubber duck as Rojo gives his body a few squeezes. “I knew you’d show up. Ready to give up the Omnitrix?” 

If he wasn’t an amphibian he would be breaking into a cold sweat right about now. “I, uh, not really. I’m rather attached to it in case you haven’t noticed.” 

Rojo actually finds the quip amusing. “I’ll be taking it anyway.” Her silver claws glean as she turns Grey Matter over and tries to tinker with the strange alien device trying to find some way to get it off. 

Grey Matter can feel the cold sharp claws scratching and digging into the Omnitrix faceplate and his flesh. He starts pounding on Rojo’s hand, but it hardly phases her, it doesn’t even tickle, instead it provokes her to tighten her grip to the point that he’s actually struggling to breath. In between breaths he’s somehow able to call out to a frozen Ochaco. “Uraraka…run.” 

The order goes unanswered as Ochaco continues to cower watching helplessly as her friend is being tormented by the mad woman. _‘Deku…even when your backs against the wall you’re still looking out for others…I’m not like you…I’m not a hero.’_ She hates how something deep in her mind seems to agree, and it hurts because it’s true. How can someone like her, someone with such a weak will possibly be a hero? She’s nothing like Deku! He never seems to hesitate to help others, but she always does she can’t even save herself. She can’t even will herself to move. _‘How could I even consider the possibility of getting into U.A. and becoming a hero? How can I ever take care of my parents?’_

Her parents, they work themselves to the bone just so they can keep a roof over their heads, cloth themselves, and get food on the table. And to thank them she really wanted to make a lot of money as a hero to give them the life they deserve. It’s ironic really with how right the villain was; heroes only act for their own self-interests… No, that’s not true. Just look at Deku…what could he possibly be getting out of this: not fame, fortune, or power he’s here for the sole purpose to save her so she can live her life feeling safe and with a happy smile on her face. Happy smiles…that’s what really drew her into the appeal of pro heroes they just seem to make everyone feel safer and happier with their presence alone. She had always dreamed of that the most, bringing smiles to people’s faces, allowing them to live their lives free of fear and harm. That’s the future she strives for one where not only her parents, but everybody can live their lives free of worry and strife. They can live their lives with smiles on their faces. 

Something clicks inside her heart as she gazes up at the pathetic struggle above her. Grey Matter is doing his best to break free while trying to choke back the squeals of pain from having what feels like his own heart being tampered with. 

‘If I want to achieve my dreams…then I have to make a stand. I have to fight back. I have to save my friend!’ Seemingly without thinking, as if by instinct, her legs seem to move on their own. “Leave him alone!!” 

She lunges at the villain, acting fast she presses a firm hand onto Rojo’s shoulder making her weightless and without any hesitation she throws the much bigger woman backwards and right into the ground. 

The attack didn’t so much as hurt but it certainly came as a surprise and it does manage to knock the wind out of her allowing her to lose her grip and thus lose her quarry. 

Without a second to lose Ochaco grabs Grey Matter and makes a beeline straight for the exit at the front of the store. 

From within a much warmer and friendlier grip Grey Matter calls out to his savior. “Uraraka, that was amazing!” 

She doesn’t voice a reply, she’s too focused on getting them out of there, but her eyes sheen down at her friend soundlessly appreciating the comment a great deal. 

Rojo screams out in outrage. “You bitch!!” 

The morphed Izuku spins around in Ochaco’s hand, his eyes widening in fear, as Rojo leaps up to her feet and the shoulder blasters extend upwards. 

“Look out!!” He barley shouts that out before a pair of laser beams are fired out right towards them. 

Either by luck or skill Ochaco falls to the ground allowing the lasers to zip past her head, although the smell of singed hair does reach their noses. The lasers continue forward blasting apart a poor unexpecting drying machine. The blast is loud enough that everyone such as the news, heroes, and police are able to hear it. 

“Get back here you brats!!” Rojo roars out as she sends out a rapid-fire of lasers. “That watch is the key to my successes!!” 

Ochaco frantically ducks behind a row of refrigerators. The large machines provide enough cover to keep her out of sight which is good because Rojo fails to notice Ochaco scrambling towards the opposite end of the aisle and away from Rojo’s aim. 

Grey Matter peeks over the side observing the situation. He takes a moment to examine Rojo’s body taking note of how much that alien drone actually melded with her human flesh… Perhaps to the point that he could rewire her! He could shut her down or make her go haywire! As Grey matter he’ll definitely have the knowhow to complete such a task, but first he has to get close to her to do that. “Uraraka try to get me close to her.” 

“What?!” Ochaco harshly whispers, she accidentally squeezes the tiny Izuku making him wheeze. 

“I think I can disable the technology encasing her body, but I need access to her inner wiring and components.” He pauses to consider their options; he needs to stop her and retrieve the alien technology. Maybe with Ochaco’s Zero-Gravity she could float him up and he could sneak up on her from above. “Throw me while she’s not looking.” 

Ochaco considers the order, understanding what he’s trying to do, but she quickly realizes the possible risks such as Deku being spotted as she throws him. “No, that won’t work…but this will.” Without warning she takes off in a sprint back towards the entrance of the store, not bothering with stealth, her hands tucked in front of her as to keep Grey Matter out of Rojo’s sight. 

Rojo takes the bait, she snarls in frustration not liking the idea of losing out on her payday, and gives chase leaping over and throwing machines that are in her way. “Stop running!” 

The Izuku within Grey Matter rears his head as he has a panic attack. “What are you doing?!” 

Ochaco speaks with the most conviction she can muster. “Giving you an opening.” 

She activates her quick on her friend, who instantly feels the effect of being weightless, while still running from a fast approaching Rojo she tosses him up and over her head. 

Thankfully, Grey Matter is smart enough to remain quiet despite how much he wants to scream out in fear. It feels really weird to be floating in midair and watching as your friend fleas for her life as a mad woman chases after her. Speaking of which, Ochaco glances back at the nearing Rojo when the sprinting villain is nearly underneath Grey Matter the brunette gives a shaky smirk as she presses her fingertips together, releasing her quirk. 

Grey Matter falls from above and lands, somehow quietly, on Rojo’s shoulder thankfully with how much she’s running around and crashing through things he goes unnoticed by her. Which is good because he’s struggling to crawl his way towards the back of her head thanks to all the thrashing around. But he has to do this, he promised Thirteen, plus it wasn’t exactly easy to get in here those vents were extremely dusty. 

At this point, Rojo is practically at Ochaco’s heels so much so that she takes a few swipes at the poor girl. Despite the real threat of being slashed into pieces Ochaco is surprisingly calm, she only a few aisles away from the exit. Sensing an oncoming attack, she ducks her head forward avoiding a swipe to her head, she then banks left into an aisle of more kitchen appliances: microwaves, refrigerators, etc. 

Rojo follows but with a less than gentle manner, with a swing of her arm she bashes her arm against the stacks of appliances knocking them away, a few stray microwaves clash against Ochaco’s legs tripping her up. The brunette tries her best but ultimately, she lands on the tile floor with a loud thud. 

Ochaco groans propping herself up she’s just about to get up when a shadow looms over her. 

Rojo is huffing down at her with malice. “You’re beaten. Now hand over the Omnitrix.” 

Ochaco glares up at her, but her expression breaks for a second not because of the villain but because of the little grey alien climbing on her shoulder blade; the adrenaline must be keeping her from noticing or maybe the robot skin is preventing her from sensing the additional weight. 

“No, I don’t think I will.” With a cheeky smile Ochaco reveals her empty hands. 

If it weren't for her altered eyes they would be widening in surprise. “Where is he?!” 

From behind Rojo’s neck Grey Matter can make out what appears to be the main circuit board of what was once the drone. 

Ochaco takes a second to examine what’s around her and from the corner of her eye the perfect weapon stands out. She then peers up at the villain, deciding to humor her question. “He’s closer than you might think.” 

“What?” 

Meanwhile, Grey Matter has somehow gotten through the steel skin to the circuiting underneath, and with as much strength he can manage with such a tiny body he tugs on the wires breaking a few of them free. 

“Ahhhhh!!” Rojo screams out in pain as a high-pitched static screeches through her head and electricity sparks out from the back of her neck, the sparks nearly fry the little alien who’s holding on tight as to not get thrown off by Rojo’s floundering. Rojo desperately tries to grab at Grey Matter but the little alien is a bit too slippery for her to even touch. 

With the villain distracted Ochaco reaches for the one kitchen appliance that’s stood out to her. 

“What are you doing to me?!” Rojo roars out in desperation trying to get rid of the grey pest. She can feel it, she’s losing control over own body, it’s weakening. The strength, the surge of electricity, the power is all starting to fade away as the little pest continues to rip away at her inner wiring. 

“Hey!” 

Rojo spins around to face the girl what she sees really takes her by surprise. Ochaco’s wielding large silver refrigerator holding it the cord making it look like a giant-sized balloon, the large size makes her look even smaller than she really is. But somehow that only enhances how intimidating she is right now with such a determined look in her eyes. 

“Have a taste of this!” Even though she’s scared, even though she’s exhausted, even though she feels like she may puke at any given second she will not back down from this. She swings the fridge as if it was a giant flail right at Rojo. 

The refrigerator slams right into Rojo, who stands there like an idiot thinking that her armor would protect her, it does not. Because in that same moment Grey Matter was able to complete his part of the mission, thus bringing her defense down to that of a normal human being. As the large machine slams into Rojo, Ochaco not only let’s go of the cord but releases her quirk enhancing the impact of the attack. The impact comes in so fast and hard that the hit shatters the robotic exoskeleton making it crumble away like a potato chip being smashed. Add in the fact that now about 300 pounds of moving force not only has the strength to break things but to launch them too. Both Rojo and the fridge are sent flying towards the store entrance, both crash right through taking the crowd of reports, heroes, and bystanders by surprise. 

Rojo passes out as she skids across the street completely stripped of her power and enhancements, reverting her back to her normal self, as a broken refrigerator lies not too far away. 

Everyone's attention is so focused on the downed villain that most people don’t notice the grey amphibian roll across the ground at the same time the villain was launched through the store. 

The entire crowd is silent as they all gaze up towards the store entrance, and there waiting to greet them is a battered and exhausted Ochaco Uraraka she’s out of breath and slightly queasy, either way she remains composed and standing. She wipes away sweat from the side of her face with her arm and breathing heavily while glaring down at the once mechanical criminal with disdain. What she says is a mere whisper, but because of the silence it is clearly audible. “I…can be a hero. And I will keep everyone safe!” Ochaco declares out to the world with a tired yet victorious smile. 

And with that the crowd goes insane with thunderous applause and cheers, which totally take Ochaco by surprise making her pink-cheeks become even darker in color. The noise seems to snap the pro heroes and police out of their daze as they charge in to apprehend the villain, some of them enter the store to make sure no one else was inside, and a few pro heroes immediately descend upon Ochaco as well as any reporters that were starving for an interview. 

Mt. Lady makes it to Ochaco first. “You were absolutely amazing!” 

Ochaco squawks, making a comically confused expression with her mouth agape. “Wha?” 

The reaction makes Mt. Lady squeal with delight. “Eee, you’re so goddamn adorable! You just gotta join my agency when you go pro.” 

Before Ochaco could reply even more words are thrown right in her face by other pro heroes and reporters. 

“That was spectacular!” 

“Miss how are you feeling right now?!” 

“How did you manage to defeat the villain?!” 

“What exactly is your quirk?!” 

“Do you plan on becoming a hero?! If so, join my agency!” 

Grey Matter watches on at first, but it becomes increasingly difficult as reporters move-in nearly crushing him in the process. Luckily for the little guy a friendly hand snatches him up, bringing him to eye level. 

Thirteen, holding Grey Matter in his open palms, watches as the Galvin tries to calm his racing heart. “You okay?” 

Grey Matter nods waving off the adrenaline. “Yeah, just give me a minute.” As his heart rate calm Grey Matter takes a moment to look over to where Ochaco is. 

She’s smiling, and blushing profusely, as heroes and reports praise her for not only rescuing herself, but for managing to bring down a dangerous villain all on her own. Even though the praise is extremely flattering it’s clear that Ochaco is really suffering from embarrassment. Thirteen takes note of how uncomfortable she is amongst the swarm of new fans. “Come one let’s go rescue her…again.” 

“You got it.” 

Thirteen places Grey Matter onto their shoulder before proceeding to squeeze their way through the sea of people in order to save Ochaco from the barrage of praise, inquiries, and agency offers. 

Unbeknownst to the two of them they pass by a strange man with blonde hair and sunken eyes. He’s dangerously skinny, his clothes hanging off of him, and he’s having trouble breathing not surprising considering he ran all the way here and was able to catch the tail end of the ordeal. Thanks to his lankiness and height he watches as the police lead the round-faced girl way for her statement and a checkup. _‘My search just might be over…’_

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ 

Meanwhile, someone else comes to their own realization. 

“Worthless!!” The alien commander with an octopus like head roars out in anger. Oh, how he urges to destroy or kill something, but alas he can only voice his frustration thanks to being stuck in a healing pod. He continues to spout out words of anger until they begin to wheeze and cough. 

One of the humanoid drones is busy monitoring their commander’s vitals through a holographic screen. “Master please you are still recovering!” 

The commander’s wheezing stops, thanks to the breathing apparatus attached to his mouth and gills, and he composes himself “Silence…” The commander of alien cruiser peers upward at a large holographic monitor which is projecting what appears to be the day’s events from Rojo’s point of view. 

The commander watches as the monitor replays the same scene over and over, the scene of a human girl somehow managing to takedown his agent with a single attack. “This…endeavor has proven…to be fruitless.” 

“Master should we send more drones?” 

The commander takes a moment to think. How does he continue from here? How can he possibly retrieve the Omnitrix now? The inhabitants of this world are proving to be a greater nuisance than originally foreseen. The so called “pro heroes” are crawling all over this place called Japan, one of them was even able to take out his attack drones with a single strike. And now this, an adolescent child was able to defeat his minion. This cannot stand! However, it is clear that drones will not get him what he so desperately desires. “No…” 

All of the drones within the command center stop what they are doing to check on the status of their leader. “Master?” 

“We…will decrease the deployment of drones…for now we will standby and observe. We will take time…to learn about this backwater planet and its inhabitants…until an opportunity…presents itself.” 

Yes, this is the right strategy. He needs time not only to heal but to work around those pesky “heroes”, he cannot just simply use force to take the Omnitrix, he needs to be more…resourceful. So, for now, he will learn what he can and perhaps if the hero presence on this world is so great than so too must be the criminal underworld. Perhaps a solution lies there. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that was Ch.7, wow that was a lot, huh? Please let me know your thoughts of the chapter. Please leave a review, tell me what you liked, ask questions, even throw in some helpful criticism I would really love to hear from you guys and get your thoughts. 
> 
> *I am hoping to have Ch.8 up within the next two weeks or less but it is unclear when that will occur. Work has gotten a bit chaotic recently so my schedule has been frustrating.  
> *Ch.8 will another character driven chapter, but it should be relatively shorter especially when compared to this chapter.  
> *I will have a few scenes in Ch.8 that were originally meant for this chapter, but I excluded them because this chapter was already way too long.  
> *Finally, Ch.8 will be the last of what I'm calling the "Pre-U.A.". That's right after Ch.8 we will begin the U.A. Entrance Exam so be ready for the story to really begin to take off.


	8. Space Cadets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While out enjoying himself Izuku reflects on how Thirteen and him got Ochaco Uraraka to join their little gtoup.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woah, I finished Ch.8 on time! I knew I would finish it, but honestly this chapter ended up being longer than I originally thought. I really need to work on that, this way I could try and post sooner. Anyway please enjoy.
> 
> *Some part(s) were meant to be in Ch.7 but I cut them out and put them here instead because Ch.7 was already way too long. So if some parts seem out of place then I apologize in advanced.

“Thank you for the help sweetie.” 

Izuku smiles warmly at the kind old woman he offered to carry groceries to her home. “You’re very welcome, ma’am.” 

With a friendly wave, Izuku went off on his merry way. For a good portion of the day, he’s just gone about strolling through Musutafu. He has no particular plan other than helping those he can. And why shouldn’t he? Now that he’s completely cleaned up Dagobah Beach, he has officially completed his training with Thirteen. And he couldn't feel anymore pride for himself than now, also the newly developed muscles didn’t hurt either. Seriously, the “All American Dream Plan” really worked better than he ever expected it to. Of course, there is still more to learn, especially about his aliens and powers but he can focus on that stuff at U.A. assuming he’ll make it in. 

For now, he’ll just help those he can. He’s already done so much such as using Feedback to help a little girl get her cat down from a tree, give a nice elderly gentleman direction, and he even picked up some trash around the park as Ditto. 

It feels nice to do those good deeds, and the beautiful weather really helps his mood. The sun is out but it’s not too hot or humid, a nice breeze gently moves his hair, and the birds’ songs only help to raise his spirits. 

*Ping* 

That was his phone, he pulls it out seeing one new message from Ochaco Uraraka. They’ve stayed in contact, especially after what took place nearly eight months ago, and especially what happened afterwards… 

##########(Flashback)#########

“Uraraka!! I’m so sorry!!” Streams of tears are just gushing out from Izuku’s eyes, so much so that Ochaco has to shield herself from the splashes. 

“Whatever for?!” 

The dam closes up very briefly, enough so Izuku can reply. “If it weren’t for me, you’d have never been kidnapped!” The dam opens back up and the tears resume to act like geysers, so much so that tears begin to pool at their feet. 

Ochaco so desperately try to calm the poor greenette down before he draws any more attention to themselves. Luckily, the Tatooine Train Station is void of crowds especially at this hour, it’s nearly dusk and the orange tint to the sky only confirms this. 

It took a while for the police to get their statements from Ochaco about the villain and the events that led up to her kidnapping. They seemed to be rather lax and sensitive to her especially since she was only defending herself and with the villain, identified as Rojo, now in custody they saw this as a case closed. So, they didn’t push too hard with their questions. That said Thirteen did remain nearby to make sure nothing led to talks about the Omnitrix, aliens, or the alien tech. Ochaco herself kept things to a minimum, such as not mentioning that Izuku had broken into the store to help her, she was afraid of what they would do to him since it’s illegal to use your quirks without a license and that he snuck past the police. 

When all was said and done, even after some more pros approached Ochaco with offers, the police escorted her to the train station on her insistence since Izuku sent her a quick text to meet there. Thirteen generously gave Izuku a ride to the train station so he could meet up with his friend. Now here they are at said train station, Izuku crying his heart out with apologies and Ochaco can do nothing but smile sheepishly for his sincerity, all the while Thirteen keeps to themselves watching from afar as to not disturb them. 

“Deku, really, it’s fine. I don’t blame you for anything.” 

Izuku sniffs, his tears calming to a drip. “R-really?” 

Ochaco can’t help but chuckle at his somewhat cute and funny expression “Yes, it was the villain, Rojo, that ruined our day out, not you.” 

Izuku fidgets with the hem of his shirt. “S-so, all is forgiven?” 

Ochaco gives him a warm soft smile to help reassure him. “Of course.” 

“Ah, thank goodness.” 

Ochaco nods in confirmation. “Hm.” It’s true, she doesn’t see this as Izuku’s fault in anyway. 

… 

But Rojo really wanted to get her hands on his watch thing, the Omnifix-no the Omnitrix, but why? It should only work with Izuku’s quirk, One Man Army, right? Perhaps she wanted to use it for something else? Maybe Deku knows why, maybe she should ask? Yeah, there shouldn’t be any harm in asking. “Hey Deku.” 

Izuku tilts his head to the side a naive smile on his face. “Hmp?” 

“What is the Omnitrix?” 

His reaction is not what she’s expecting, Izuku is shocked so much so that he nearly stumbles over in surprise. “T-the Omnitrix?” His eyes dart towards Thirteen, but they are too far away to have heard the question. Thirteen notices Izuku’s distress and begins to make their way over to assist their student. But for now, Izuku is on his own. “The Omnitrix is my watch, just like I said earlier.” 

“I know that,” Ochaco eyes the black and green device with much curiosity. “but what I mean is, why was Rojo after it?” 

What should he say? Should he tell her how the Omnitrix is Level 20 alien technology that can give its user access to alien quirks? “I…I don’t know.” He hates how easily he was able to lie like that, especially after what happened last time he lied to a friend. 

Ochaco tilts her head slightly with a raised eyebrow. “Really Rojo made it sound like she would be more powerful after she got it.” Ochaco notices that Thirteen has approached them, but they seem to respect that Ochaco is the one speaking and doesn’t want to interrupt. “Maybe…she thought it could do something for her.” 

Thirteen decides to chime in. “Or maybe she was trying to retrieve it for someone else.” After all the past drones were all after the Omnitrix as well. Perhaps whomever is controlling them went with a different approach. 

“But that still doesn’t answer my question. Why would anyone be after his watch? Does it do something else?” Izuku and Thirteen share a nervous look, well at least Izuku does. Ochaco finally realizes how incredibly rude and nosy she’s being right now. “I mean you don’t have to tell me, but I mean my life was at risk because of it, but still!” 

Izuku’s eyes cast downward in shame. She’s right after all her life was in danger because of him, because of the device on his arm. He needs to make it right, but what about Thirteen will they be alright with him filling her in? “Uraraka…you see, well, my watch is special, but I, um-” 

“Why don’t we discuss this at a later time?” Thirteen calmly interjects before Izuku could continue any further. 

Both teens give the adult odd looks. “Wha?”

Ochaco looks uncomfortable, but she speaks up anyway. “Um, I’m sorry Thirteen, and I don’t mean to be rude, but I was talking to Deku.” 

“I’m sorry, too, Miss Uraraka buy I’m afraid this matter does concern me. Also, I want to apologize for deceiving you,” Thirteen gestures to the quivering greenette beside them. “but Midoriya and I have known each other for some time now.” 

“What?!” Ochaco stares at the equally surprised Deku, although he’s surprised because Thirteen was the one to spill the truth. “Why would you keep the fact that you know a pro hero a secret?” 

Before Izuku could reply Thirteen continues their explanation. “Miss Uraraka please understand that the…Omnitrix is a highly sensitive matter.” 

The brunette gaps in shock as the worst comes to mind. “Oh, my gosh! It’s a government secret isn’t it! Oh no! Now you have to silence me, hide my body, and erase my files to the point that I never existed!!” 

“What?! We don’t do that! We don’t just make our problems “disappear” or “send” them away…most of the time.” Thirteen coughs the last part into their hand, hopefully the girl didn’t hear that part. 

Izuku however did catch it. _‘What do they mean by that?!’_

“What I mean is we need special permission to share that information with you,” Thirteen’s eyes shift towards Izuku before back at the brunette. “after that we’ll be happy to share what we know with you.” 

_‘Wow, this must be really serious.’_ Ochaco thinks. “Really, it’s not too much trouble is it?” 

“It’s not,” Thirteen really sounds both professional and sympathetic which is good since both teens seem like they are both nervous about something or other. “but please keep in mind that this…secret could change your perspective on things. Just keep that in mind, alright?” 

Ochaco easily picks up the warning tone of Thirteen’s voice. “Alright.” 

Thirteen instantly brightens, clapping their hands together as a means to signal the end of the conversation. “Great, well, I think you two have earned yourselves a nice long rest. Wouldn’t you say?” 

Izuku’s eyes widen as he finally takes note of how late it is, they can almost see the stars begin to emerge as the sun slowly disappears in the horizon. “Oh, yeah.” 

Ochaco checks her phone, noticing the time and the texts from her parents. “Right, I should get going. I wouldn't want to worry my parents any more than I have already.” 

Izuku nods. “Same.” 

Thirteen pats Izuku’s shoulder. “How about I see you home Midoriya?” 

“Uh, sure.” The greenette turns to Ochaco. “I’ll let you know if we can tell you anything, and…” he bows, his back straight, and his eyes shut. “I’m sorry for keeping secrets!” 

Ochaco blushes from the display. “It’s fine, everyone has their secrets, and if you can’t tell me than I understand. Even if I really want to know.” She rubs her head flashing him a sheepish smile. 

“Thanks, I’m…I’m grateful.” 

In that moment the speakers across the station turn on. “Attention all commuters the last train to Endori will be departing shortly.” 

“Oh, that’s me. Text me later, alright?” Ochaco grips her backpack and takes off for the train, she can’t afford to miss it. “Take care!” 

Izuku calls back to her. “Right, see ya.” 

Thirteen and Izuku watch as Ochaco enters the station and makes a beeline for her train. 

Without looking away Izuku decides now is the time to bring something up to the Plumber. “Are we really going to ask permission to tell Uraraka about…everything?” 

“That depends,” Thirteen turns and looks directly into Izuku’s green shimmering eyes and with all seriousness they ask, “do you really want to tell her?” 

“What?! But I thought you said we needed permission to do that.” 

“Midoriya, understand, that I have all the authority to let those that I see as necessary to know about my work. And you are part of it, also with the number of Plumbers on Earth being so low we need as much help as we can get. That said we can’t go around telling everyone we think can keep a secret. If Uraraka accepts our terms then I see no reason to not bring her into the fold, plus she’s already proven herself well against those alien robots.” 

“So, it’s up to me?” 

Thirteen nods. “I trust you.” 

He has to think about this. This is what he wanted, isn't it? He doesn’t have to keep lying to her. Unsure, Izuku watches as Ochaco boards the train, she hops on making it seem like she just barely made it, but the train’s doors haven’t even shut closed yet. She turns and with a cheery smile she waves back at them. “Yeah, I think we should.” 

“Okay, I’ll prepare what’s needed to help convince her.” 

_‘I wonder what that entails.’_ Finally, there’s only one more thing weighing on his mind. “Hey, Thirteen.” 

“Yes?” 

“Something else has been bothering me. How did Rojo get her hands on the robot in the first place.” 

Rather than wait to think about how and why, Thirteen already has an answer to that question. “I already looked into it; she stole the robot from a transport vehicle being driven by the Hero Association.” 

Izuku internally gasps. “Do they know?” He means, do they know about aliens and the Plumbers? 

“The organization as a whole…no.” Izuku visibly relaxes. “But the leaders do,” Izuku’s eyes widen in astonishment. “and they sometimes go behind my back to take alien contraband, specifically alien technology.” 

“Is that bad?” 

“Yes, they wish to unlock new technology, but like I said that could lead to catastrophe. I’ll have to give them a call and make sure that it doesn’t happen again.” The train’s whistle decides to interject itself to allow all those that hear it to know that the train will be leaving now. “You don’t have to worry about that thou, I made sure to collect all that was left of the evidence this time.” 

The train doors shut closed, Izuku and Thirteen watch on as Ochaco sits down near the large window with her back towards the duo. Even from their position they can see her ease into her seat letting exhaustion take her over. 

Thirteen is glad, it seems that his young protege really took his advice about finding someone to confide in. Someone he can trust and help ease his troubles. “She’s a good one.” 

“Huh?” 

“I mean as a friend, she’s a good friend, she seems like a good person you can confide in, right?” 

“Yeah.” Izuku watches as the train begins to ease itself forward onto the tracks. He watches as his friend’s train car begins to move as well. He thinks about what Thirteen said and he has to agree. Ochaco really has become someone he can see as a friend…a real friend at that. For now, he can only wonder about what will happen next and how well she will handle the truth about the Omnitrix…and him. 

Just as Ochaco’s train car leaves his direct line of sight Izuku spots only a single other person sitting in the same car on the opposite side of the car from her. Sitting with their back towards the window there is a skinny blonde-haired man with an overly sized white shirt. _‘Was that… No, it must have been my imagination. I’ve had a long day after all. Yeah, that’s it. Afterall why would All Might be heading to Endori, in Mei Prefecture, when his agency is in Tokyo? Oh well, it wasn’t him anyway. Now time to get home before Mom cries herself to dehydration.’_

########(End Flashback)####### 

Izuku unlocks his phone and he is greeted by a selfie from Ochaco Uraraka with the caption 

[Woah, my training regimen is tough! But I think it’ll be well worth it!]

Izuku smiles at the photo, it was taken recently, he can tell from how much light is in the photo. It’s of her in exercise clothes, her face is dirty and slightly scraped up, and she’s sweating that much he can tell, but despite that she’s smiling and giving him a big thumbs up from within the photo. Judging from the background she appears to be in a forest near her home, which makes sense all things considered. According to earlier conversations she was able to find a trainer that was willing to help her to develop her quirk and her physical capabilities as well. He tried to ask who her trainer was but all she said was that it was a personal connection of her dad’s construction company. Either way it’s good that she’s working hard to achieve her dreams. 

He sends her a quick response. 

[Keep up the hard work!]

[Let’s try to meet up before the U.A. Entrance Exam next month?] 

[Sounds good to me] 

[Great, how about we go to this new mochi place that opened up?] 

[Yes yes yes]

[I must have MOCHI :D]

[I mean sure. Why not?]

Izuku laughs at Ochaco’s silliness. [K, I’ll send you the address later] 

[Cool see you then]

[Talk to you later, space cadet]

[Same to you fellow space cadet] 

Izuku chuckles warmly at the stupid nickname she dubbed them with. Well it’s certainly better than yelling out Plumber or space hero. After all, neither of them has earned those titles quite yet, but one day they just might. 

The thought makes Izuku grin like there’s no tomorrow, they did make a promise to each other all those months ago, and he has no intention of ever breaking that promise… 

##########(Flashback)#########

“Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. I mean what if she freaks out or has a mental break down? She might think I’m some kind of freak! What if she regrets this decision? This can go badly in so many different ways! I bet she freaks out at the first sight of them!” 

“She might freak out, but from your muttering more likely.” Thirteen deadpans in slight annoyance, they’re never going to get used to Izuku’s muttering habit. 

“Huh?! Oh, right sorry. I’m just so nervous.” Izuku gazes up at the large warehouse standing behind them. _‘Uraraka isn’t the only person’s reaction that I’m worried about.’_ Izuku shudders with nervousness. 

Thirteen lazily texts away on their phone oblivious to Izuku’s worries. “It’s no big deal. Just relax.” Thirteen pockets their phone, eyeing the slightly shaking teen. “You trust her, right?” 

“Of course.” Izuku answers with little to no hesitation. 

“Then you have nothing to worry about.” 

Izuku smiles softly before turning away to keep an eye out for Ochaco. 

While he’s distracted Thirteen gently taps a hidden device in his pocket. _‘Besides I could use this to erase her memories encase this doesn't go as planned.’_ It’s such a convenient device, they don’t actually get to use it that often these days, which is a shame since it was such a great gift from some friends from out of town. “You ready?” 

“Honestly…no.” 

“Oh, well that’s too bad.” Thirteen states rather carelessly. 

“Why?!” 

Rather than answer Thirteen holds up three fingers, Izuku watches on in confusion as Thirteen begins to silently count down to one. And when they get to zero the pro hero simply points a finger towards the front of the warehouse yard. 

“Deku! Thirteen!” Uraraka waves over taking off into a jog towards them. 

Izuku freezes up. “U-uraraka!” 

Thirteen’s not ashamed to admit that they feel rather smug right now. “Right on time.” Thirteen smiles at the brunette as she approaches them. “Thanks for agreeing to meet us here, I know it’s rather inconvenient for you to make the trip all the way out here.” 

“No, no, it’s fine, I completely understand. Besides now I get to checkout your secret government facility!” Ochaco’s smiles with joy, waving her fists up and down with little stars glimmering in her eyes as the anticipation within her heart begins to swell up. “I bet it’s nearby, it must have a super cool secret entrance, laser guns, retinal scans, and secret agent gadgets! Oh, I just can’t wait!” 

Thirteen sweat drops from Ochaco’s apparent overexcitement. _‘She’s had too much time to think about this.’_

Izuku mimics his mentor’s expression as he presses his index fingers together. _‘Now I feel like she’s going to be disappointed.’_

Thirteen sighs, reclaiming the teens’ attention. “Alright, I think it’s best if we just ripe off this Band-Aid.” Thirteen takes a deep calming breath preparing themselves for the possibly disastrous outcome that may unfold. “Miss Uraraka once again I have to be utterly clear with you, but what we are about to share with you cannot only affect you personally but the entire world as we know it. So, please understand that you can never share what you learn here with anyone. Do we have your word?” 

Ochaco’s gaze falls as she ponders the question. ‘ _In all honestly, I’ve already been entrusted with one Earth shattering secret this week alone, and that one was a lot to take in. So, how mind blowing could this next one be?’_ Ochaco inhales summing all the courage and fortitude she can muster. “Yes.” 

“Good, Midoriya why don’t you explain what you can to her.” 

For a split second, Izuku looks like he’s going to pass out, but he composes himself just as fast. Albeit with a shaky smile that fails to be comforting or convincing. “Right, so…I’m an alien!!!” 

… 

Ochaco stares at the greenette as if he spontaneously grew a second head. 

Thirteen facepalms themselves, never have they been more embarrassed for someone other than themselves in their entire life. “Maybe this was a bad idea.” 

Izuku can’t help but feel somewhat betrayed. “See I told you!” 

Thirteen sighs in defeat stepping forward to take the lead. “You know what I’ll just take the lead. Miss Uraraka,” That snaps Ochaco out of her daze. “The first thing you should know is that Midoriya here is actually Quirkless.” With pride Thirteen affectionately pats Izuku on the shoulder feeling proud that they can say that a Quirkless boy can be a hero. Izuku can hear the blatant pride in Thirteen’s voice and it makes his chest swell up too. The moment doesn’t last long thou namely because of the bewildered expression Ochaco is giving them. “I know, I know. Hard to believe right, but not when you consider the possibility that the watch, or rather the Omnitrix, has the ability to give Midoriya various powers.” 

_‘Okay that’s a lot more to take in than I was expecting.’_ Ochaco looks over at Izuku who’s too busy sweating and clamming up in place, he’s clearly uncomfortable with where the situation has gone. _‘Could Thirteen be serious, is Deku really Quirkless?’_ She unsure, but she decides to see where this goes for now. “Let’s just say if I did believe you, then I would have to say that it's all pretty incredible.” Izuku straightens up slightly perhaps she will accept the truth in a positive light. “Especially, considering that you’re Quirkless that just makes it…” Izuku curls in on himself as if expecting to be hit hard by an insensitive remark. “even more amazing!” 

Well he certainly wasn’t expecting that. 

Ochaco brightens up letting her good nature and elation bubble up. “Seriously, that’d be super cool a Quirkless hero who with a brief change of fate has the opportunity to live out their dream. That kind of stuff only happens in movies and comic books and seeing it in real life would be amazing!!” Her expression falls. “But we don’t live in a comic book, so I don’t fully understand how a little device could give someone multiple quirks.” 

Thirteen sticks a finger into the air. “And that segways us into the next and most important part.” Thirteen’s demeanor becomes serious they carry an air of professionalism that a pro hero in a disaster situation would conduct themselves during planning phases. “Do you believe in extraterrestrial life?” 

Izuku’s not sure if he should cry or laugh right now. _‘Come on Thirteen, I thought you’d take a more subtle approach than that.’_

“Absolutely!!” Ochaco seems to be radiating a cheery light, her eyes look like a child who was just given a whole bowl of candy on Halloween. 

Izuku gasps. “Seriously?!” 

“I do!” Ochaco practically cheers with enthusiasm. “After all there are like a gazillion stars in our galaxy alone the odds of there being no other life out in the universe is impossible. Who knows what’s out there! Just imagine what they must be like! I can only imagine what they’re like, I bet they’re slimy, creepy, fast, and strong! They’re every shape and size!” Ochaco, disturbingly, begins to chat away to herself in a storm of muttering, much like what Izuku does whenever he talks about heroes and quirks. 

That fact is not lost on said teen as he stares wide eyed at an excitedly muttering Ochaco. He finally understands why everyone else is so put off when he himself does this. _‘So, that’s what it feels like.’_

Ochaco becomes stock still as her face drains of all color, she finally realized how much of her geeky side she just displayed. “Sorry, I’m kind of a…space nerd.” 

_‘No way.’_

Ochaco grabs her face, turning away to hide her embarrassment. She frantically shakes her hand at him as if to wave him away. “Oh, gosh this is so embarrassing!” Ochaco gasps, remembering something from before. “Wait!” She points two finger guns at Izuku. “So, your quirk “One Man Army” is actually a cover for the Omnitrix!” She steps closer as if being closer would help her to sniff out any lies. “And if that’s the case then are you trying to say that the Omnitrix is actually an alien device that can alter your DNA to that of other sentient beings?!” 

Thirteen blinks a few times processing what just transpired. “Wow, you got that on the first try.” 

Ochaco coughs trying to save grace. “But even if all of that was true, no matter how much I wish it was, I don’t think I actually believe anything your saying.” 

“And that’s why we’re here.” Thirteen waves a hand at the giant warehouse as if it was a magical place of majesty. 

Ochaco, however, is not impressed by the crumby looking building with barbed wire fencing, broken windows, and rusted doorway. 

It’s here where Izuku finally decides to air his grievance. “About that…” Izuku strolls over to Thirteen waving a finger at them. He tries to keep his composure while negative thoughts flow through his head. “Is it possible we could do this anywhere else but here?” He jabs a thumb at the warehouse, acting like there’s something inside that he’s dreading. 

“Midoriya we talked about this, this is the safest and most appropriate place to conduct this.” 

Ochaco says nothing she just watches on as Izuku and Thirteen have their little discussion. _‘What is Deku so worried about?’_

Thirteen grabs the door bar before turning to face the pinked-cheeked girl. “This is it Miss Uraraka, this is your last chance to back out.” 

Ochaco gives the pro hero the best confident look she can muster. “I’m not backing out, I want to know, and help out in any way that I can.” 

Thirteen nods, they turn back to the door, and with some hesitation Thirteen slowly begins to push the large metal doors open. 

The anticipation is torture on her. _‘Just what is inside that has Deku so scared? Could it be a hive of brain eating aliens, is it a spaceport that’s housing U.F.O.s, or maybe it’s the entrance way to an underground city full of aliens!!’_

“Welcome to Mr. Baumann’s Store for the Far Traveled and Newly Localized!” 

The look on Ochaco’s face, with a stupid grin and wide eyes, would be comical if it wasn’t for the dazed and far off look in her eye. It’s unclear if she’s reacting this way thanks to her exaggerated expectations, or the number of other worldly beings, goods, and atmosphere of the facility. Probably the latter. 

Thirteen leads the way gesturing Ochaco inside, it takes a soft nudge from Izuku to get her moving. She remains stiff even as she slowly marches along, like she’s literally walking on eggshells. The brunette stiffly rotates her head here and there observing what she can while trying to process the overwhelming flow of new information. 

Everything and everyone here are clearly an alien, sure most can obviously be passed off as humans with mutant type quirks, but amongst the unearthly food, products, and other beings it’s clear what they truly are. 

A group of aliens that look like crabs with big yellow eyes and large red pincers are gorging themselves on pieces of scrap metal. 

A purple bipedal sloth with a skull like face and insect antennas is browsing a selection of oddly colored fruits. 

Nearby, a green slug-like alien with a tubular mouth disgustingly spits out what looks like a spitball that’s made of boogers and vomit. 

Ochaco looks like she’s going to throw up at the mere sight of the revolting thing, she can even smell it from their distance. 

During the entire walk, Izuku has been gagging Ochaco’s reactions, and from what he can tell none of this is going as planned. There’s no thought that if they continue, she’s going to have a mental break down. There has to be something he can do to fix this. “H-hey, U-Uraraka. A-are you al-alright?” 

She doesn’t reply right away, she doesn’t even turn to face him, but she does react by freezing in place. “Deku…” 

Izuku flinches, here comes the explosion of emotions and outrage. Meanwhile, Thirteen finally notices that the two teens have stopped moving. 

“I’m…FANTASTIC!!!” Her eyes light up like Christmas lights, full of wonder and passion. 

Izuku certainly wasn’t expecting that as a reaction. 

“This is so amazing! I’ve only ever dreamed of this kind of stuff. I mean look at that alien!” She points towards a young alien that looks like a literal seamonkey on legs and wearing overalls. “Or that one!” She excitedly points to another alien; this one looks like a purple squid wearing a glass tube as a helmet to breath a noxious gas. Ochaco spins around admiring everything in sight from the grotesque to the fascinating. “This place is my greatest fantasy come true! Well, it would be if there was a mountain of mochi.” 

“Sorry but we don’t sell human food here.” A highly annoyed voice responds.

Izuku begins to sweat profusely, he can never mistake that voice with all its irritation and anger. “Mr. Baumann!” 

Mr. Baumann, the elderly and grouchy store owner, marches towards the odd trio with as much dominance as possible. Izuku winces as Mr. Baumann leers down at him. “Izuku Midoriya, what are you doing in my store?” 

Izuku blanches. Oh man this is the last thing he wanted today. Mr. Baumann’s scolding always puts him off. “Oh, I uh, well-” 

“Nice to see you Mr. Baumann.” Leave it to Thirteen to come to the rescue. 

Mr. Baumann’s expression softens, not by much, but it’s enough to draw attention away from Izuku allowing the boy to catch his breath. “Same to you, now would you care to explain why you brought this menace into my store!” Mr. Baumann points a finger at Izuku; however, he’s so close and aggressive about it that he actually jams his finger into Izuku’s cheek. 

Thirteen, even with their helmet, gives the store owner a friendly smile. “Ah, yes, we are conducting some possible recruitment today, and your store is the best place to get our points across.” 

“Recruitment?” Mr. Baumann raises an eyebrow, crossing his arms. “Am I to assume it’s the human girl that’s busy disturbing my customers?” 

“Huh?” Both Izuku and Thirteen look over to Ochaco to realize what he meant.

She’s gone! 

Izuku, on the verge of panicking, swivels around frantically trying to spot her. Thirteen also looks around, but with much more composure. 

They spot her alright, she’s enthusiastically running about the store interacting with everything and everyone she encounters. She shakes hands or tentacles with an alien that looks like a cross between a swamp monster and a blue octopus. She rudely taps on the metal exoskeleton of a robotic-like alien with blue skin and yellow eyes who happened to be going through an alien sock aisle. She even tries to take a bite out of something that looks like an orange with purple spots, only to have the piece of fruit to try and take a literal bite out of her. Her antics seem to be putting some of the other shoppers on edge, seeing a strange human girl running around isn’t exactly something one sees around here all that often. 

Thirteen gives the elderly gentleman a slight bow. “My apologizes Mr. Baumann she doesn’t mean any harm.” 

Mr. Baumann crosses his arms, sticking his nose upward. “Funny that’s what most people say about this one,” He gestures to Izuku who finally looks away from watching Ochaco run about the store. “but I know the truth.” 

Izuku’s shoulders slump, feeling dejected. “Harsh…” 

Thirteen pats Izuku on the shoulder trying to show sympathy. “Don’t worry, we'll be out of your hair before you know it.” 

Mr. Baumann takes a moment to ponder. “Alright, but the moment this one does anything that will harm my business I’m kicking you all out!” 

“Fair enough.” 

Satisfied, especially after letting Izuku know whose boss, Mr. Baumann stomps away deciding that he needs to finish restocking his pyramid of canned vegetables. 

“He really hates me.” Izuku grumbles, glad that the tension has been cut. 

“Yup!” Izuku can’t help but think that Thirteen agreed to that statement way too quickly. “Now let’s go get Uraraka before she accidentally offends someone.” 

The duo walk off to resume their search, they eventually find her amongst an aisle of cleaning products. She appears to be talking to a rather odd duo: a short alien and an even shorter robot. 

The alien is a stereotypical "little green man from outer space" including thin antennae. He has large bug-like ruby eyes and green skin. He’s wearing a red tunic-like garment with three black stripes and a triangular pink collar and sleeves, as well as black boots, leggings, and gloves. He also has an ovular light-gray pack on his back. 

The grey robot is just as weird looking: it’s two feet tall with a large head, thin arms, triangular legs, large circular eyes that illuminate in a teal-color, and a cross-hatched mouth. 

Ochaco happily looks down at the short alien, she’s thoroughly enthralled by their conversation. This little guy is really interesting. “So, what exactly are your plans for planet Earth?” 

The little green alien eyes Ochaco warily, but despite his reserves, he indulges her curiosity anyway; either out of custody or arrogance. “My plans for conquest are beyond your puny comprehension filthy human Urth girl!” 

“There’s going to be tacos!” The tiny robot interjects sounding like it just gave the most obvious answer. 

“Yes! Oh, such tacos will I give!” The alien pauses realizing his blunder. “Wait, no. There will be no tacos!” He glares at his robot servant who gleefully and naively smiles back at his master. 

It takes a moment for it to process that his request was denied. And thus, the little robot begins to randomly scream out as if in pain, cry out in despair as it brainlessly begins to flail about on the floor acting like a child who just lost their favorite toy. After a few awkward minutes the robot randomly pops back up onto its feet acting like nothing ever happened. “Okay!” He states with so much cheer that it’s infectious, the little robot then begins to run in a circle, judging by the stupid grin on its face it is clearly having the best time of its life. “Weeeeeeee!!!!” 

“Silence!” At its master’s command the robot does silence itself, but it doesn’t stop running in a circle, its arms waving frantically at its sides. “As for your question,” The alien eyes Ochaco who has been patiently waiting for him to continue. “although it is beneath me to even speak to you as seen that you are part of an inferior species, I will humor you. My ingenious plan will result in your entire worthless and ugly species becoming slaves to me and my people! You will serve us chocolates, clean our toilets, and bow to your supreme warlord, me!!” He takes a deep breath before entering into a fit of deranged and maniacal laughter. “Mwahahahaha!!!” 

“Hm, I see.” Ochaco nods seemingly like she completely understands where the little creep is coming from. 

Izuku and Thirteen, meanwhile, watch as the little alien eventually begins to choke on his own ego, thus ruining his own moment. 

Izuku blinks, he’s unsure how to react to the little invader’s declaration. “Should we be concerned?” 

Thirteen casually waves off his concern. “Na, he’s been plotting world domination since 2001.” 

“Wow, he’s been trying to take over the world for centuries, huh?!” 

“Yeah, I should arrest him, but I think he’s entertaining. In that weird and disturbed kind of way.” 

Ochaco leaves behind the odd duo who are now busy gathering as much cleaning supplies as they can, in preparation for their purge against germs. “I agree, he is rather silly. I think it’s great!” 

“Nice to see that you’re enjoying yourself.” 

Ochaco nods with a joyful smile on her face. “Hmp.” 

Izuku approaches her worried that she may be hurt. “That’s good, but you should be more careful. You don’t know what anybody is capable of.” 

Thirteen full heartedly agrees. “He’s right, although most aliens in Japan are well meaning people, there are some unsavory characters mixed in.” From the corner of their eye, Thirteen thinks they see something with grey fur try and pocket a pack of food into their orange jacket. “Speaking of unsavory characters.” Thirteen turns leering at the thief. “You better be behaving yourself, Argit.” 

A large rat with long spiky black hair freezes in place having been caught red handed trying to steal food. His eyes dart over to Thirteen, after realizing who called him out, he tries to be coy. “Thirteen, long time no see buddy! You look good, been working out?” 

“Save the act for the suckers you swindle credits off of. I don’t need to hear it.” 

The two teens eye the alien rodent warily, but it’s Izuku who decides to speak up. “Thirteen, who’s this?” 

“This is one of the biggest rats in all of Musutafu, both in the literal and metaphorical sense of the word.” Izuku is unsure what they mean. “He’s a con artist.” Thirteen explains. 

Argit interrupts, feeling somewhat offended. “I prefer the term entrepreneur.” 

Thirteen gives the rodent a nasty glare. 

Argit appropriately takes a few steps back, airing on the side of caution. “Hey come on, now. I mean a rat’s gotta make a living, you know?” 

The Plumber’s glare intensifies tenfold. 

Ochaco decides to risk her well-being by speaking up. “I don’t mean to step on your toes, Thirteen, but shouldn't you arrest him.” 

Argit gulps but he keeps his composure despite the situation. “He…” He pauses. “she…um, they wouldn’t dare, not without good cause, plus I am following Intergalactic law, because my…” He pauses to think. “business dealings in no way compromise the wellbeing of my fellow space travelers...” 

Thirteen’s glare somehow becomes even more terrifying. 

Argit sighs in defeat. “I’m also a part time snitch and informant for the Red Spot.” He gestures towards Thirteen. 

Thirteen sticks a finger out towards the rat, threatening to use their quirk.

Argit flinches, he’s sweating now, the situation is getting increasingly worse for him. He has to correct himself. “I mean the Plumbers.” Mercifully Argit’s cell phone rings alerting him of a new message. Argit sneaks a peak to quickly read the text. 

[Meet me at the construction site we need to talk about meeting your partner] 

Seeing an out, Argit is quick to take it. “I hate to run but I promised a friend that I’d meet up with him today so… See ya!!” And with that Argit scurries away for the exit like the rat he is leaving behind a trail of disturbed dust. 

Izuku sweat drops watching the rat make his escape from the store. “He’s quick to make an escape, isn’t he?” 

Thirteen deadpans, at times like these they could really go for some Advil. “You have no idea.” 

While Izuku and Thirteen have their little discussion Ochaco can’t help but look around again. Although this time she decides that it’s better to stay in place. ‘This is amazing, I’m so grateful that I could be here, that I can know the truth. Gosh, there’s so much I need to know, there are just so many different kinds of aliens here. I had no idea that not only is there life in the universe but they’re already among us. I have so many questions that I need to ask.’ Ochaco excitedly turns to the other two humans. “Hey guys-” 

Before she can get a word out something small, fast, and blue streaks past her legs zooming by in a blur. “Woah, what is that?!” 

The blue blur zips by again behind Izuku nearly tripping him over. “Ahhh!” 

The blur continuous zipping around them leaving behind trails of blue streaks. Thirteen tries to reach for the teens before anything bad occurs. “Look out!” 

Ochaco braces herself as the speedy attacker continues to zip past them. She can feel it rush by wiping her hair and nearly making her lose her balance a few times. “What’s going on?!” 

As if reacting to her question the blur crashes into her chest. 

“Ompf!!” Ochaco gasps falling backwards landing onto the tile floor with a thud. “Ow.” That really hurt and something is weighing on her stomach. 

“That looked like it hurt.” That voice sounds like it’s coming from a little girl, that said it does sound more amused than concerned with her pain. 

Ochaco groans lift her head up to glare up at the little girl using her as a chair. “Yeah, it did…” In all honesty Ochaco was expecting a little human girl, which she shouldn’t considering their location, but instead sitting on her is a little reptilian alien that looks very similar to Izuku’s XLR8 form. 

Izuku blinks as the little alien hops off Ochaco with a mischievous smirk. She’s a Kineceleran, no wonder that explains the little blue streak zooming around them, it was just a little girl playing around. 

“You need to work on your reflexes, dummy.” The little Kineceleran places her hands at her sides trying to look impressive while looking down on the much taller human girl. 

The Kineceleran child’s head has a similar helmet like feature as XLR8, she of course has blue skin, white eyes, and a black striped tail. She’s wearing a white and pink jacket that stretches past her tiny knees. 

Ochaco frowns leering at the little creature as she stands back up. “And you need to work on your manners.” 

The Kineceleran, for some reason, takes offense to that. “Oh, yeah? Well, your face is too round!” 

Ochaco’s cheeks puff out in annoyance, a part of her wants to be immature and throw insults back, but she’s better than that. Yes, mature…at least that’s what she tells herself. “Hm, well you may think so but that’s just part of my charm, see!” Without any provocation Ochaco poses like the cute anime girl she is with her fingers pressed against her blushing cheeks. “They help accentuate my cuteness!” She completes the look with a cute girlish giggle. 

Izuku turns away hiding his extremely red face while clutching at his heart. _‘She’s too cute!’_

While Izuku has an episode, the Kineceleran girl however sees this action as if a gauntlet has been thrown down. And she is more than ready to accept the challenge. “I’m cute too, watch!” The child takes a shy stance with a hand over her mouth and the other behind her back, she fidgets in place acting shy and insecure, aided by her big innocent eyes she just radiates innocence. 

Izuku claps his hands together as if praying. _‘Adorable!’_

At least someone is enjoying this showdown because the two involved certainly aren’t. The two are glaring daggers at each other while also trying to pull off the cutest pose with the most charm. 

After nearly a minute of holding the same pose Ochaco breaks down gasping for air as she bends over pressing down on her knees in defeat. “Oh, I admit defeat.” 

“Ha, I win!” The Kineceleran proclaims happily, proud of her victory. 

“Yeah, I guess you do…” 

The two remain like that one hunched over and the other with their chest puffed out. After a moment Ochaco begins to chuckle lightly finding the situation rather humorous, before long she begins to outright laugh at herself. Just look at her she just had a cute off against a five-year-old and lost, now that’s hilarious. 

Said five-year-old seems to realize it too, after blinking at the strange laughing human, she too begins to laugh along with her. Hahaha. “I guess you’re not so bad either.” 

“Haha. Thanks, and neither are you.” 

Ochaco reaches over petting the little girl on the head, it surprises her how smooth and cool the helmet like feature really is. 

“ML-E!!” A woman’s voice calls out from the other side of a nearby aisle. 

Ochaco looks around for the source of the voice. “ML-E?” 

“Yeah, that’s my name.” The Kineceleran, ML-E (pronounced as Emily), explains. 

“My, that’s an adorable name.” 

“ML-E, there you are.” What appears to be ML-E’s mother rounds the corner and spotting her daughter. 

ML-E's mother, obviously a Kineceleran as well, is wearing a green head scarf over her head along with a matching mini-green jacket, a long dark green dress, and white gloves. 

ML-E waves her arms up, glad to see her parental figure. “Mommy!” 

“And where have you been young lady?” 

“I was playing!” ML-E states as if it was obvious. 

The Kineceleran sighs, she then realizes that they have company one of note is the Plumber on duty. “Oh, my, Thirteen! I’m so sorry if my daughter caused you any trouble.” She bows with much remorse, hoping that her daughter hadn’t done anything to disturb the hardworking hero. 

Thirteen chuckles, alleviating her worries. “No ma’am, a hyperactive child is nothing new for me.” 

Now that hurts, Izuku can practically feel a giant arrow stab him in the head over that remark. 

The alien mother must have picked up on Izuku’s discomfort and she finally notices the two other humans invading the store. “Oh, who are these two?” 

“Right this is Izuku Midoriya, he’s a new recruit, and she’s…” Thirteen gestures toward Ochaco who doesn’t pick up right away that she’s supposed to introduce herself. 

“Oh, uh, hi, I’m Ochaco Uraraka.” 

“A pleasure.” The mother smiles and bows in greeting before grabbing her daughter’s hand. “Thank you for finding my daughter, she just loves to runoff on her own.” 

Everyone can’t help but have the same response. _‘That seems like an understatement.’_

The mother is oblivious to their inner thoughts. “Thanks again, perhaps we’ll see you around some time. If so don’t hesitate to say hello.” 

Ochaco gives her a grateful smile nodding her head in agreement. 

Satisfied with her response, she leads her young one away for the register. 

While being led away ML-E waves back at the smiling brunette. “Bye, Ochan!” 

Ochaco’s heart flutters for a second, her smile grows as she waves the adorable child off. 

Thirteen chuckles at her reaction. “Seems like someone made a new friend.” 

Ochaco nods seeing no reason to argue or get embarrassed by her newest achievement, becoming friends with an alien. 

Hopefully with no more interruptions, Thirteen can finally ask what’s really on their mind. “Uraraka, tell me. What do you think of all of this, so far?” 

“What do I think…” What does she think of all this? What does she think of the bizarre yet colorful aliens? “Today has been such an experience for me. In just a few minutes I’ve seen things that most people would never believe, heck they’d probably have an episode, and yet here I am.” No words can really describe how she’s feeling so there’s only one thing she can really say. “It’s all just so amazing.” 

“I’m really glad to hear you say that.” 

“Same.” Izuku smiles, her reaction is really better than what he thought would happen. 

“That said,” Thirteen cuts in on the moment becoming rather somber in tone. “I hope you can understand the gravity of the situation.” 

Ochaco cups her chin with a questioning look on her face. “What do you mean?” 

“The dangers of if you were to let anyone know what you’ve learned here.” 

_‘What do they mean?’_ Oh, right, it’s so obvious. People, or rather humans. Human beings are instinctually wary of the unknown and what’s more unknown than outer space and alien life? And the fear that can rise from that could prove to be…tragic. “I do understand, and…” Her mind flashes to the child she just befriended, ML-E. “I would hate to bother any of these people.” That’s the truth, if she slips up ML-E and her family may get hurt, imprisoned, and experimented on the government. People, or villains, may come after them for possible knowledge and alien technology. She can’t let that happen to them. It’s just like what she promised All Might, if she’s not careful those she cares about could be targeted and put into harm's way. “If I want to be a hero then I need to respect all living beings no matter where they come from.” That’s right this is just one more secret she has to keep from the public’s knowledge. Now time to address the third secret she is willing to bear. “And that’s the same for you, Deku. I promise to never reveal the truth about the Omnitrix.” 

“Really?” Although he always expected her to keep that part quiet, he is none the less appreciative of the gesture. 

“Yes, I trust you and it doesn’t matter that you’re Quirkless because with that thing you are definitely a hero.” 

The cinnamon bun can’t help but let tears prick his eyes. That’s so kind of her to say, no one, not even his own family, have been able to look him in the eyes and say those words. “T-thank you, U-Uraraka” He sniffs but he doesn’t even bother to try and stop the tears. _‘Thank you, thank you.’_

“Oh, come on now. There’s no need to cry.” 

Thirteen smiles softly to themselves as Ochaco tries to cheer up the sniveling boy. _‘It seems Midoriya was right about this one.’_ They wait until Izuku finally calms down enough that the tears stop and he’s able to wipe his face clean. “Now onto the third reason you’re here today.” 

Ochaco draws her attention back to the pro hero. “In case you haven’t guessed it for yourself already, I am part of a covert law-enforcement organization that monitors, regulates, and manages the alien population on Earth.” 

“Woah, that’s so cool.” Ochaco awes in amazement, she turns to Izuku who nearly laughs at her expression of amazement. “Are you part of this organization too, Deku?” 

Izuku smiles humbly not afraid to admit the facts. “Not officially, but I’m working hard to make it in.” He sheepishly rubs the back of his head. “But there’s a lot I need to learn first.” 

Thirteen nods in agreement. “You sure do,” Thirteen agrees before eyeing the other possible trainee. “the both of you.” 

Now that throws Ochaco for a loop. “The both of us?” 

“Yes. Uraraka, if you don’t mind, I would like to formally request for you to join our team.” Thirteen holds a hand out to her as to literally reach out for her to accept the request. 

“Join?!” 

“Yes, it’d be great to have someone like you at our side, and I believe you have what it takes to become one of us.” 

“A space hero…” That would be amazing, it almost seems too good to be true. Gosh, when did she become so lucky? First, she’s entrusted with the future of Japan but now…she might just be entrusted with the fate of the whole world. That should scare her, it should terrify her, but it doesn’t. Instead she can feel the resolve swelling up within her. No, this is no burden it is an honor. How could she look at herself in the mirror and call herself a hero when she turned her back on those that need her? But…what if she’s not cut out for this. Perhaps she’s taking on too much. What if…everyone is wrong about her? “I…this is so much all at once. I, I don’t know what to say. It’s so much responsibility and I’m not sure if I’m the right person for this.” 

Izuku…he understands more than he cares to admit. Afterall it was dumb luck that he got the Omnitrix in the first place, who’s to say that he deserves to have it. It was only from the praise and faith from others that he could even begin to think of the Omnitrix as his own. “Uraraka, you are more than capable.” It’s true, she is more than worthy to be here with them. And now it’s his turn to show someone else their true potential. “You said that I’m a hero, well the same is true for you!” Ochaco gasps, not out of shock, but surprise. “You have so much courage, you’re so kind and selfless, and…and…” His confidence he started with is gone, but he has to say this. He has to tell her the truth. “you’re the first real…friend that I’ve had in a long time.” It hurts quite a bit to admit that, but it is of course the obvious truth. Kacchan can’t even view him as a human being and Henzu… “You care about others and these aliens, these people, they need someone like you…like us to help them. To allow them to live their lives with smiles on their faces and without worry!” 

Ochaco’s eyes widen, something in her heart resonates from within her. “You’re right!” Of course, he is, that’s why she dreams of being a hero, why she accepted All Might’s legacy, and now this as well. “Thirteen!” 

“Uh, yes?!”Thirteen snaps out of their lull, shamefully they went quite while Ochaco and Izuku each had their piece and they figured it wasn't their place to interrupt. 

“I accept your offer!” 

Izuku’s face lights up as if Christmas came early. “Really?!” 

“Yeah, let’s do it Deku!” She shoots her fist into the air. “We’ll get into U.A. and then we’ll become space heroes! And I promise that I’ll never tell a soul about anything I learned here. Not the truth about the Omnitrix, aliens, or your secret organization!” There’s no doubt in her mind that she made the right choice today. “And I promise to work hard!” 

Her enthusiasm is so contagious, She even gets Izuku’s blood pumping for some action. “So, will I!” He shoots his fist into the air, mimicking her movements. 

Ochaco grins with anticipation. “And our first step…” 

“Will be getting into…” 

“ U.A.!!” They both cry out in unison. 

They exchange smiles, knowing full well that they’ll both will most certainly make it to the top hero school in all of Japan. 

Ochaco giggles in delight. “I guess that makes us space cadets now.” 

“What?” 

“You know, space cadets that’s what we’ll call ourselves.” 

Izuku isn’t too sure, but what’s the harm? “Uh, sure.” 

“Oh, by the way.” Ochaco tilts her head to the side curious about something. “Does your organization have a name?” 

Izuku blanches. ‘ _Oh, yeah, we sort of looked over that…I was hoping she wouldn’t notice.’_

“Ye-yeah…” 

“Oh, what is it?” 

Seeing their que Thirteen proudly steps in and as if an imaginary banner suddenly appeared behind them, they proudly proclaim their alias. “We’re known as…the Plumbers!!” They are so full of conviction that one can practically touch it. 

… 

“No, seriously, what is it?” She says this with such a deadpanned expression. 

Izuku smiles in embarrassment as Thirteen instantly begins ranting away at the teen girl, feeling rather insulted by her comment. _‘Things just became a whole lot more interesting.’_

########(End Flashback)####### 

Izuku smiles with fondness of the memory, it really was a good day. It’s been great having Ochaco in on the secret, it’s nice to have someone his age to bounce his thoughts on aliens, the Omnitrix, and quirks off of. Plus, it helps that she too is very passionate when it comes to the topic of anything related to aliens and outer space. It’s so nice to see that other people can have a nerdy side too, it makes Izuku feel less like a freak and more like a normal human with normal feelings and tendencies. 

Of course, they did have to clear up a few things here and there. For example, he did of course have to explain how he came across the Omnitrix in the first place and why it won’t come off his arm no matter what. 

Thirteen was excited to have someone else to train, but it would prove rather difficult since she lives a fair distance away. As it turns out, by mere luck, she had just acquired a new personal trainer! Apparently, it was some retired pro hero from America. Izuku was instantly on her, begging to know who it was and what was their quirk, but she was quick to deny him stating that said hero would rather stay on the downlow as to live their retirement in peace. Izuku wasn’t convinced but he didn’t want to pry so he let it go. 

Speaking of not knowing certain things, those unknown robots that kept coming after him seemingly have stopped coming. It’s been months since the last one showed up. _‘I wonder why. Maybe whoever was sending them just gave up or something.’_

*Screech* 

_‘I may have spoken too soon.’_ Man, and just when he thought he was in the clear another robot appears. 

The sound of screeching tires intensifies, Izuku turns around and spots a runaway delivery truck tearing its way down the street. As the speeding truck zooms by Izuku spots the driver inside, he’s panicking screaming at the top of his lungs while trying to hit the brakes, but they’re not working. 

Analyzing the situation quickly Izuku realizes the issue. The other problem however is that there are no heroes present to stop the truck. There, it’s up to him to stop it. He grips the Omnitrix looking for the right alien. _‘It may not be a robot but it’s no less an emergency.’_ And it just got so much worse, further down the street, a group of three people, it looks to be an older sister and her two much younger siblings, are strolling along the sidewalk blissfully unaware of the out of control vehicle. _‘And it just got a whole lot worse!’_

Without a second to lose, Izuku’s feet begin to move forward on their own. Sure, there’s no way his own capabilities will get him there in time, there is of course an alternate route. Knowing this himself, Izuku activates his trusty Omnitrix and thus becoming the best suited alien for the job. 

The older sister, after getting distracted by her baby sister’s antics, looks up, and although she doesn’t outwardly express her surprise, anyone can see the shock of dread course through after noticing the dangerously fast approaching truck. 

While in a panic the driver sticks his head out the window while screaming out at the top of his lungs. “Get out of the way!!” 

The sister doesn’t panic, not now, not when her siblings are depending on her to save them, she lashes out her frog like tongue wrapping it around her siblings. The truck is way too close there’s no way she can get them all out of the way in time! Despite the low chance of success, she squats down, but why is she going to jump over the truck? 

Guess they’ll never know, because there’s no time to spare! Just before tragedy strikes XLR8 runs into action, and as if in slow-motion, he grabs the frog-like girl just as she’s about to launch herself and her siblings up. In a blink of an eye XLR8 carries the three away from the threat, dropping them off further up the street where the runway truck can’t get to them. 

The older sister blinks, unsure of what just happened. 

XLR8 wipes away imaginary sweat from his brow. “Phew, that was a close one, huh?” 

*Screech!* 

“Oops, still got one more thing to take care of.” He flashes the trio a toothy grin. “Take care of yourselves. Now, I gotta run!” He zips away after the delivery truck silently praising himself not only for saving their lives but for his great line. ‘Ha ha, Nailed it!’ 

_‘Was that supposed to be funny?’_ The frog-like girl tilts her head to the side as she watches the blue lizard man sprint away. A few questions pop into her mind. _‘Just who was that?’_ She curiously watches on as a blue blur spins around the delivery truck. After a few seconds the wheel pop right off and the truck drops down, it’s bottom grinding against the pavement as sparks fly out from its sides. The driver still continues to scream like a maniac even as the truck comes to a complete stop. 

Eventually reality settles in and the driver passes out, he’s exhausted after this crazy ordeal, his heart clearly can’t take it. 

XLR8 chuckles to himself on a job well done. “Another day, saved! Now I’m off to do more good deeds!” And with a step to the side he’s off again to who knows where, with no plan other than to look for trouble and help those in need of it. _‘Now this is what I’ve been working for, and now in less than a month I will be taking the U.A. Entrance Exam.’_ He zigs and zags his way from road to road leaving a trail of wind, disturbed papers and leaves, and a few smiling faces from people he helped out from painting a fence in less than three seconds, catching a rogue baseball before it can smash into a windshield, and distributing lost cat posters before finding and delivering the same cat back to her owner’s arms. _‘I will pass the Exam and when I do then I’ll really be on the right path to become a hero.’_ The little girl gives him one of the biggest smiles he’s ever seen as she holds her kitty closer to her chest. _‘But for now, I’ll happily settle for this.’_

Yeah, the future is definitely looking up. 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Gah, where is he?!” 

In an abandoned construction project, a dark figure is throwing a tantrum, smashing his fists into several support beams. The sound of the bending iron echoes throughout the dark and damp basement scaring away a few rats, including the big one in an orange jacket. 

Argit nearly falls from his perch atop a barrel. “Chill man! He’ll be here.” 

“He better be.” The figure growls in annoyance. “I’m tired of waiting. This guy better be worth it, especially after making me wait for months just so I can talk to him.” 

“My apologies for making you wait.” A cool collected voice full of mirth decides to let itself be known. Followed by the tapping of expensive dress shoes against the cold concrete floor. “But nonetheless thank you for your patience.” 

A middle-aged man of moderate height and slight build, with eyebrows that appear to be drawn up with notably squinted-looking pink eyes approaches the duo. He has short gray hair parted to his right with side bangs hanging above his eyes, along with a small mustache and goatee on his chin, and one of his front teeth seems to be missing, leaving a gap in his grin. He’s also wearing a pair of dress pants and a matching blazer, along with plain black shoes and a shirt which he leaves partially unbuttoned at the top. He has a thick, golden tube-like necklace along, he’s also sporting a pair of circular glasses on his face. 

He pulls out a cigarette from his pocket sticking it into his mouth. “Please understand that I am a very busy man.” He pulls out a lighter igniting the end of his smoke. “I have quite a lot of clients and each one of them needs my attention.” 

“Be quiet,” The figure snarls in annoyance. “and don’t act all polite I know the type of things you deal with.” The figure glares daggers at the much taller man trying to intimidate him. “And the type of people you deal with, too.” 

The man humorously smiles at the figure, his eyes wary yet full of interest. “None the less I did take time to meet with you, did I not?” He puffs out some smoke as he speaks. 

The figure doesn’t find the man’s sarcasm amusing, not whatsoever. “Quite bullshitting me, old man.” 

“Old man, huh? I’m somewhat insulted by that.” And yet has a grin on his face. “Very well, the truth is I had to do some prior research on ya,” He takes out the smoke grinning like a murderer going in for the kill. “Henzu Uuichi.” 

Henzu turns and glares at Argit, his eyes screaming that he’s tear the rat a new one for ratting him out. “I told you not to tell him who I am!” 

“Wha?! I didn’t, promise!” Argit scurries behind his perch hopping the flimsy wood will protect him from Henzu’s wrath. 

The man chuckles regaining their attention. “No need to blame the rat, although I can’t say I blame ya.” 

Argit gaps at the man, why is he always getting blamed for shit like this?! 

The man continues. “After all, I did some personal research of my own.” 

Henzu eyes the man warily. “And what did you learn?” 

“A lot,” Giran smiles anticipating a reaction. “and a lot of it was interesting. For example, you’re an orphan, delinquent, and now a runaway with a versatile quirk to boot. You’re really something aren't ya?” Henzu’s fist balls up, he really hates it when people pry into his business. “So, shall we get down to business? Just why did you make me come all the way down to this…” He eyes the crumbling site. “fine establishment?” 

“I want in.” Henzu states simply no ifs, whats, or buts about it. 

The man’s smile falters, but he recovers trying to pull off his friendlier facade. “In? I’m afraid I don’t follow.” Just what is this kid after? 

“Don’t play dumb.” Henzu smirks, knowing full well that he’s in control now. “Afterall you’re not the only one who did their research, Giran.” 

Giran’s smile drops, he doesn’t bother disguising it either, letting the delinquent and the rat know that they are truly beginning to conduct their business. 

“Over these past few months I’ve been keeping myself busy learning some new…tricks.” Henzu rubs his arm, he can feel his muscles and vein bulge underneath his fingertips as a portion of his new strength flows through. “But I’ve also become more aware of Japan’s crime world, and did you know a good number of criminals here in Musutafu has been going silent, as if they’ve all just disappeared?” 

Giran tenses up. _‘Just how much does this kid know?’_

“I know it was you, you’ve been recruiting criminals from all over.” 

Giran clears his throat before speaking. “Even if I was, how would you even know about it?” 

Henzu outright scoffs at the question. “I have my ways, namely my newly acquired skills.” 

Yeah, that tiny frog guy is way more useful than he originally thought. And what luck he accidently spotted Giran talking to some lowlife in an abandoned building. 

“So now what?” 

“I already told you, I want in on whatever it is you’re doing.” He points a finger at Giran as if to make sure he’s listening. “More specifically, I want to meet whomever it is you’re working for.” 

“What?” 

“You said it yourself, you have a lot of clients. Am I wrong to assume one of them hired you to do some recruitment?” 

Giran scowls. _‘Just what is this kid’s deal?’_

“If so, with the large number of criminals you’ve already gathered, it’s got to be for some big operation, right?” Henzu seems almost too excited about this. 

Meanwhile, Argit watches on while silently becoming more and more nervous. It’s possible things might go south and quick, especially when Henzu is involved. 

“And if it is?” Giran’s voice softened, he’s a bit wary now of this punk. 

“Well, I think my skills will greatly benefit your employer.” 

“Osmosis, that’s your quirk, right? It definitely has its uses, but I can’t guarantee an audience.” That is the truth, most of the guys he found haven't even met their leader yet. They just happen to fear the true mastermind. 

“I wasn’t talking about Osmosis.” Henzu interrupts. 

“Hm?” Now that’s a surprise. 

Without a word, Henzu’s whole entire right arm changes, morphing into something inhuman. It becomes grey with scales, a narrow fin shoots out from his elbow, and his finger become razor sharp claws. With no provocation Henzu swerves around digging his claws right through another metal support beam slashing it, leaving a massive gap in its side. 

‘What the hell was that?! Did he absorb some weird metal or something?’ 

Henzu continues this time his arm becomes black in color but a red like shell encases his forearm leading up to sharp grey fingers. He takes aim and fires out a powerful stream of water at the wall. After a few seconds he cuts off the water to reveal a crater inside his target. 

Giran pulls out another cigarette and sticks it between his teeth, letting this new piece of information to process. “Now that changes things.” he lights the smoke enjoying its flavor. “You got it kid; I’ll get you your audience.” 

Henzu’s grin like a kid that was promised a trip to the circus. 

“Just answer me one thing. Why?” 

Henzu’s smile widens revealing a row of enlarging fangs. “Honestly, it sounds like a lot of fun, ha ha.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that was fun. What are your thoughts? Please let me know. Did any of you get the Invader Zim cameo? If not then you're missing out. Again I would love a review from you guys. Let me know what you enjoyed? What you didn't like? What you wanted more of? Even ask a question or two I will try to answer to the best of my ability without spoiling too much. Finally, Ch.9 will be the U.A. Entrance Exam so get hyped! And once that happens the story really takes off.
> 
> *Ch.9 will focus on Ochaco a bit more, and if you wanted some All Might and Ochaco interactions then you will get them!
> 
> *ML-E (pronounced as Emily) is the little Kineceleran girl from Ben Ten Omniverse, incase you need to look her up. I hope she's a welcome addiction to the roster of characters. Some of the other aliens in Mr. Baumann's store are from Ben Ten Omniverse as well. I do hope to explore the alien community on Earth more, but for now this will have to do.
> 
> *I just want to clarify a few things. 1. Henzu has been training his new abilities ever since he got them, and in the meantime he's been trying to figure out how to use them. 2. Although Argit works with Giran at times, Giran doesn't actually know that Argit is an alien and neither does Henzu; they just assume he's a human with a rat-like quirk. 3. The reason Argit doesn't reveal his identity about being an alien is because he fears Earth's heroes and government capturing him and experimenting on him. (Not to mention, he watched too many alien invasion movies where the humans won when he first arrived on Earth, hence the fear). That said he conducts his business on Earth mainly because he's not welcomed on any other planets...you can assume why.
> 
> *Look up and watch Invader Zim incase you haven't, already. I hope to throw in more cameos and easter eggs not just from Invader Zim but from other properties: Star Wars, Ben Ten, and anything else related to aliens. It should be fun and I would happily take suggestions. So, please share them with me.
> 
> *I want to apologize to those that wanted to see Izuku use his alien forms more in this chapter. I do apologize, but don't worry you'll get plenty of it next time.


	9. Starting Line

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Izuku and Ochaco take the U.A. Entrance Exam. Will they fail? Will they succeed? Hopefully their hard work will pay off especially as we get to see how Ochaco's training went under All Might's tutelage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woah woo! My schedule really worked out for me this week so I was able to finish this chapter a head of schedule. Awesome right? Anyway here's Ch.9 and the U.A. Entrance Exam! Enjoy and be sure to leave a comment at the end.

“Hmmm, that was so good!” Ochaco holds her cheeks, her tongue sticking up to the side, savoring the flavor left in her mouth after a delicious breakfast of mochi. Probably not the best thing to have especially after her crazy workout regimen, but she deserves a cheat day every now and then.

Izuku smiles although it is a rather pained smile. “Yup.” He grips his wallet, peering inside to how desolate its interior really is. _‘My poor wallet. Why did I offer to pay?’_ Why does he always seem to run out of money when it comes to his friends?

Currently the pair of teens are making their way towards their future, U.A. However, they made sure to stop first at a new mochi place that’s not too far from the school.

Their morning has been pretty good so far, it’s been quiet and peaceful. Izuku can’t help but feel like it’s only the calm before the storm though, the anticipation for the test is already starting to well up inside him.

*Ping*

That was his phone, wasn’t it? He pulls it out to check, and sure enough he's got a new message from Thirteen that reads the following: [Good luck you two, I’m rooting for you both!!]

“Hey, Uraraka, read this.” Izuku holds his phone out to her as to let her sneak a peek.

Ochaco leans over, her smile seems to become even more tender after reading it. “Awe, that sure was nice of them.”

“Sure was.”

Ochaco straightens herself back up, enjoying their nice stroll towards the hero academy. Even though it’s still winter, the lack of a breeze and with the sun shining down on them, it’s actually a rather warm day.

Even though they’re moving at a good pace, there is a hint of excitement with each step she takes. “Sheesh, I’m so nervous and yet I can’t wait for the exam to start!”

“I know what you mean. We both worked so hard for this day, I honestly can’t wait to see how our hard work pays off.” 

Even now they can see the results of their training, they just seem to be holding themselves up a bit taller like they have something to be proud of. And they do, heck their physical abilities are leaps and bounds above from what they used to be. _‘Guess clearing that beach over time really did do its intended purpose, thank you “All-American Dream Plan” and whomever wrote you!’_

Ochaco steals a glance at Izuku who is oblivious to her staring. Something’s been on her mind for a while now, but she’s keeps putting it off namely because she doesn’t know where to even begin. After everything he was so willing to show her, to trust her with, she can’t help but feel a little guilty about keeping secrets from him. Especially, a secret so great that even the Number One hero can’t afford to let others know about it. _‘I wonder if it’s okay if I tell him…’_

Afterall All Might put his faith in her so he should trust her to tell those that she herself can trust as well, right? 

##########(Flashback)#########

“Phew, finally I’m home.” Well sort of, Ochaco still has to make her way from the train station to her actual home.

Ochaco inhales taking a whiff of the fresh air of her hometown of Endori, even with the sun down, the building lights can’t outshine the stars that are twinkling like fireflies. It’s a decently sized town, it’s nowhere near the size of other cities but it has a big enough population that pro heroes do decide to station themselves here. Surrounding Endori is a sea of forests and of course Lothaal Mountain stands nearby as if watching over the people like a guardian. The singing mountain breeze hauntingly sounds like the howl of wolves that once populated the region centuries ago, but rather than a terrifying screech it plays more like a harmonious yet eerie song that somehow calms the nerves.

She’s got a bit of a walk before she can call it a night, luckily, she called her parents on the train to not let them worry. She stretches raising her arms and pulling them back, getting ready for the trek down the hill and towards home. She pulls her head back, stretching, the lamp light blinds her making her wince.

“Gah, my eyes! That wasn’t very smart.” She whines rubbing her eyes.

Maybe it was thanks to her exhaustion but Ochaco failed to notice that she was not in fact the only person at the station.

A large and firm yet thin hand plants itself on to her shoulder from behind, spooking the poor girl.

“Stranger danger!!” Ochaco flips out, she grabs her bag by the straps and swings it around like a bludgeon.

Her backpack slams into a skeletal blonde-man's side. “Gah!!!” Oh, god, she hit him so hard that he’s spitting up blood!

“Oh, my gosh!” Ochaco is panicking, sure she was only defending herself from a possible creep, but she didn’t mean to hurt him that badly. “I-I’m so sorry! Please forgive me!”

The man’s is rubbing his side, wincing in pain as blood drips from his mouth. *Cough* “No, no it’s alright.” *Cough* “My apologies miss.” *Cough* “It was completely my fault; I shouldn’t have approached you from behind.” The blood finally stops as the blond skeleton rubs his head in embarrassment. His sunken eyes pleading for forgiveness. “Anyway, I should probably introduce myself, my name is Yagi Toshinori.”

Ochaco’s not sure what to make of this man. His skinny and sickly figure isn’t helping his cause not to mention he surprised her in a barren place at night. But that said, he seems approachable enough. “Um, pleasure to meet you, I’m Ochaco…Ochaco Uraraka.” Maybe this man just needs help…like directions…to a hospital. “If you don’t mind me asking, is there something you needed from me?”

“Yes, I just…want to talk to you.”

“Talk to me?”

“Yes,” Yagi suddenly becomes shy as if he saw something he wasn’t supposed to. “you see I saw what you did today…against the villain.” He’s referring to how Rojo kidnapped her, but she was able to rescue herself.

Ochaco smiles sheepishly. “Oh, you did?”

“Yes, and I just wanted to say that I was quite impressed by your resolve and capability.”

“I, uh, thank you…”

“That said I have a single question for you and I would greatly appreciate an honest answer.” Yagi replays the recent events from earlier that day, most importantly he remembers what she declared to the world when she brought down the villain single handedly. {“I…can be a hero. And I will keep everyone safe!”} Her words, her actions, spoke to him and drive him to, admittedly, follow her here hoping he could have a word with her and find out for himself whether she is worthy or not. “Why do you want to become a hero?”

Well, she certainly wasn’t expecting that. But it is a good question. _‘Why?’_ It doesn’t take long for her to have her answer. “I want to be a hero because…I want to bring smiles to people’s faces. Smiles that let everyone know that they are safe, happy, and living their lives without worry.” The thoughts of those future smiles, including her parents, classmates, and even Deku float through her mind. She smiles finding the images both fond and inspiring. “That’s why I want to become a hero…” 

Yagi grins as if he just found the one thing that he’s been searching for decades. “I knew it.”

“Excuse me,” Ochaco tilts her head to the side, unsure what the strange man means. “you knew what?”

“Young Uraraka…” He needs to do this, plus he’s running out of time, he can’t afford putting off finding a successor any longer, and she is most definitely worthy: she’s got a good handle on her quirk, is very capable, brave, and she has a great motive. “I believe you’re worthy…of inheriting my power!”

Ochaco’s expression of dazed confusion is so hilarious that Yagi has to bite his tongue to prevent himself from outright laughing. “I…I don’t…understand.”

“Perhaps I should have led with this. And I should also make it clear, but we’ve actually met once before already.” Inhaling a deep breath, Yagi’s form disappears behind a poof of smoke, only for a towering titan of a man to stand before her in all his power and glory. **“I AM HERE!”** All Might flashes her his signature grin, posing like the pro hero he is as to accentuate his point.

…

“Oh my GOSH!!! You’re ALL MIGHT!!!” The last time they met was at the Kamino Mall, but it was so brief she didn’t get a chance to fangirl a bit.

Huh, she figured that one out fairly quickly. **“YES, IT IS I, ALL MI** -phew!” And in a puff of smoke, All Might is back to being Yagi Toshinori. 

“Ahh!” Ochaco gawks at the sudden change, her mind still trying to process everything.

They take a seat on a nearby bench and Yagi tries his best to explain how and why he ended up in his current condition. Of course, being sure to skip over a few minor (important) details here and there. He tells her about how he’s become weaker, slower, and because of that he’s even begun to fail to save the day; the Sludge Villain incident is the first to come to mind. He tells her that because of his shortcomings he’s been actively trying to resolve as many situations as he can while he still can and that led him to Rojo holding her hostage and him witnessing her conviction.

“There you have it, that’s why I had to sought you out.”

“That’s a lot to take in, but I still don’t quite understand how this involves me. I’m sorry, but I’m still lost here…”

“Right, there’s still another matter I need to discuss with you…” Here goes nothing. “You see…I wasn’t actually…born with my Quirk. I’m not a natural born hero, my power was given to me. ”

“WHA-”

Just before she could scream out in shock, All Might claps a hand over her mouth saving his eardrums from excruciating pain. “Please, let me finish.” He removes his hand allowing the girl to breathe. “As I was saying…my Quirk was passed down to me…by someone else…”

“No way?!”

“Yes, way. For you see young Uraraka…” The glint in All Might’s eyes hardens as his resolve shines through. “My Quirk, the Quirk that was transferred to me, is known as…ONE FOR ALL!”

So, that’s his Quirk. The significance of this revelation is not lost on her. She is well aware of how secretive and elusive All Might can be whenever people try and find out what exactly his Quirk is. And yet here he is the man himself, revealing the truth to her. “One. For. All.”

Yagi stands up, his arms outstretched at his sides. “The first person cultivates the power and then passes it to another. The next refines it and passes it on again… In this way, those crying out to be saved and those with brave and true hearts link to form… A crystalline network of power!!”

There’s no right way to respond to this, all she can feel is a great awe and confusion. “Why? Why are you telling me all this?”

Yagi looks her right in the eye, not wanting her to mix his words in anyway. “I’m in need of a successor, a successor that’s willing to take up my mantle and my power.” He holds his hand out to her hoping that she will take his offer. “And I fully believe that you’re worthy of receiving my Quirk!”

_‘Me, worthy of…All Might’s Quirk? I don’t know…this has got to be a dream or something, maybe my mind is playing a trick on me. This can’t be real, there’s no way All Might, the Symbol of Peace, would take me of all people under his wing and make me his successor. I just don’t think I’m the right fit…’_

All Might can tell that the girl is having some inner conflict. “Young Uraraka what you did today took not only courage but great resolve. And from your words, I can tell that you meant what you said about wanting to bring smiles to people’s faces. Smiles that let everyone know that they are safe. Because of all this I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that you can become a great hero!”

Tears begin to prick at Ochaco’s eyes, as a smile is on the edge of forming. _‘Is this real…yes, I think it is. All Might really thinks I’m capable…he believes in me.’_

“I ask you again young Uraraka, do you accept the responsibility and the honor of receiving my Quirk, making it your own, and becoming the next pillar of peace and justice?!”

_‘Become the next pillar of peace and justice?! Can I really do it? Well, if All Might thinks so…but what about my family, what about Deku would they think I’m worthy? My parents work so hard for so little, and Deku has really inspired me to chase after my dreams. Then maybe I should accept, but not for myself but for them so that I can show everyone my thanks, that their faith in me wasn’t a waste. Because someday I will become the Number One Hero that brings a smile to everyone’s face.’_ With a grin that could rival All Might’s one day, she gives a resounding response. “Yes!”

########(End Flashback)#######

And so, began her 8 months of training under All Might’s supervision or as she calls it 8 months of torture. Curse All Might and his All-American Dream Plan: the Lady Liberty Version! But she survived and she’s really come a long way, now look at her she’s really developed well-toned muscles making her body the perfect vessel for One For All.

While walking, Ochaco cups her mouth, feeling slightly queasy. _‘I just wish there was some other way to accept his Quirk.’_

“We’re here.”

Ochaco snaps out of her pondering and sure enough Izuku is right. Standing before them is the entirety of U.A.

A fifteen-story building with shining windows, grand arches, and protective walls stand proudly as a symbol of bright futures that await those who enter its doors. This remarkable place has produced some of the world’s greatest heroes, and now it’s their turn.

_‘This is it!’_ Ochaco raises her fist into the air declaring to the world that she is here! “Get ready U.A. because Deku and I are here!!”

“Yeah!” Izuku pumps his fist into the air, mimicking Ochaco’s stance as well. Can you blame him though, Ochaco’s energy is just contagious.

Unfortunately, the moment, along with Izuku’s confidence, is cut way too short by a rather annoyed growl. “What the hell are you so excited about, stupid Deku.”

Izuku recognizes the voice instantly and he quickly reverts back to his normally shy and spineless self. “Kacchan!!” He spins around and sure enough Katsuki Bakugou is there with an angry snarl on his face. “G-good to s-see you! L-let’s a-all do our b-best t-today!”

Bakugou scoffs, brushing past his terrified classmate. “Just stay out of my fucking way!!”

Izuku nervously nods while also fighting the urge to run away.

Ochaco watches on with uncertainty. Debating whether Izuku was friends with this guy or was being threatened by him.

When Bakugou is eventually out of sight, Izuku finally relaxes sighing in relief. _‘That’s Kacchan…’_ Although, ever since the Sludge Villain incident he has been…tamer than usual. He hasn’t even been on Izuku’s case all too much these recent months. Perhaps having to be shown up and rescued by an unknown hero or vigilante was a good humbling experience. _‘Maybe one day, we can finally be friends again…_ _Maybe I shouldn’t get my hopes up.’_

Ochaco taps his shoulder. “You know him?”

Izuku’s eyes nearly pop out, for a minute there he had forgotten she was even there. “Y-yeah, that’s Katsuki Bakugou and he’s…a friend, hehe.”

Ochaco gives him a deadpan look, not taking him seriously. After all, doesn’t he remember his last “friend”, Henzu? _‘Deku, you really have bad taste in friends… Excluding me of course.’_ Deciding to move on from the subject that is Katsuki Bakugou, she strides forward with purpose and gusto. “All right, shall we?”

“S-sure.”

“Come on, there’s no reason to be nervous. Besides with your ali-I mean transformations there’s no way you won’t pass. So, what could go wrong?”

Izuku gives her a grateful smile, he really needed that right now. “You’re right.” He walks forward, taking a step towards his future. This is one small step for Izuku Midoriya, and one embarrassing fall for his self-worth, as he trips over his own feet, plummeting face first onto the hard ground.

“DEKU!!!” Oh, gosh, is he okay?! _‘If only I was standing next to him, I could have saved him!’_

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“You can do this. You can do this. You can do this. You can do this. You can-”

Ochaco sweat drops, placing a hand onto Izuku’s shoulder. “Deku, you’re freaking me, and everyone else, out.”

“Oh, my bad, sorry…” Izuku takes a breath before rolling up the sleeves of his light green jacket making sure the Omnitrix is free for him to activate. He can’t afford to get distracted now not when the U.A. Exam Entrance is going to start.

Right now, both him, Ochaco, and a number of other examinees are gathered in front of a giant metal doorway that’s supposed to lead into a fake empty city. According to Present Mic, the pro hero that oversaw the explanation of the exam, they’ll be battling against faux-villain robots that give them a certain number of points when they’re destroyed.

Ochaco’s expression softens in understanding. “It’s okay, we’re lucky to end up in the same testing facility.”

“Yeah, lucky…” A thought crosses Izuku’s mind, he’s been considering it for a little while now and now’s going to be the last chance to say something. “but I think we should go about this on our own.”

Ochaco’s jaw drops as a jolt of shock runs through her heart. _‘Is this what it’s like to be rejected?!’_

Worried that he may have upset her Izuku quickly tries to save the situation. “What I mean is! I want to see how far I’ve come, we’ve both worked so hard and I want to use this test as a way to gauge how much I’ve improved.”

The color returns to her face. “Oh, I gotcha, well in that case” She gives her friend a big thumbs up. “Then let’s do it.”

Izuku smiles. “I’m glad you agree.”

“You two!” A loud stern voice interjects itself into their conversation.

Izuku and Ochaco spot a tall navy blue-haired boy with glasses striding towards them, swinging his arms out at his side like a robot.

“Tell me why you are here?” He karate chops the air demanding an answer. “Are you hoping to interfere and prevent the rest of us from passing?”

Izuku internally gasps, is this how everyone sees him?! “Eh, no no, of course not.”

Meanwhile, Ochaco finds the taller teen’s accusations insulting. It’s not right, he shouldn’t just jump to conclusions. “Hey, don’t be mean.”

“You two ought to know better, this exam is for those that strive to earn the great honor of becoming heroes. I will not stand for two degenerates to interfere with anyone’s chances!”

Ochaco’s expression hardens, there’s no way she’s taking this lying down. “Listen, we’re-”

“AND BEGIN!!” Present Mic’s voice rings out in full force, although it’s difficult to say if that was over the intercoms or he shouted that out loud instead.

Izuku blinks, looking towards the radio tower the pro hero is currently stationed in. “Huh?”

“What’s wrong? There are no countdowns in real battles!! Run! Run! Run Listeners! You’re wasting your time here!!

It finally dawns on them, without a moment to waste the entire group of examinees charges forward into the fake city, including Izuku, Ochaco, and the stern blue-haired teen.

Despite the stampede of charging bodies of people Izuku manages to call out to Uraraka. “Good luck, space cadet Uraraka!”

“Back at ya, space cadet Deku!”

And with that the two split up in different directions, doing as they said they would, complete this test on their own.

Izuku grips his Omnitrix, the dial shoots up providing his roster of aliens. _‘All right Omnitrix, let’s do this right.’_ Thinking in a professional sense, U.A. is considered to be All Might’s alma mater. That said, it stands to reason that U.A. probably prefers students with similar power/strength type quirks. Meaning in order to ensure a spot he needs to appeal to the judges and who better than Four Arms, who personifies strength. Izuku grins, dialing up the Tetraman DNA.

A green 1-point robot bursts out from between two buildings. Its single red eye dialing in on the greenette. “Target sighted, eliminate!”

Izuku grins with confidence. “Let’s go Four Arms!” He slams the dial down, and a flash of green eerie light engulfs him just as the robot charges.

From within the flash of green a black tendril lashes out, latching itself onto the robot before draining said robot of all its power; successfully shutting it down.

“Feedback?” Feedback gazes down at his slim tall alien form. “Aw man, I really wanted to smash the robots not fry them…” His tendrils drop down in disappointment.

Another robot, this time a 2-pointer, leaps out from above readying to tackle the tall examinee.

Feedback takes aim firing a ray of lighting, the blast not only fries the bot but propels it causing it to crash into the side of a building.

Feedbacks grins, he’s honestly, enjoying himself a little bit right now. “Okay, Omnitrix, I admit it. Maybe, Feedback was the right choice.”

Another robot, a 3-pointer, rounds the corner, it hasn’t spotted him yet. Feedback leaps forward his tendrils embedding themselves into the robot’s exterior. The robot sputters as it loses power.

A smiling Feedback turns his head and the sight before him is both terrifying yet thrilling. This street looks like a battlefield with participants and robots fighting it out all over the place. Not wanting to miss out on points, or action, Feedback rushes in his tendrils ready to strike and his hands ready to fire out beams of electricity at a moment’s notice.

Feedback tears it up, draining villain robots of their power, and blasting others into heaps of burnt metal. He keeps at it as much as he can, keeping track of his points .

He blasts apart a three-point villain just as it was charging at him. “45 points. Phew, I better keep going. Not sure what the threshold is for a passing grade here, I better get as much as I can.”

Nearby a blonde-haired teen with a slim build and a rather feminine face is firing out lasers from a large special belt around his waist. After blasting a 2-pointer, the teen cuts off his laser taking a moment to rest. Unbeknownst to him a 3-pointer is readying an attack from behind.

“Look out!” Feedback lashes out his tendril wrapping itself around the teen’s waist before pulling him away from the attack. The teen yelps in surprise as he’s yanked off his feet and a beam of electricity flies past him and into the 3-pointer.

“That was a close one, huh?” Feedback places the teen down who is quick to compose himself as if he was a fabulous prince.

“Ha, thank you for the save, mon ami, but I believe you’ve could have done it with a little more panache.” After flashing the alien a pompous smile, the teen takes off running to find another robot.

“Um, you’re welcome…I guess.” Oh, well, at least he’s up to 48 points now. “Get ready you dumb robots, because Feedback’s going to come out on top!”

*Bleep* _‘Oh, no, was that?’_ Feedback looks down and sure enough the Omnitrix is flashing red. Has it really been ten minutes already? “Oh, please not now!”

In a flash of red light, Izuku finds himself Quirkless, helpless, and surrounded by brawling examinees and robots. “This is just my luck…” Grumbling to himself, Izuku slouches forward.

“Eliminate!!”

Izuku’s freezes up, one of the robots has spotted him and had quickly decided to target him. “Ahhhh!!”

The robot is nearly on top of him when several firm grips grab him and pull him back allowing the robot to race by.

“You need to be more aware of your surroundings.” Says a calm male voice.

Izuku blinks up at his savior, his eyes widening when he recognizes him. The person who saved him is the same guy that helped him out when he lost Rojo after she kidnapped Uraraka months ago. It’s hard to forget someone like him, namely because of his odd mutation Quirk that gives him multiple limbs; as of now, each end of his limbs has a different body part growing out of them: eye balls, ears, and hands.

“Hey it’s you!” Izuku proclaims as the multi-limbed rescuer puts him down.

“Um, yeah. Anyway, be careful these robots aren’t going to go easy on us.” The guy takes off noticing a lone 3-pointer not that far away.

_‘He’s right. I already have 48 points, that should be enough, so for now I just need to survive the rest of the exam…’_ That’s easier said than done, though. _‘I wonder how Uraraka’s doing.’_

Suddenly, there’s a loud boom as the ground begins to shake violently.

“What’s going on?!”

“Is it an earthquake?!

“Everybody run!!”

Izuku’s totally lost, frozen in place, amongst the sudden panic and confusion as other examinees run past him. _‘Run?! Run from what?!’_

There’s another booming crash as an entire building is knocked out of the way of a giant.

“Uraraka, wherever you are…I hope you’re having better luck than me.” 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Meanwhile, taking place a little bit after Izuku and Ochaco first split up.

“Release!” A 1-pointer crashes into the ground after being suspended in midair by Ochaco’s Zero-Gravity. “All right, that brings me to 32.” Ochaco swipes her arm across her head, wiping away sweat and dust. She takes a few deep breathes trying to push back the feeling of nausea that’s starting to plague her.

After splitting up from Deku, she was quick to find a hoard of robots. After which she touched as many as she could to make them float so she could release her quirk in one go rather than one at a time. She has not yet tried to use All Might’s Quirk, to be honest the idea of her limbs popping off like balloons isn’t exactly comforting. Besides she only just received it last night and she certainly doesn’t feel any different than before.

“Meatbag detected! Eliminate!” Another 3-pointer seemingly lunges of a pile of rubble like an energized zombie.

“Meatbag?!” Ochaco readies herself, waiting for the robot to get close so she can use her Quirk. “I’ll show you.”

She wouldn’t get the chance, however, because the tall blue-haired teen leaps out of nowhere. His leg, which she now notices has an engine embedded into it, smashes against the robot’s head breaking it into bits. “That brings me to 45!”

The surprise on Ochaco’s face is very apparent. “45!!”

The teen with glasses seems to notice Ochaco’s state. “You better get into high gear!” He calls out, his engine legs spurt out steam as he speeds forward smashing a two-pointer with a mighty kick. “Or you’ll never succeed!”

Ochaco’s expression hardens, with a shake to her senses she runs off looking for more robots. _‘He’s right. I need to pass because my parents, Deku, and All Might all believe in me and I can’t let them down. I worked too hard for this; I won’t fail!’_

##########(Flashback)#########

Near the top of Lothaal Mountain there is a decently sized crater that’s surrounded by large boulders and filled with coniferous trees making the crater look like a cove but filled with trees and grasses. This tree canopy is dense allowing little to no light to puncture through the the grove’s forest floor.

“It’s…too…heavy!” Ochaco is really struggling. How the hell is she supposed to haul this load of logs when a super buff pro hero is sitting on top of them? Ochaco falls forward releasing the rope she was using to pull the logs. She groans as she flips herself over, her face covered in sweat and dirt. “This would be a lot easier if I used my Quirk.”

All Might bursts out laughing from atop his perch. **“HA HA HA! I’M SURE IT WOULD!!”** He pulls out his phone snapping a few photos of the downed and dejected girl. **“BUT SERIOUSLY, THAT WOULD DEFEAT THE PURPOSE.”**

Ochaco sits up, her legs crossed as she gives the Number one hero a suspicious look. “And that would be?”

**“WE NEED TO WORK ON YOUR PHYSICAL CAPABILITIES, OR IN OTHER WORDS…YOU NEED TO GET RIPPED!!”** All Might shoots himself off the logs and flexes demonstrating his point. 

“What for?” Seriously, what purpose does this serve other than to make sure she’s physically fit. Then again does anybody really need a reason to have abs?

All Might suddenly becomes shy rubbing his neck as he begins to break into a cold sweat. **“WELL, YOUR BODY, AND DON’T TAKE THIS THE WRONG WAY, BUT YOUR BODY ISN’T READY…”**

“What?!” Oh, god, she had suspected but she never thought it was obvious! She knew she put on a little more weight recently, but that was because of stress eating! And that was because of those horrible robots and mutant monsters! 

**“WHAT I MEAN IS, YOUR BODY WON’T BE ABLE TO HANDLE THE FULL POWER OF ONE FOR ALL. YOUR LIMBS WOULD MOST LIKELY EXPLODE WHEN YOU TRY TO USE IT.”**

“Is that really true?!”

**“SURE IS, NOW THAT ISN’T THE ONLY REASON, YOU’RE HERE. BACK BEFORE QUIRKS, HEROES WERE CONSIDERED TO BE THOSE THAT SERVED THEIR COMMUNITIES, BUT IN MORE RECENT DAYS IT’S ALL ABOUT RESOLVING THE MOST CONFLICTS ESPECIALLY AGAINST VILLAINS.”** All Might marches over to the thickest tree in the grove he knocks his fist against it as if to test how thick it really is. **“I DID SOME RESEARCH ABOUT THIS MOUNTAIN AND I FOUND THAT ALTHOUGH IS QUITE SCENIC NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE ACTUALLY HIKE UP HERE. THAT’S WHY,”** Without warning he begins to grapple with the large tree, prying up at its base. **“IT WILL BE YOUR JOB TO TURN THIS SPOT INTO A BEAUTIFUL SCENIC VIEW!”** Ochaco can hear the roots snapping away as All Might rips the tree right out the ground. Sunlight breaks through the canopy shining down on All Might like a spotlight. **“WHEN YOU’VE COMPLETED THIS, THEN AND ONLY THEN WILL YOUR TRAINING BE COMPLETE.”** His blue eyes shine in the light as he leans the tree against his shoulder making him look like a mighty titan of the forest. 

“That’s great and all, but will this really help build up my strength?”

**“I’M GLAD YOU ASKED,”** All Might drops the tree and pulls out a folder seemingly out of nowhere. **“THAT’S WHY I HAVE THIS!”** Ochaco takes the folder and begins to flip through its pages. **“THIS IS YOUR “ALL-AMERICAN DREAM PLAN: THE LADY LIBERTY VERSION”!!! IN IT I HAVE MARKED DOWN EVERY ASPECT OF YOUR DAILY ROUTINE FROM DIET, EXERCISES, AND SLEEP!”**

“Wow, it’s so detailed!” And damn was he thorough, he has sheets of healthy foods, detailed stretches, and even notes on how to have undisturbed rest. “But why “the Lady Liberty Version?””

**“OH, A COWORKER OF MINE ACTUALLY ASKED ME TO MAKE ONE FOR THEM FIRST AS TO HELP THEIR OWN STUDENT. SO, THIS ONE IS A MORE REFINED COPY.”**

_‘Wow, someone else willingly decided to go through with this crazy schedule too, huh? Well looks like I have no excuse to not do it then.’_ Ochaco gives All Might a nervous yet determined smile. “So, when do we start?”

All Might’s grin widens. **“RIGHT NOW!”**

What followed was probably the most excruciating yet most rewarding experience in all of Ochaco Uraraka’s life.

Every day for the next eight months she was on Lothaal Mountain pushing herself to her limits while All Might was nearly always there lending his support and coaching. Everyday her body ached all over since she not only had to chop down trees with no assistance but then haul the timber down the mountain. If the wood was too rotten or unfit for lumber All Might made sure she did different exercises to remove the debris so she could work on various muscle groups.

As for the rest, she’d carry the timber to a local lumber yard near the base of the mountain. The lumber yard is a rustic little place run by a family of mutant type Quirk users that look like living teddy bears, her dad often goes to them for his company’s lumber and woodcraft needs. Funny enough she brought them up to Thirteen who explained that the family of teddy bears were actually aliens called Ewoks. Go figure.

Anyway, every trip down the mountain Ochaco made, she made the same trip back up but this time with a load of prepared and trimmed pieces of lumber that she’d have to haul up like a sled dog. There were so many times she just wanted to use her quirk and be done with the agony, but All Might often joined her on these treks to make sure she kept true to the workout. Although, most of the time he would be using a rental AT-V so he wouldn’t actually have to make the trek himself.

After several trips up and down the mountain Ochaco would remain there till nearly dusk. Why? Because after stockpiling a good number of lumber both her and All Might got to work on constructing a nice rest stop for hikers. Even though her father never wanted her to take part in his construction projects, she did pick up quite a few things over the years. They started by building a wooden platform this also meant she had to dig through clay and rock to set the boards evenly. Eventually they were able to move on to making a split-rail fence, benches across the trails, and install steps and platforms where they were needed. They even had to build a little bridge across a stream.

Predictably, there were times when it would become way too much…

“Oof…”

Yagi stops the AT-V, taking off his helmet he turns around and sees that Ochaco has collapsed face first onto the ground, the load of wood she was pulling slowly begins to slide back down the slope. “Come on, now. This is no time to give up.”

“I’m…not…giving up.” Ochaco picks her head up, that’s all she can move since her entire body aches of pain from the strain on her muscles. “Don’t assume…that because my body quit…that I did, too!”

Yagi bulks up, his signature grin on in full force as he steps off the AT-V which is way too small for him now. **“HAHAHA!”** He picks Ochaco up by the scruff of her jacket much like a mother lion would her cub. **“YOU HAVE SPIRIT YOUNG URARAKA THAT WILL GET YOU FAR, I CAN PROMISE YOU THAT! FOR NOW, RELAX, THIS OLD MAN WILL GET YOU HOME WHERE YOU CAN REST.”**

“Old…just how old are you, All Might?”

He never did answer her question, but that’s not important. What is important is that with All Might’s support, her parents love, and even talking to Deku got her through it, until it all of the hard work and support finally payed off.

In less than 24 hours the U.A. Entrance Exam will take place. Currently, Yagi is strolling his way up the now very familiar mountain just as the sun is about to set. He’s been unavailable since Nezu called him away to help prepare for the exam and thus he’s missed out on Ochaco’s training for the last week or so. So, he’s here to see if she’s okay and how far she’s progressed since he’s been gone. He’s almost there he can see where the canopy finally begins to open up, allowing what little sunlight there is to shine into his eyes.

“VICTORY!!” What greets him is a true sight to behold, Ochaco is standing atop of the split-rail fence overlooking the valley below. The setting sun paints the sky with a beautiful hue of colors, the town on Endori slowly begins to light up as the residents turn their lights on, the mountain wind howls a melodic song.

_‘Whoa!! She did it! Damn, she did an incredible job, just look at that view!! Amazing!!’_

It really is a beautiful view. The grove is now the perfect hiking destination with a sturdy balcony that overlooks the mountainside, a stable split-rail fence, masterfully crafted benches, and even a little wooden awning to provide some shade. Not to mention the wooden steps, platforms, and benches that are strewn about the trails allowing hikers an easier and more comfortable experience.

“You finished in time! And you exceeded my expectations! It’s… **WONDERFUL!!** ” Yagi pops into his muscular form, shouting the last part loudly.

The loud booming voice surprises Ochaco from her thin perch, she spins around to see who’s snuck up on her, but in doing so she slips.

But she has no need to worry, in a blink of an eye All Might grabs her and places her onto the ground. **“GREAT JOB, YOUNG URARAKA.”**

Ochaco blinks up, her eyes expanding in surprise and slight embarrassment. Did he hear her scream out in victory?! “All Might?! I-I uh, finished!”

**“YOU SURE DID! IT’S ASTOUNDING!”** All Might digs through his coat pocket, pulling out his cell phone. He scrolls through it looking for a specific image. **“HERE TAKE A LOOK AT THIS!”** He holds up the phone’s screen.

Ochaco peers at it, the photo is of her. She’s on the ground, her face covered with dirt, looking weak and pathetic. “Is that…me?”

**“YUP, FROM 8 MONTHS AGO. BACK THEN YOU WERE SO FRAIL AND MEAK, BARELY ABLE TO HIKE UP AND DOWN THIS MOUNTAIN!”**

“Hey!” Ochaco’s cheeks puff out in anger. 

All Might continues, choosing to ignore her outburst. **“NOW LOOK AT YOURSELF, YOU’VE REALLY BECOME THE PERFECT VESSEL!”**

Ochaco gazes down at her body, raising her arm up flexing it as she observes the newly developed muscles. Holy shit, what happened to her body? She has muscles, very real muscles! And abs, yes!! In all seriousness though, her physique is nothing like it used to be. Sure, she was never close to being overweight or anything and she always did fairly well during school athletic tests, but this is a whole other level. Her body is that of an Olympic swimmer with her arms well developed, her stomach is well toned, and her legs are well built.

A faint smile forms, she grips her arm. This is real, she did it, she really did it. She can’t stop the tears that begin to leak out from the corners of her eyes. “It feels like…I don't really…deserve any of this.” She tries and fails to wipe away the tears. “I’ve had so much support from you, my family, and my friends…I just don’t think I earned anything.” 

**“YOU’RE WRONG THIS IS BECAUSE OF YOUR OWN EFFORTS.”** All Might directs her to the stunning view. The sun is officially gone and was replaced by a sea of stars, Endori’s buildings illuminate below like Christmas lights giving the valley a celebratory atmosphere. Ochaco’s eye’s shine like the stars, who knew the view was this amazing, guess that’s why All Might chose this spot for her training.

All Might plucks a single strand of hair from his head, holding on to it like a prize he can’t afford to lose. **“SOMEONE WISE TOLD ME THIS ONCE: THERE’S A BIG DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BEING LUCKY AND DESERVING, ONE’S AN ACCIDENT THE OTHER AN REWARD. NEVER GET THE TWO MIXED UP.”** Ochaco stares up at the hero, letting his words sink in. **“TAKE THAT TO HEART YOUNG LADY, BECAUSE THIS GIFT YOU EARNED IT WITH YOUR OWN VALIANT EFFORTS.”**

With watery eyes and a determined smile Ochaco is ready to receive One For All and become the next Symbol of Peace!

Despite his grin an air of disgust and shame radiates off of the Number One Hero as he presents the strand of blonde hair. **“EAT THIS…”**

“Huh?”

**“YOU GOT TO INGEST SOME OF MY DNA, THAT’S HOW IT WORKS!”**

“What?! No way?!”

**“YES WAY! NOW EAT IT!”**

########(End Flashback)#######

_‘At least I was able to get home to rest…and get some much-needed mouthwash.’_ Ochaco covers her mouth trying not to throw up. Hey at least this time, it’s not her Quirk that’s making her nauseous. Slapping the sides of her face, she finds new found resolve. _‘Can’t get distracted not now! I have All Might’s Quirk; I can do this!’_ She takes a deep breath before declaring to the world. “Nothing can stop me now!!”

A building collapses in the distance, an earthshaking crash follows as the building crumbles away, and a gust of wind whips at her hair and clothes. Ochaco shakily turns around and only a few blocks away is a behemoth of a robot. It’s a hulking green mass, easily bigger and heavier than any of the fake buildings. “No way!!” Her jaw drops. _‘Is that the 0-pointer?! What is U.A. thinking? Plus Ultra, I guess…’_

Ochaco’s not the only one freaking out. Most of the other examinees are in a panic, realization finally set it that some of them will get hurt or worse during this exam, they stampede past the stunned brunette choosing to save themselves.

The 0-pointer moves forward pushing past the buildings on its side causing chunks of rubble to break off. One piece of rubble is flung so far forward it nearly crushes Ochaco, but she was able to stay calm and move out of the way in time.

“This is crazy! Someone could get hurt!”

“Move it or lose it people!”

“Ahh!” It was faint, but she heard it, it was a scream, a familiar scream.

Quickly scanning for the source, she spots something that makes her heart stop. Izuku is down, his leg pinned down by a pile of debris. And he’s not alone, someone, a tall examinee, with white hair and way too many arms is trying to lift the rubble off of her friend.

But the 0-pointer is right over them, there’s no way they’ll get out of the way in time! But…she can give them time.

With literally no time to spare Ochaco charges straight towards danger ignoring the looks of shock and worry that crosses the faces of other examinees including that rather rude engine-boy in glasses. She has no plan, no strategy, just a motive: save them!

The muscular multi-limbed examinee is finally able to lift up the rubble just enough to allow Izuku to slip out. “Thanks.” He gives the taller teen a grateful nod, who kindly returns the gesture.

Their moment of relief is short lived as a dark looming shadow towers above them. The two are stunned as they gaze up at the metal menace. How could they possibly get away in time?! What could they possibly do?!

Ochaco is so close, she’s so close! Suddenly, a powerful surge of strength and energy courses through her body like someone just opened the floodgates to a hidden inner strength. Her instincts take over, she still has no plan in mind, only to stop the behemoth at all costs.

If she had looked down, she would have seen her legs emitting a pink aura, but instead she jumps high into the air launching herself straight at the monstrosity like a rocket. There’s no time to comprehend what’s going on, or how she did that, only one thing requires her focus. Coming face to face with the faux-villain Ochaco reels back her fist as an elegant pink aura surrounds her entire arm and with a mighty roar, she smashes her fist against the hulking mass’ face.

To those watching the magnificent display of power, it looked like they witnessed a pink shooting star rocketing itself into the giant tank of metal.

The faux-villain is knocked back as if it ran face first into an impenetrable wall with its head caved-in on itself and its hulking body begins to break apart as it begins to descend backwards crashing onto the street.

“I did it…I saved them…” With a soft yet pained smile Ochaco passes out midair, the feeling of nausea, exhaustion, and pain coursing through her limbs being too much for her. Without her Zero-Gravity to assist her she begins to plummet back down to Earth.

Meanwhile, Izuku quickly picks up that something is wrong. She’s not moving! If he doesn’t do something, she’s going to become street pizza! He grips his Omnitrix trying to activate it but all he gets is the infuriating beeping and the illuminating red light as the Omnitrix recharges. _‘I need to help her somehow!’_

By some miracle he is able to hold back his panic so he can take in his options. He looks at his rescuer’s bulging muscles and multiple arms, and an idea quickly forms in his head. “Quick throw me!!”

The tall examinee snaps out of his daze, having witnessed Ochaco’s amazing feat. “Pardon?”

“Throw me, now!” Izuku points at Ochaco’s falling form.

Understanding what he’s getting at, the much taller guy grabs Izuku by his arm and leg. He spins him around and swings his arms out throwing Izuku as hard as he can right at their savior.

The wind wipes at his face making him tear up, but he refuses to blink, he’s not going to risk losing sight of her unconscious form.

The guy’s throw was stronger than he thought because he quickly reaches Ochaco’s still form and latching onto her like a lifeline. While in midair Izuku repositions them so his back is towards the ground, perhaps he can soften her landing by using his body instead. He only has a few seconds, from behind her back he wriggles the Omnitrix in his fingers trying to get it to work, but the red light is still present. The ground is so close now, with no other choice Izuku wraps himself around Ochaco as much as he can at the very least, she’ll be okay. God, his heart is pounding, beating so hard that it hurts his ears, pure adrenaline and fear courses through his veins as the wind harshly wheezes past his ears as they pick up momentum.

With no warning, and before the appropriate recharge time, the Omnitrix’s faceplate turns without any provocation, its dial changing from red to green.

Only a meter away from the asphalt both teens are surrounded by a blinding green light followed by a hollow thunk hitting the ground.

Out of reflex, Terraspin tucks his head-in while keeping his large flippers secured around Ochaco to protect her. Terraspin’s shell bounces off the ground, even flipping them over a few times, before finally they come to a much-needed stop.

Terraspin sighs, allowing himself to relax. “Ugh…I’m definitely going to feel that in the morning.” He looks up taking note that he’s stuck on his back with Ochaco laying atop his stomach.

Thank goodness she’s unconscious the last thing he needs is for her to see his blushing red face. _‘Ah-ah-ah!! S-she’s s-so c-close!! I-I d-didn’t mean to d-do t-this!!’_ He lifts up his flippers as to not risk touching something that he shouldn’t.

That’s when he notices the damage to her body; the sleeves around both her legs and her right arm are torn revealing her very red and swollen limbs underneath. Her knuckles are bleeding from the impact and her shoes are nowhere to be seen. Luckily nothing seems to be broken, but the strain on her muscles must be painful.

_‘What was that anyway? How did sh-’_

Present Mic’s voice booms through the arena. “TIME’S UP!! THE EXAM IS OVER!!”

“Already?!”

The multi-limbed guy approaches having just witnessed some of the most daring acts of heroism and recklessness in his entire life. “You okay?”

“I’m fine, thanks for the assist by the way. That’s four I owe ya.” He’s referring to the Rojo incident, saving him from a robot, freeing him from the rubble, and throwing him to save Ochaco.

“Four?”

“Oh, well you see-”

An elderly woman’s voice makes itself known. “Pardon me dearies, please let me through.”

Terraspin tries to twist his head so he can see who’s approaching. He gasps his eyes gleaming with nerdy excitement. “Oh, my gosh! You’re the Youthful Heroine, Recovery Girl!! Your Quirk allows you to heal others to complete health. You’re really the backbone of this school and why it can get away with such dangerous and admittedly life-threatening exercises. You and your Quirk are truly amazing!”

Recovery Girl chuckles, finding the sight of an excited turtle rather endearing. “My, aren’t you sweet. Now let’s fix this young lady back to the way she was.” She puckers her lips, before her mouth lungs out planting a kiss on Ochaco’s head. *Smooch*

Terraspin watches on in amazement as Ochaco’s limbs magically begin to recover, she visibly relaxes as her limbs go from red and swollen to her normal coloration.

“Alright, she’s all better now. “ Recovery Girl taps her giant syringe of a cane against Terraspin’s shell “Do you need any attention dearie?”

“Um, no I’m good, thanks.” He blinks considering the offer. “Although there is something…”

“What is it?”

“Can…someone flip me over?” A palpable silence befalls everyone who was in earshot. “I’m stuck.” The request is odd but understandable after all turtles always have a tough time flipping themselves upright.

With a sigh, the taller teen steps forward. “I got you.”

“Thanks…that’s five now.”

While Terraspin is pushed back onto his feet the other examinees have finally calmed down. They decided to head back and see what resulted of the robot and its conquerors. Now that things have settled down, they let their opinions flow unfiltered.

“Man, those guys are insane!”

“Did you see what she did?”

“How could I not?”

“But why risk the exam to help each other? It doesn’t make sense?”

“Maybe they got so many points already they didn’t need to get anymore…”

“Still doesn’t make sense, not like they could get any points for taking down that monster.”

Listening in, the teen with engines in his legs can’t help but be bothered by their statements. _‘Don’t they get it; they didn’t do this for the exam. They chose to be selfless… they chose to help each other.’_ He’s shaking with frustration. _‘If this wasn’t an exam…then, of course, I would have done the same!’_ Something important pops into his head, his breath hitches with the revelation. _‘Hang on, the judges they saw that didn’t they?’_ The rather stern young man’s gaze drifts away as Recovery Girl leads the large bipedal turtle, who is carrying the unconscious but healed brunette girl, to the infirmary. _‘Perhaps those two are more disciplined that I initially thought…’_

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

After an hour of being stuck in a hospital bed, Izuku and Ochaco are finally free to head home.

Izuku yawns still feeling the effects of Recovery Girl’s Quirk. _‘Finally, I thought we’d never leave. Who knew Recovery Girl’s Quirk drained the victim’s own stamina? Gosh, I’m tired.’_

Funny enough, after he carried Ochaco all the way to the infirmary room that’s when he finally noticed the pain in his leg. And just in time too because he turned back to human. Unfortunately, he nearly gave Recovery Girl a heart attack thanks to the flash of light. Anyway, Izuku finally remembered that his ankle was recently pinned under a pile of rubble, leaving behind a nasty bruise. Not wanting to risk letting him go, Recovery Girl opted to use her Quirk on him, just to make sure he was truly okay. Well, she did, after which she bonked him on the head and demanded to know how he couldn’t have noticed such a thing. To let the lesson sink in, she refused to heal the very bump that she gave him.

After adjusting his backpack, Izuku rubs said bump, thankfully it’s gone down. ‘ _For someone that specializes in healing, she sure is violent.’_ But no need to worry about that, for now he’ll just concentrate on getting home to his bed and his mom’s cooking.

He dusts off the Omnitrix, inspecting it for dust and scratches; it of course doesn’t have any. _‘Why did it recharge so quickly? Did it get an upgrade…? No, it didn't because I was still Terraspin for ten minutes and it took another ten minutes for it to recharge afterwards. I’ll bring it up to Thirteen next time I see them.’_

“You have no sense of self-preservation, do you?”

“Excuse me?!” Izuku snaps out of his lull blinking in surprise. To his right Ochaco is leering at him, her arms tucked in, and her cheeks puffed out in frustration. She didn’t take hearing about how he saved her well, namely him having no plan; only succeeded because the Omnitrix happened to recharge quickly…for some reason. Better bring that up to Thirteen later. 

Izuku has the decency to look away in shame, but his mouth has other ideas. “I could say the same about you…”

Ochaco growls. “What was that?”

“Nothing!” Izuku replies trying to sound innocent, despite the obvious nervous sweat dripping down his face.

The pink-cheeked girl sighs deciding to let it go for now. “Well, in any case,” She smiles. “thanks for the save.” 

“Any time, besides you saved me from the 0-pointer first. So, thanks for that.”

Ochaco beams in gratitude, but her smile wavers as she rubs her arm although it’s fully healed she can still somewhat feel the strain on her muscles. _‘I know All Might warned me about the risks, but I thought that’s why we trained. So, why did I still end up getting hurt? Was I not ready? Was All Might wrong choosing me?’_

“Hey, Uraraka…”

“What’s up, Deku?”

“What was that today? That thing you did to the 0-pointer, was that your Quirk?”

“Oh, yeah…that.” Ochaco’s eyes drift away. _‘Oh, no! What do I tell him?! What can I say?!’_ All Might never did expresses a real need for secrecy, but this Quirk just seems a little too important not to keep it a secret. _‘But this is Deku, he has to keep his Quirklessness and the existence of aliens a secret so if there’s anyone that would understand it would be him…’_ Ochaco looks up at Izuku considering her options.

Not sure what she’s thinking Izuku offers her a soft comforting smile.

_‘I’ll tell him what I can for now and ask All Might later about what more I can tell him.’_ She exhales readying herself for the possible fallout. “Hey, Deku about that…what if told you that…” She averts her eyes. “IgotanotherQuirkfromsomeoneelse!”

Izuku sticks a finger into his ear as if to clean it. “I’m sorry, what was that?”

She takes a deep breath, trying to lower her blood pressure. “I said…I got another Quirk from someone else.” She flinches expecting an outburst when there is none she continues. When there’s no verbal response, she opens one eye to look upon the results of her revelation.

What she sees is both horrifying yet hilarious; Izuku is frozen stiff as if someone had pressed pause on him, a stupid smile still plastered to his face.

_‘Oh no I can practically see his brain short circuiting. Okay, stay calm, Ochaco. Be ready for when he flips out.’_

…

“Oh, that’s cool.” And with that Izuku continues his stroll towards home.

“Wait!!” Ochaco nearly crashes into him as she sprints past him. “That’s it?! I say something mind-blowing and you just smile and wave it off?!”

Izuku leans his head to the side. “Well, considering that there’s all sort of Quirks in the world it’s not exactly impossible.”

“Oh…good point.”

“Also…I can’t really judge. I mean, I wear an alien watch that turns me into different aliens. Heck, learning that aliens exist was probably the most mind-blowing revelation I’ve ever had. So, anything else in comparison is sort of watered down.”

Ochaco chuckles softly. “Ha, yeah I guess so.” She sighs in relief, God this could have been worse, but still she feels rather guilty for still withdrawing some information.

Izuku seems to pick up on her distress. “I’m still willing to hear you out if you want.”

Ochaco looks him dead in the eye, this is it. “Keep in mind, I’m not actually sure how much I can tell you, but I recently…very recently got a second Quirk from someone that could transfer it to me. Don’t ask me who or how! I still need to ask them permission, so don't be mad if they say no.”

Izuku chuckles at Ochaco’s apparent nervousness. Is this what he’s like when he’s scared about something? “Uraraka, relax I understand.”

“Y-you do?”

“Of course, and your secret is safe with me.”

“Thanks, Deku.”

“Your welcome, and thanks for trusting in me…now then can I ask you some questions about your new Quirk?”

“I suppose so, I just can’t tell you its name and who gave it to me.”

“Cool, in that case,” Almost like magic Izuku’s Quirk Analysis notebook appears in his hands. “How does your new Quirk work? Is an Emitter, Mutation, or Transformation type? Why did you get hurt when using it?! What else can you do with it?!”

The onslaught of questions makes her head spin, but she can’t refuse his enthusiastic and nerdy smile. “Oh, I, uh, um, well; not sure, I thought Transformation but it might be an Emitter, it’s too strong for me, and I still have to find out.”

Izuku scribbles away in a frenzy like a maniac that just learned an important weakness about their prey. “Amazing, I wonder how it’ll affect your Zero-Gravity Quirk. Maybe you can combine them.”

“Who knows, I guess we’ll find out with time and experience.”

“And we’ll get plenty of that.” Izuku gestures towards the U.A. building, have they really not left the campus yet?

“Yeah,” Ochaco gazes up at the magnificent school, the very one that will lead them to the road of becoming heroes. “we sure will.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Meanwhile, in a surveillance room filled with monitors that are all replaying videos of the day’s exams. Each one is displaying a different hero candidate, each one with their own unique Quirks, resolves, and ambitions. Watching the video feed is nearly all of U.A.’s staff members.

A woman leans forward in her seat, watching as a girl with pink-skin melts a robot with her acid. “We have quite an impressive batch of candidates this year.”

A man wearing a cowboy hat nods in agreement. “Quiet some of them are well adapted to combat.” He’s watching the video of Bakugou taking down an entire hoard of 3-pointers.

A cherry mousy voice changes the image of the center screen. “I’m more impressed by this odd duo.”

The main screen displays two sets of videos: one of Feedback and the other of Ochaco both of which are running around and taking down groups of robots.

Yagi Toshinori can’t move his gaze away from the monitor. Pride swells in his chest making him sit up straighter at the sight of his pupil proving her worth as a hero.

The image changes, this time the screen only shows one image and it’s of Terraspin saving Ochaco. Yagi quickly recognizes the bipedal turtle from the mutant monster attack from 8 months ago. _‘Huh, he must have a Transformation type Quirk.’_

Yagi watches as the video feed replays once again starting from the beginning when Feedback first appeared on the scene, until…in a flash of red light a plain faced boy with messy green hair appears in the being’s place. _‘Why does that boy seem so familiar?’_

Yagi turns to the person to his left. “Pardon, but who is that young man?”

Before anyone could answer, sitting behind All Might is Thirteen who is quick to reply. “Oh, that’s Izuku Midoriya.” There’s a slight hint of pride in their voice, but everyone’s attention is on the screen and thus nobody seems to have noticed.

_‘Midoriya! That’s why he’s so familiar, he’s the boy whose dream I unjustly crushed…’_ The guilt in his heart comes back, just like every time his mind wanders back to the depressing and shameful memory. He had always wondered what happened to him afterword, guess he got his answer... ‘ _But I thought he said that he didn’t have a Quirk.’_ Yagi watches on, the video changes this time displaying Izuku saving Ochaco and this time Yagi doesn’t miss how the boy transforms into Terraspin. _‘Does he have…multiple Quirk?’_

The video replays again, displaying Feedback running around the fake city electrifying a legion of robots.

_‘Just who are you, Izuku Midoriya? And how did you get a Quirk?’_

Standing against the opposite wall is a strange reclusive man that looks like he hasn’t gotten a good night's rest in a while.

He's a slender pale-skinned man with messy, shoulder-length black hair that partially hangs in front of his face. His facial hair is unkempt, and his black eyes look tired and flat. He sports a ragged black outfit that consists of a long-sleeved shirt and matching pants that are tucked into his boots. He also wears a utility belt and a strange long grey scarf is wrapped around his neck and shoulders.

This man is also observing the phenomenons known as Izuku Midoriya and Ochaco Uraraka. _‘Looks like this school year is going to cost me a lot of sleep.’_ He sighs in defeat dreading all the future headaches these two problem children are guaranteed to give him. 

############################################

** Sukima **

_ (Play “ _ [ _Bill Conti - Gonna Fly Now_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioE_O7Lm0I4) _ ”) _

A few weeks before Ochaco completed the grove, All Might had a great idea for the next part of her training.

Ochaco, dressed in sweatpants, a pink hoodie, and a beanie takes a jog across the outskirts of Endori.

Later during the busiest time of the day, she jogs through the main street where the local market is. She’s keeping a decent pace, while keeping her breath even, as her neighbors and classmates watch on in curiosity. One of the friendlier fruit vendors tosses her an apple, Ochaco catches it, and flashes him a grateful smile. He’s always so nice giving her family extra fruit, after all they did build his little shop for him.

After jogging all across town Yagi takes her to the local gym. There he coaches Ochaco how to properly throw a punch.

He’s keeping the punching bag in place as Ochaco tries to work on her form. “Come on, put all your weight behind it! Go Beyond, Plus Ultra!!”

Ochaco glares at the offending punching bag taking a mighty swing at it. The hit is so fast and hard that Yagi can actually feel the impact, it’s so strong he begins to cough up blood.

“Oh, my gosh! Are you okay?!”

Afterwards he has her doing pushups as fast as she can, yelling in her ear, motivating her to do better, especially when it seems her arms are going to give out from under her.

“Come on! You call that a pushup, I’ve seen old men move faster than you!” At least Gran Torino could keep up a fast pace.

He keeps it up, pushing her through sit ups and pull ups. After every moment of struggle, she pushes through refusing to give in.

Finally, when she got to the point of completing the exercises with little signs of failure the duo jog from one side of town to the other before reaching their final obstacle, Lothaal Mountain.

Together the two jog their way up, passing by the Ewoks’ lumber yard, past a few hikers, and up a every staircase before finally reaching their destination, the grove that they’ve been clearing out for months.

With their blood pumping and full of euphoria, Ochaco and All Might raise both of their fists into the air celebrating their great achievement as if they just won a grueling battle against an impossible foe, but in reality, it is so they can prepare themselves for a grueling challenge taking place in the near future.

All Might’s grin widens, watching the sun begin to set in the distance. **_‘SOON SHE WILL BE READY TO RECEIVE ONE FOR ALL. AND SHE WILL PASS THE U.A. ENTRANCE EXAM!’_**

“Hey, All Might…”

“WHAT IS IT YOUNG URARAKA?” All Might turns hoping to gaze upon his pupils elated expression.

“Why are we doing this?”

(Stop the music)

…

Well, that ruined the mood.

All Might begins to sweat as his face turns slightly red from embarrassment. **“OH, UH, WELL,”** He twiddles his two index fingers together, trying not to make direct eye contact in fear of her reaction. **“I ALWAYS WANTED TO BE PART OF A TRAINING MONTAGE.”**

“… Seriously?”

**“DON’T JUDGE, ME!!”**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I loved writing this chapter, I really had so much fun creating it! And I sure hope you found the chapter fun as well. I would love a comment and review from you guys. Please let me know what you liked, what didn't work, what you found funny and enjoyable, and any questions you may have. I will try to answer them to the best of my abilities without spoiling too much.
> 
> *Real quick, sorry but I have to apologize again. We will not be going to U.A. next chapter instead I want to dedicate some time to more plot development and setting some last things up for later before moving on. That said after Ch.10 We will officially and surely enter the doors of U.A. I promise.
> 
> *Ochaco's home of Endori is obviously supposed to be a reference to Endor from Star Wars, hence the Ewoks that live in the forest. It's alos supposed to represent how far Ochaco lives from U.A. and in a forested area.
> 
> *Lothaal Mountain is a reference to the planet Lothal from Star Wars Rebels, but it also represents how Ochaco's family is from the area much like how Ezra Bridger's family is from Lothal, and like Ezra she is trained by a great warrior (All Might = Kanan Jarrus) while on Lothal before they move on to greater and better things. The extinct wolves are a reference to the Loth Wolves from the Star Wars Rebels series as well.
> 
> *I don't think Ochaco should get as much backlash from using One For All as Izuku did in canon for several reasons: 1. I feel like her training was much more intense compared to what Izuku had to do. 2. Ochaco is used to having a Quirk, especially a Quick that she can't shut off. Thus her mind is already wired to think that One For All shouldn't be completely shut off like a switch. Which is something Izuku figured this out while he was under Gran Torino's tutelage. 3. I don't want Ochaco to have the exact same issues as Izuku when it comes to handling One For All.
> 
> * The Sukima was a Rocky style training montage for those that don't know. It also expresses All Might's love for America.
> 
> *A Sukima is meant to be a sidestory that is canon to this fanfic but it adds nothing to the overall story and isn't meant to be taken seriously. It's just meant to be for laughs. Also, I've based the Sukima off the way they are handled in the anime series known as "Mairimashita! Iruma-kun!" check it out if you haven't, I think it's a funny anime.
> 
> *I hope to have more Sukimas and Omakes in the future: they are meant to be short, fun, and/or sweet so if you have any suggestions than please let me know what you want to see.


	10. Acceptance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Izuku and Ochaco receive their acceptance letters from U.A., All Might explains One For All to his successor, and Thirteen takes the new recruits on a surprise field-trip.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, what's up everybody? How are you all doing? I hope you're ready for Ch.10 because here it is. However, I want to be upfront and say that this chapter feels like a bit of filler but there were some things that needed to be addressed and introduced before Izuku and Ochaco go to U.A. That said, I promise that Ch.11 will take place at U.A. and will be much more fun so please be patient. Either way, I hope you enjoy Ch.10 nonetheless.

_‘What if I didn’t pass? No, no, don’t think like that! I’ve worked too hard and waited so long for this, there’s no way I failed. I walked away with 48 points that has to be more than enough. But what if it wasn’t?! Hundreds of people took the exam, and only 40 will make it in! That’s such a tiny margin! There’s no way I made it! No, calm down Izuku, just relax. Just relax. Just RELAX!!’_

It’s been about a week since the U.A. Entrance Exam, and Izuku has done nothing but wait and ponder about his results. There’s been no word from Thirteen either other than a quick text saying they are going to be too busy the next coming weeks. Both of these circumstances have not been beneficial for his nerves. After all hundreds of potential candidates try and go for the Hero Course there’s no guarantee that he’ll make it in. And you know what they say, there’s always someone better.

“IZUKU!!” His mother, Inko Midoriya, bursts into his room flailing her hands. “Your letter from U.A.! It’s here!” She holds out the letter. It’s large with the U.A. sigil stamped onto it, and something bulky is hidden inside.

Hesitantly, Izuku takes the letter taking note of how heavy it really is probably thanks to whatever’s inside. Inko decided it would be best to leave him to it alone, so she leaves as silently as she can, but she can’t help but worry. After everything he’s endured thanks to his Quirk awakening so late, she hopes his trials and tribulations would have been worth it.

Izuku sits there on his bed staring at the letter observing the sharp edges and slightly wrinkled corner from where his mom was holding it.

No point in wondering any more. Time to rip off the Band-Aid! “Here goes nothing.” He grips the letter ripping in half, nearly falling back when the letter rips in two and something drops to the floor. 

Almost instantly as a strange disc like device plops on to the ground a maniacal yet cheery laugh invades Izuku’s bedroom. “Ha ha ha ha ha ha!” At the same time a holographic screen is projected up displaying the U.A. logo.

“What is this?!”

On the projection, a small figure jumps into view waving its hand up in greeting. “Why, hello there! Nice to meet you!”

Izuku blinks unsure about what he’s seeing. On the projection, there is a short man that looks like some kind of combination of a dog, a mouse and a bear. There’s a large scar over the bear-dog thing’s right eye, he has relatively square-shaped ears with pale pink insides slanting outwards from the top of his head, and an elongated muzzle with a small round nose. His fur is white and has large, dog-like paws with pink pads and a thin tail like that of a cat. He is sporting a white dress shirt, a dark red tie around his neck, a black double-breasted waistcoat and that match his dress pants.

The chimera bows introducing himself. “My name is Nezu and I’m…the principle of U.A.!” Nezu’s smile is bright and cheerful proclaiming his position with much pride and gusto.

Izuku’s hand grazes his Quirk Analysis Notebook as if ready to draw it out for reference. _‘I’ve heard of him before.’_

The pre-recording doesn’t wait for Izuku to process the outburst of a greeting before Principal Nezu straightens himself. “Now on to your results. You did quite well on your written exam and thus you’ve qualified for General Studies. But that’s not what you want to hear now is it?! I’m sure you would like to know about the Hero Course Exam. But before that I would like to go over this with you!”

From the corner of the projection a video appears displaying a clip of Izuku as Feedback running about the arena. The video changes this time to Izuku transforming into Terraspin. The video stops and then it changes to displaying two parallel photos: one of Feedback and the other of Terraspin.

Nezu eyes the photos curiously. “I must say, you have quite a fascinating…Quirk, Mr. Midoriya.” Nezu peers down seemingly lost in thought with a far-off gaze in his dark eyes. “Reminds me of another Quirk I knew back in the day.” After a deep somber sigh, Nezu turns back to the camera tilting his head to the side much like an animal that’s spotted something of interest.

Izuku mimics the motions but not in interest but in confusion. _‘I wonder what kind of Quirk he’s thinking of?’_

Nezu smiles before reaching for something off screen, a moment later he is holding a portfolio. He flips it open tracing the words with his finger/paw. “According to your Quirk Registry your Quirk, One Man Army, allows you access to a variety of Quirks by transforming your entire body into different forms. It is odd, how you waited so long to update it considering you were classified as Quirkless for so long. Almost like you gained a Quirk overnight.” Although Nezu states this as a joke, there is a clear underlining hint that he means more than what he’s letting on.

Izuku pulls on his shirt collar feeling very sweaty all of the sudden. _‘Does he know? No, he probably just saw me use the Omnitrix and figures it’s for my Quirk. I did write into my Quirk Registry that the watch helps me sort through my transformations as well as a timer.’_

“But that is none of my concern, for now I’ll just say that I am looking forward to seeing what other tricks you have up your sleeve, Mr. Midoriya.” Nezu raises his left arm and with his right paw he pats his left wrist.

Izuku eyes widen. _‘Look forward… Does he mean?’_

“That’s right with a Battle Score of 48 points you’ve more than reached a passing grade!”

“YES!!!” Izuku fist pumps into the air in celebration a giant grin plastered to his face.

“However, Battle Points weren’t the only criteria we searched for.”

_‘What is he talking about?’_

The photos change into two separate videos: one of Feedback but this time he’s saving the pompous blonde teen, and the other plays the scene of Terraspin rescuing Ochaco starting with the multi-limbed guy tossing Izuku up into the air.

“You’ve proven yourself worthy of the Hero Course through your ability to adapt to your situation, cooperate with others, and your passionate selflessness to save others. For that we have awarded you 45 rescue points! Brining you to a total of 93 points for the entire exam!”

“93 POINTS!?!” Izuku’s jaw drops in disbelief. _‘No way?! That's insane according to Kacchan he had gotten 77 points! Does this mean I beat him?!’_

“Not only that you’ve skyrocket your way to first place among all other examinees! CONGRATULATIONS!!!” A barrage of confetti shoots out from outside the screen surrounding the pieces of paper fluttering around Nezu like a swarm of colorful bees.

“FIRST PLACE!?!”

“Mr. Midoriya, you’ve more than shown us that you are ready for U.A. and I would like to welcome you to your Hero Academia! Hooray!!”

Izuku is up on his feet with one of the biggest and brightest grins on his face. This is real, very very real! He’s going to U.A.!! Nothing can ruin this moment!

“I look forward to watching your progress,” The next part is rather strange either some weird editing was done or Nezu can move at the speed of light, but either way his face is directly in front of the camera. His dark round eyes peering through the screen as if he can see through the camera and right at Izuku. It doesn’t help that with the light now to his back his face is shadowed over, and his ever-present smile makes it all that more uncomfortable. “I bet it will be…fascinating. Mwah ha ha ha ha!!” The recording freezes as it reaches the end leaving Nezu’s looming figure on screen and his maniacal laughter hanging in the air.

A part of Izuku is outright freaking out, he should definitely be concerned, but that is nothing, but a whisper compared to the emotions flooding his system: pure euphoria and excitement. He’s going to U.A.!! How could he not be happy?! All his life he’s dreamed of going to U.A. and becoming a hero and now he’s just been accepted to begin ascending the stairs that will lead him to his dream.

Before that though there’s something he should do first.

Just outside his bedroom Inko is pacing across the hallway stricken with worry. She prays and prays that her baby’s efforts have paid off.

Izuku’s bedroom door swings open, Inko is quick to react. The anticipation is really getting to her, it doesn't help he could hear yelling from the other side of the door.

Izuku walks out looking rather calm and somber. He blinks up, glancing at his dear loving caretaker, who is silently begging to know how he’s holding up.

Without a word, Izuku flashes her a bright and worry-free smile.

The message is clear, Inko’s eyes well up with tears of joy. “MY BABY GOT INTO U.A.!!!” So, begins the infamous Midoriya water works, with geysers of tears pouring out of the dotting mother’s eyes.

Izuku tries and fails to calm her. “Mom! If you keep crying, you're going to flood the apartment!”

“I’m sorry! I’m…I’m just so proud! Wah!!” 

These tears are just his mother’s way of showing her love and support… Albeit her cooking his favorite dinner would work just as well.

Izuku sighs. “Mom…” Even though he can feel his socks becoming damp from the excess amount of tears, Izuku can’t help but smile, embracing his mother in a comforting hug. “Thanks for all of your support.”

Between her sniveling Inko manages to get a word out. “I’ll…I’ll always…support you!” 

Her hold tightens around him, enjoying the warmth of her dear baby boy. _‘I promise Izuku no matter what happens I will give you as much support as I can. Just know that I will always love you…and I’m sure your father does too.’_

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Meanwhile, in Endori the Uraraka family find themselves at their dinner table. Their home is small with two bedrooms, a single kitchen/dining area, and one bathroom. Their dinner table is small and low to the floor, so they have to kneel around the table in order to eat their meals.

Speaking of meals, Ochaco is busy stirring her’s around her bowl with a far off look in her eyes.

_‘Why hasn’t he contacted me?’_

A week, it’s been a week since All Might’s even said a word to her. The last one was just a quick text saying “good job” after she texted him how many points she earned.

 _‘Maybe I didn’t do as well as I thought… Maybe he’d want his Quirk back.’_ Ochaco sniffs rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand. _‘I’m sorry Deku…looks like I won’t be going to U.A. with you.’_

Ochaco’s mother holds up a large dish filled with nori. “Ochaco, would you like more nori?”

“No, thanks. You can have it.”

Ochaco eyes the nori she has left in her bowl with slight disdain. She turns her gazes to the table; there’s hardly any food for their first servings let alone seconds. Now, because she’s failed the U.A. Entrance Exam this will continue to be the norm for her poor parents; starving themselves just to see her with a smiling face and a full belly. They don’t deserve this situation.

Ochaco’s mother’s instincts seem to detect that something is bothering her daughter. “Ochaco…”

Ochaco slowly raises her head trying her best to give her mother her full attention.

Her mother shares a look with her husband, who is quick to understand her intentions, nodding his head in confirmation.

Ochaco’s mother takes a deep breath before speaking. “We just wanted to say how proud we are of you for chasing your dream and no matter the result we couldn’t be prouder.”

Ochaco perks up a bit, not a lot, but it’s definitely a positive reaction. “Really?”

“Of course.”

Her father is the one to continue reaching over and planting a gentle yet firm pat to her hand. “We love you sweetie and no matter what happens as long as we support and love each other then everything is bound to work out.” Both he and his loving wife beam at their daughter letting her know that that is the truth.

They truly believe that as long as their daughter was happy then that’s all they really needed.

Ochaco’s eyes begin to water. Despite their abysmal financial situation, she has to ask herself. _‘How did I get so lucky to have them as parents?’_

*Clink*

That was the mailbox. Something must have just arrived.

Ochaco blinks away the forming tears shaking her head. She stands up flashing a grateful smile to her parents. “I better get that.”

Her folks flash her loving smiles as she passes them by.

Even though she takes her time exiting the tiny kitchen she is quick to arrive at their front door which is only around the corner.

There on the floor at the foot of the door is a letter, one with the U.A. insignia stamped on it.

And just like that the color drains from her face as she shakily bends down and picks it up between her fingers.

With her eyes locked onto the letter, she makes her way towards her room passing by the kitchen area. She glances towards her parents as she walks by, they spot the letter, and give her encouraging grins. Her mother nods gesturing for Ochaco to head to her room to open it, beside her is Ochaco’s father giving her a thumbs up.

Knowing her parents have her back, Ochaco enters her room.

It’s small just enough for her bed and a desk to sit next to it facing towards the only window. On her desk sits one of the most expensive items she owns a high-powered telescope perfect for stargazing, she had to save up her money for years in order to purchase it. Over her bed are an assortment of space-themed posters: one is a complete overlook of the solar system, another poster is in the shape of a yield sign with the image of a UFO and the words “UFO Crossing” on it, the last poster is a protesting for Pluto to be classified as a planet again. On the ceiling are carefully laid out glow in the dark stars that map out the constellations. At the head of her bed sitting on top of her pillow is a large stuffed toy; it’s a blue koala well if koalas had four arms and a pair of antennas on their heads.

Ochaco takes a seat on her bed, it creaks as she sits down because it’s never been replaced since they got it, at least her sheets are nice and soft.

 _‘Here goes nothing.’_ She grabs a pair of scissors cutting open the top of the envelope. Inside there’s a disc-like device and a letter. Curiously, Ochaco picks up the disc eyeing it with interest before placing it on to her bed. She grips the letter scanning it to see if it states whether she passed or not.

Without warning a booming voice bursts out as a strange light source lets their presence known.

**“I AM HERE IN THE PROJECTION!!”**

Ochaco nearly jumps out of her own skin in surprise. “All Might?! But how?! I thought this was a letter from U.A.?”

The pre-recording continues on. **“YOUNG URARAKA, I APOLOGIZE FOR NOT REACHING OUT TO YOU SOONER. UNFORTUNATELY, THERE WAS A LOT MORE PAPERWORK INVOLVED THAN I HAD THOUGHT. ANYWAY, YOU’RE PROBABLY WONDERING WHY I AM COMING TO YOU AS A PRERECORDED MESSAGE.”**

Ochaco nods, somehow, she hasn’t realized that All Might can’t actually see her.

**“THE REASON BEING I’VE RECENTLY ACCEPTED A TEACHING POSITION HERE AT U.A.!”**

“No way?!”

**“AND AS THE NEWEST MEMBER OF THE U.A. STAFF I HAVE MANY RESPONSIBILITIES SUCH AS DISTRIBUTING THE RESULTS OF THE EXAM!!”**

Ochaco visibly tenses up, here it comes the moment of truth.

**“LET’S BEGIN, STARING WITH THE WRITTEN PORTION OF THE EXAM YOU GOT AN AVERAGE SCORE.”** Noticeably, All Might begins to shake slightly with embarrassment. **“SORRY, I GUESS I SHOULD HAVE DEDICATED MORE TIME TO YOUR STUDIES, HA HA HA!”** Thinking back on it, he did leave very little time dedicated to studying in the “All-American Dream Plan: the Lady Liberty Version”.

Ochaco sweat drops glaring at the projection of All Might with annoyance. _‘Sure, he can laugh something like that off. It’s not his grades that are being the ones affected.’_

**“NOW ONTO THE PRACTICAL EXAM: YOU SCORED 32 POINTS AGAINST THE ROBOTS. WELL DONE, BUT THE GOOD NEWS DOESN’T END THERE!”**

_‘What is he talking about?’_

**“HERE’S A VIDEO FOR YOUR VIEWING PLEASURE”**

All Might points to the upper right side of the screen just as a video begins to play.

The video is a recording of her pushing her way through the stampede of other examinees and sprinting straight towards the gigantic 0-point robot. Ochaco watches in amazement as the recording of herself is surrounded by a pink aura. _‘Is that…One For All?’_ She gasps in surprise as her recorded self is seemingly propelled off the ground before she slammed her fist into the robot’s head. She’s unable to look away as she watches Izuku fly in grabbing onto her before transforming into his Terraspin saving both himself and her in the process while the 0-pointer crashes as a pile of heap behind them.

 **“DURING THIS EXAM WE WERE NOT JUST LOOKING FOR COMBAT POINTS!”** All Might turns away from the video. **“SO, TELL ME! HOW CAN WE POSSIBLY REJECT A POTENTIAL STUDENT AND ONE THAT EXEMPLIFIES THE TRUE NATURE OF BEING A HERO?!”**

Ochaco’s eyes widen. _‘Is he saying what I think he’s saying?’_

 **“IN THIS JOB, YOU RISK YOUR LIFE FOR THOSE THAT CANNOT PROTECT THEMSELVES! THAT’S WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A HERO! THAT’S WHY WE HAVE RESCUE POINTS!!”** All Might puffs out his chest standing tall with his fists at his sides. **“AND YOU, OCHACO URARAKA, HAVE GAINED 60 RESCUE POINTS FOR YOUR EFFORTS!! BRINGING YOUR TOTAL TO A WHOPPING 92!! MORE THAN WHAT’S REQUIRED TO PASS!”** His grin despite its already massive size somehow becomes even more expansive as he beams with pride and joy. 

Tears prick at her eyes threatening to spill out.

 **“YOUNG URARAKA, ALL OF YOUR EFFORTS HAVE NOT FAILED YOU.”** He reaches out towards her ready for her to step forward. **“SO, LET ME BE THE FIRST TO SAY…WELCOME. WELCOME TO YOUR HERO ACADEMIA!”**

Ochaco grips the letter tighter her arms are shaking as a giant smile begins to form. “I…did it.” She’s still processing the information, but before she can her thoughts are interrupted by her door being flung open.

“HOORAY!!”

“THAT’S MY GIRL!!”

Ochaco’s mother and father, respectively, let themselves in with grins on their faces and their arms outstretched over their heads in celebration.

_‘Were they eavesdropping?!’_

Before she knows it, Ochaco is wrapped up by two separate pairs of arms as her parents practically scream into her ears. “We’re so proud of you!!”

“Mom! Dad!” The brunette struggles to break free, wiggling her body, but it’s no use. Eventually she sighs in defeat, accepting her fate.

From the side of her vision she notices that the projection has changed; All Might has disappeared and has been replaced by a list showcasing the exam rankings. From within the hug cocoon, she notices that Izuku has made 1st place beating her out by exactly 1 point. _‘Way to go Deku, I knew you’d make it!’_ Ochaco can’t help but smile; both her and her friend have made it into U.A. Not only that, they just happened to snag the top spots for themselves! There’s no doubt that all of their hard work and determination was truly well worth their time and effort. _‘This is really it isn’t it! It’s official now, I’m chasing after my dreams!’_

As she settles in her parent’s arms, with a soft smile, she doesn’t notice her phone lighting up on her desk. There on the screen is a single voicemail from Yagi Toshinori.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

It’s a rather quiet morning atop Lothaal Mountain. The sun is just starting to rise in the distance as the Earth itself begins to awaken in the sunlight.

Ochaco jogs her way up the familiar path with relative ease, as she arrives at the grove, she spots Yagi Toshinori sitting on a bench enjoying the soft mountain breeze.

Her excitement is too much to bare, as she arrives, she can’t help but scream at the top of her lungs. “How are you, ALL MIGHT!?!” She’s so loud that her voice echoes across the valley.

Yagi deadpans. “Why not call the news media while you’re at it.”

At least, Ochaco has the sense to feel shame. Bowing her head in apology. “Sorry…”

“Well, anyway…” Yagi raises his hand for a high five. “Congrats on passing the exam.”

Ochaco returns the gesture, her hand clapping against his. 

“For full disclosure, you should know that I haven’t told the school about our relationship. So, don’t worry about favoritism of any kind. And I wasn’t a judge so I had no say in how many rescue points you could have received.”

 _‘That’s actually really nice to hear.’_ It only confirms that she earned her spot fair and square. “Thanks, All Might. I appreciate it.”

Now that the formalities are out of the way there’s been something she’s been wanting to bring up since last night. “So, you’re going to be a teacher huh? Makes sense really cause of your time limit and all.”

“Well,” Yagi peers up at the sky just as a song bird soars overhead. “that’s certainly part of it. But mostly I figured I could take the job at U.A. and search for a successor.”

Ochaco’s smile falls as she considers Yagi’s words. _‘That…makes a whole lot of sense. He was going to choose from amongst the students… He was going to choose someone with an amazing Quirk and raw talent…’_ She stares at her hands, the hands that can not only call upon Zero-Gravity but One For All as well. “During the exam…I tried and failed to use One For All… there was so much backlash after just a single punch. I…I can’t wield it properly…even after all the work we did.”

“Don’t let that get you down. That’s just how it is nobody expected you to fully control it on the first try.”

She can’t help but notice the way he phrased his sentence. “Wait… You knew this would happen?!” Ochaco yells out feeling scandalous and slightly betrayed. 

Yagi grips his neck trying to find the right words to justify his lack of instructions. “Well, there wasn’t enough time. But, hey, everything worked out in the end!” Yagi bends down grabbing hold of a small but thick branch off the rocky ground. “For now, it’s all or nothing. But once you figured out how to regulate your power output you should have no issues.”

Ochaco isn’t sure what he means exactly; he needs a better way to explain this.

“Right now, your body is capable of containing One For All, but it still needs to become more tempered, more balanced, as to allow you better control of the power you now wield.” He flexes his skinny arm holding up the branch. “When that happens,” With a pop All Might bulks up while snapping the branch in two with his mighty grip. **“IT WILL BE A SNAP FOR YOU TO CONTROL!”**

Ochaco gazes up in awe of the Symbol of Peace before once again contemplating her own worthiness. This power is borrowed, but one day she may just make it her own.

 ** _‘UNDERSTAND THIS YOUNG URARAKA, LIKE PASSING AN OLYMPIC FLAME, I HAVE ONLY GIVEN YOU A SMALL PORTION OF ONE FOR ALL BUT AS TIME MOVES FORWARD AND YOU GAIN EXPERIENCE THAT TINY FLAME WILL BECOME A GIANT INFERNO THAT YOU CAN MANIPULATE TO YOUR WILL!’_** All Might looks out to the horizon as the sun fully reveals itself. **_‘SOON MY TIME WILL COME AS MY FLAME SLOWLY DIES OUT… BUT I HAVE NO DOUBT THAT A NEW SHINING FIRE WILL OUTSHINE EVEN ME…’_ **

“Hey, All Might?”

**“WHAT IS IT?”**

Ochaco fidgets around, twiddling her hands together as she looks away with a slight blush of nervousness.

All Might coughs into his fist. **_‘CUTE!’_**

“There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you concerning One For All.”

**“OKAY?”**

“I was wondering if I could tell a good friend of mine about it.”

All Might tilts to the side, waiting for her to explain further.

“You see my friend has really stuck their neck out for me. They’ve inspired and shown me so much and, admittedly, it feels sort of wrong to keep all of this a secret from them.”

 **“HMMMM. THIS PERSON SOUNDS IMPORTANT TO YOU…”** All Might considers the prospect, he after all has people he trusts with this secret, but he’s known them for decades now. He can’t afford to be too liberal with not only his Quirk but his situation as a whole. **“WELL I SHOULD START WITH TELLING YOU SOMETHING I PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE TOLD YOU MONTHS AGO, ABOUT ONE FOR ALL.”**

Ochaco stiffens with all of her attention on her mentor.

 **“ONE FOR ALL IS A HEAVILY GUARDED SECRET AND IT MUST REMAIN AS SUCH.”** Even with his happy go lucky grin, Ochaco can’t ignore the underlying serious tone of the pro hero’s voice. **“IF PEOPLE WERE TO FIND OUT THAT EITHER YOU OR I WERE GIVEN SUCH A POWER RATHER THAN BEING BORN WITH IT; IT WILL PUT THE WORLD ON ITS HEAD AND POSSIBLE CHAOS WOULD ENSUE AS INDIVIDUALS ALL VIE FOR THIS EVER-GROWING POWER.”**

A wave of dread washes over her like a flood of arctic water making her freeze in place. What has she done? She may have unknowingly plastered a target not on herself, but Izuku. He already has so much he’s striving to protect and now this… “ I really screwed up.” She grips her face as shame and regret flow through her veins. “Although I didn’t tell them about One For All I did tell them that I gained a second Quirk from someone else, don’t worry I didn’t say who. And they promised not to say a word to anyone else.”

All Might understands her worries far more than what she thinks or what he’s even willing to tell. **“THAT’S OFFLY RISKY, BUT I’LL TRUST YOUR JUDGEMENT FOR NOW.”** All Might lightly rubs her head, messing up her hair.

The gesture is enough to get his young successor to smile.

**“HOWEVER, YOU MUST BE MORE CAREFUL IN THE FUTURE. UNDERSTAND?”**

“Hm.” And a firm nod seals the promise.

**“GOOD, NOW ALL THAT IS SAID I WOULD LIKE TO MEET THIS FRIEND OF YOURS FIRST BEFORE I CAN SAFELY SAY THAT IT’S ALRIGHT TO SHARE THE FULL EXTENT OF THIS LEGACY ONTO THEM.”**

_‘I think he’ll understand just fine.’_ Ochaco chuckles at her own inner joke. “Perfect, you can meet him at U.A. he’s going to be a new student too.”

**“REALLY? THEN PRAYTELL WHAT IS HIS NAME?”**

“Izuku Midoriya!”

A jolt of surprise pierces All Might’s heart. **“…OH, YES, HE’S THE ONE THAT CAN TRANSFORM CORRECT?”**

Ochaco nods, assuming that All Might must have witnessed Izuku’s display of abilities during the U.A. Entrance Exam. “Yup, you actually met him before, but Deku can be rather shy at times.”

 **“RIGHT…”** Of course, he’s already realized this for himself, it’s hard to forget a large bipedal turtle especially one he mistook for a mutant monster. **“YES, I THOUGHT I RECOGNIZED HIM. SO, YOU’VE KNOWN HIM FOR A WHILE NOW?”**

Ochaco chuckles sheepishly. “Well, actually I met him the same exact day as you. I guess you really bond with people when you’re forced to fight alongside them.”

 ** _‘YOU HAVE NO IDEA.’_** All Might coughs trying not to be conspicuous about his true feelings. **“WELL, HE SOUNDS LIKE A FINE YOUNG MAN. I CAN’T WAIT TO OFFICIALLY MEET HIM.”**

“Trust me, he would love nothing more!” She’s seen his notes and far too many of them are about the Number One Hero.

Ochaco’s phone begins to buzz from her pocket. She flips it open finding a call coming in from Thirteen. She points at her phone for All Might to see. “Sorry, I have to take this.” She turns away, saying hello.

While Ochaco’s caller chats away, All Might’s thoughts begin to wonder. **_‘IZUKU MIDORIYA, SEEMS LIKE YOUR REACH IS FAR GREATER THAN I HAD FIRST IMAGINED… JUST HOW DID YOU GAIN SUCH A QUIRK? WAS IT FROM HIM? … NO, HE IS NO LONGER A THREAT… BUT…STILL.’_** All Might eyes Ochaco admiring her cheerful and naive smile. _‘ **I MUST BE ON GUARD; IF I’M NOT THERE COULD BE DIRE CONSEQUENCES FOR NOT ONLY MYSELF, BUT URARAKA AS WELL…’**_

The call ends as Ochaco hangs up. “Sorry, All Might, but I actually have to meet up with Deku sooner rather than later. Something important just came up last minute.”

**“VERY WELL ALLOW ME TO ACCOMPANY YOU. I ACTUALLY NEED TO HEAD INTO U.A. FOR SOME MORE PAPERWORK.”**

The young girl smiles brightly accepting the offer.

And with that the duo start making their way down the mountain. **_‘I MUST LOOK INTO THE ENIGMA THAT IS IZUKU MIDORIYA. I JUST HOPE THAT MY CONCERNS ARE UNFOUNDED.’_**

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Ochaco jogs up to the meeting spot that Thirteen had set up for them. Already waiting there is Izuku, tapping his foot waiting for the others to arrive. She waves while calling out to him. “Yo, Deku!”

Izuku snaps to attention, waving back at Ochaco. “Hi, Uraraka. Congrats on making it into U.A.”

Her grin widens, finally reaching her destination. “Thanks, and to you as well.” She punches his shoulder. “And way to go on snagging the first-place spot!”

Izuku rubs his arm, her punches are surprisingly strong. “Ha, yeah, that was a bit of a surprise.”

“So, do you know why Thirteen called us here?”

“No idea.” Izuku peers up at the hillside ahead of them.

Currently they are in the part of Musutafu that’s south of U.A. itself. Heck they can somewhat see the outline of the school from here. But the vast hill and thick woods are blocking their view. Behind them is a row of buildings, but rather than have them meet up at a restaurant or the little rundown tea shop nearby, Thirteen told them to meet at this specific location: in front of the hiking trail leading up towards U.A.

Ochaco eyes said trail wondering where it could possibly lead. “Do you think they meant to send us to U.A. instead?”

“Hmmm, maybe?”

“Ah, there you two are!” Speak of the devil.

Both teens beam with glee. “Thirteen!!”

Thirteen casually strolls up, they are clearly in no rush. “Good to see you future heroes in the making.” They give a friendly wink. “Congrats on passing the exam by the way. I never doubted either of you for a second!”

Ochaco fans her face, she’s unable to stop blushing from the comment. “Thanks.”

Izuku is equally embarrassed. “It was nothing.”

Thirteen chuckles in response. “Don’t let Principal Nezu hear you say that; he’ll take that as a challenge.”

Even though it was a joke, Izuku freezes up in fear his mind flashes back to how intimidating Nezu was during the recording.

Ochaco seems to notice Izuku’s reaction, curiously she taps a finger against his stiff form, trying to see if he’s alright.

“Well, anyway, to commemorate the both of passing the exam I have a little surprise for the both of you!”

Ochaco gasps, completely forgetting about Izuku’s condition. “Oh, what is it?!” She absolutely loves surprises, especially if they’re free!

“You’ll see.” Thirteen’s voice sounds rather excited, like a kid who’s more than willing to share a juicy secret.

Thirteen walks over to the start of the trail waving for them to follow, to which they do with no hesitation.

The trail is easy to walk, the slope isn’t at all steep, but after a few short minutes the buildings are completely gone from their view of vision thanks to the thick woods.

Izuku and Ochaco are walking behind Thirteen wondering the same things over and over in their heads. _‘Where are they taking us? What’s the surprise?’_

“We’re here!”

The teens instantly perk up peering around the Plumber’s back so that they can finally lay their eyes upon their surprise.

…

Izuku and Ochaco can practically hear a trombone playing “Wa wa waaaaaa” to accompany their reactions of shock and disgust. “It’s an outhouse!?!”

It sure is, the hiking path doesn’t lead to some grand secret hideaway or some amazing alien ship, but an outhouse. The outhouse is a piece of crap, pun intended, with it creaking panels, leaning frame, and the flies buzz about near the tin roof. The only reason it hasn’t collapsed is probably because of its rather large frame making it wider than most outhouses.

Thirteen swings open the decaying wooden door. “Well come on.”

Thirteen can’t really expect them to follow, can they? But then again Thirteen must have a reason for bringing them here, and they’ve already came all this way, they might as well continue.

They enter finding it just as disgusting and unkempt as they thought it would be. There’s more room inside than they initially thought, which is odd, because only a single high tank toilet inside with a chain flush dangling in the air.

Izuku grimaces at the sight of the moldy toilet bowl. “Thirteen…why are we in here?”

Thirteen giggles like a child, they’re really enjoying the teen’s reactions. “You’ll see.”

Thirteen grabs the cord’s handle before tugging down to flush the toilet. But instead of a flush the floor itself shifts temporarily throwing the teens off balance.

Izuku internally panics, just what is Thirteen up to?! “Thirteen…”

“Patience, Midoriya.”

Before long the floor begins to sink down, causing the worry in the teens’ hearts to grow, especially as the wall begins to rise around them. The walls quickly change from wooden planks to sheen metallic walls, as they continue downward, they pass marker lights that provide momentary moments of bright light.

Izuku grabs Thirteen’s shoulder, he needs to know what the hell is happening. “What’s going on!?!”

Thirteen turns to face Izuku, who is unable to read their expression thanks to Thirteen’s pitch-black space helmet. Without a word, Thirteen’s eyes narrow as if laughing at a personal joke before turning away ignoring Izuku’s question.

The floor continues to sink downward like that of an elevator. So, they must be moving downward, but to where?!

The anticipation is killing them, to the point that neither of them can contain themselves. “Thirteen!! Why are we here?!”

“This is why.”

On que the elevator comes to a complete stop in front of a pair of sliding doors.

Thirteen turns to face the duo, rubbing their hands in anticipation. “Are you two ready for your surprise?”

“YES!!!” The howl of their shouts nearly blow away Thirteen’s helmet.

“He he, right, sorry. Anyway welcome,” With no warning the doors slide open as blinding neon green lights flood their vision. “welcome to Japan’s Plumber Base!”

Ochaco and Izuku’s jaws drop as they stare in awe of the Plumber Base. What greets them is a large room illuminated by green neon lights giving the place a quiet glow to it. Everything in here looks somewhat alien by design, with several rows of metallic desks welded to the floor, large curving pillars supporting the ceiling, as well as strange yet blinking monitors mounted across the walls as if scanning everything in their path. Above them on the ceiling corners are large metallic frames, they are big and bulky, but it's unclear whether they are there for support, aesthetics, or perhaps they aid in security.

Izuku watches as Ochaco slides her hand across the smooth surface of a desk. It’s cool to the touch, as she slides her palm across the surface, the main frame lights up and a hologram of what appears to be Japan is projected into midair. “So, cool.”

Thirteen is so glad they like it. “You two haven’t seen anything yet. Come on.”

And so, begins their tour of Japan’s Plumber Base. From what Thirteen refers to the main lobby area they lead the group toward the back of the large open lobby where there are three octagon shaped tunnels. They take the middle one, the tunnel is long and rather large so much so that if Izuku wanted to he’d have enough room as Terraspin to fly right throw it without any hindrances.

At the end of the tunnel, there is a large set of metal doors. When Thirteen opens the doors, they see what appears to be a large cargo area, about 30 ft long, 20 ft wide, and 25 ft tall, filled with giant metal crates and containers along the walls. In the middle of the cargo bay there appears to be a large hydraulic lift with a spaceship sitting on the platform. There’s a catwalk over head that’s about 15 feet above the floor of the cargo bay. It follows along the walls with a three-foot gap between the railing of the catwalk and the wall thus leaving a large rectangular shaped gap above their heads. There are a set of stairs on either side of the cargo area against the wall toward the back that allow access to the catwalk.

But none of this garners the teens’ attention. Nope, all of their focus is singled in on one specific item of interest.

“SPACESHIP!!!” They both gush with epic proportions of nerdy energy as they practically worship the magnificent alien craft.

The ship’s size is a bit bigger than that of a van and like a van its main haul is rectangular with a small with a triangular cockpit lined with pitch-black windows. On the sides are a pair of wings and at each end there are highly advanced turbo engines. The loading bay is located at the rear of the ship.

“Hey, get away from that! I know it’s cool but come on!” Thirteen tries their best to pry them away from it, but they’re latched onto it tight admiring it’s unearthly metal exterior.

They can’t really blame them, logically, they should have seen this reaction coming.

Ochaco climbs onto the wing so she could gain a different view. “Thirteen can we take a ride in this?! It would be so cool!”

Izuku chirps in as well. “Yeah!”

“No!!” Thirteen grabs them both by the scruffs of their shirts and dragging them away before they can do something stupid. “There will be time for that later! For now, I don’t want either of you anywhere near that thing! It’s a highly advanced piece of technology that neither of you are ready for.”

Ochaco feet drag against the floor as she slides her arms about at her sides nearly smacking Deku in the face in the process. “But you could just fly it for us!” She wails.

“This spacecraft is not a toy! There will be opportunities to fly it at a later time.” Besides the camouflage projector is broken so they couldn’t take it out even if they wanted to or else risk being discovered.

Thirteen eventually releases the teens allowing them to walk by themselves, they then follow the Plumber to the back of the large cargo bay, there appears to be a medium sized oval shape door.

When the door opens, they see what appears to be a small hallway. On the left end of the hallway there appears to be a set of stairs to the upper level. The right end of the hallway leads to a small common area with a coffee table surrounded by a few chairs. On the left side of the common area is another door that leads to what seems to be an infirmary. The sick bay is rather large with clean white cabinets lining the walls filled with all sorts of medicine and other medical supplies. There is a space between the upper and lower cabinets to act as a counter to place different types of medical tools on. The sick bay also has three operating tables bolted to the floor with medical lights above each one all spread out in a row and evenly spaced from one another to allow for easy maneuverability.

Thirteen states that they have all sorts of remedies from all over the galaxy to help treat any and all alien beings on Earth.

Behind the common area, there is another hallway lined with what appears to be holding cells with reinforced walls and force field gates. There only seems to be three holding cells in the hallway. On the left are two medium sized cells while on the right a single large cell. However, as they continue down the hallway, there is another door which leads to a larger but still modest underground prison. The prison cells line the walls like honeycombs spiraling downward across three levels with forcefield gates and cold hard walls. Even though there’s a good number of cells not one of them is occupied.

Thirteen chuckles humbly at the sight. “Admittedly not many criminals decide to make a claim on Earth.” A single tear leaks out from their eye. “I don’t get to use them that often…”

Ochaco would like to laugh but she’s more considered by Thirteen reaction. _‘Isn’t that a good thing, though?’_

The group goes back to the common area to take the stairs that lead up to the second level.

When they arrive at the second level, they find themselves in the middle of a hallway. This hallway is much narrower than the previous ones and has grey walls and orange lines running in parallel lines across the floor.

Thirteen decides to lead them toward the front of the hallway which leads to the dining area that seats above the cargo bay. In the middle of the room is a large wooden family table with wooden chairs seated around it. The table rests on a large octagonal shaped beige rug and with the soft illuminating lights it gives off a nice homey atmosphere. To their immediate right, there is a circular area that appears to be a cozy lounge area with chairs and couches, and a kitchen to boot.

Encasing the entire room, there appear to be small windows that go around the perimeter of the walls, but all there is to see is pure darkness.

Thirteen then lead back the hallway they just came.

At the end of the hallway is the generator/engine room where a giant generator is emitting an immense amount of power with orbs of light mounted near the mouth of the machine as sparks of plasma occasionally spark out near the large antennas at the top of the giant generator.

Thirteen proudly taps against the side of the generator. “We have to remain off the grid; hence we have our own energy system.”

Ochaco and Izuku smile at the sight of the generator’s immense amounts of energy being discharged. “Huh, that’s handy.”

Izuku studies the alien generator as if trying to piece together how it was built and how it runs. “This is really amazing.”

“Just you wait, I’ve saved the best for last.” Thirteen leads them back toward the dining hall and towards the door on the far end of the dining hall.

Izuku and Ochaco happily follow as they pass through the hallway, this one is a bit longer than the last one and on a slight incline as they make their way up, they come along another set of doors, but Thirteen ends up marching right past them as if they didn’t exist. Perhaps they didn’t notice them.

Izuku and Ochaco stop to stare at the door. It’s different, the doors look like they belong in a bunker with thick metal doors that lock into on another, no windows, and even a large circular hitch lodge into its center.

Without looking, Ochaco reaches for the door so she can try and open it. “Hey Thirteen, what’s-”

“NO!!” With record speed Thirteen slams their back against the door, their arms outstretched to block their entrance. “You two aren’t allowed in here.”

Izuku nearly jumps out of skin in surprise. “How come?!”

Thirteen, although tense, tries to relax. Pushing themselves off the door’s frame. “Sorry, but this leads to the armory and contraband.”

Both of the teens’ eyes light up.

Ochaco smiles raising her fists in joy. “Armory?!” There’s got to be laser guns, and cool blasters in there just waiting to be tested out. Oh, Ochaco can already imagine herself as a badass sci-fi hero wielding a giant laser cannon as a weapon.

“Contraband?!” Izuku smiles in glee wondering about the different kinds of alien gear and tech that must be hidden behind those doors. Perhaps there’s hoverboards, spaceships, or even cool alien armor that grant the wielder powerful abilities. “Can we-”

“No.” Thirteen doesn’t even give him a chance, getting straight to the point with a deadpanned tone.

“But-”

“I said no.” Thirteen grabs each of their shoulders before pushing the teens forward and away from the forbidden door. “Sorry, but for safety only I can access this area. Now let’s get moving.”

After nearly tripping a few times from being pushed from behind they quickly arrive at another oval shaped door. But unlike the others this door proudly displays a large glowing red dot.

Thirteen pulls out their Plumber’s badge; a white metal badge with an exact replica of the glowing red dot on the door. They hold it up to the door’s red light, both devices flash in recognition, and the door slides away. 

Thirteen stands to the side allowing their guests to have a better view. “Now, this is where the magic happens, this is the heart of our operation, this is our top of the line Surveillance and Monitoring System!”

Izuku scans the large white room noticing how it's laid out much like a cockpit of a spaceship like the ones you see in movies. There are about four workstations each with their own monitors. The entire front of the curving wall is a pitch-black screen that stretches across the entire length of the space. This screen is what’s primarily used for observing the monitored aliens of Earth. At the base of the monitor is an oval-shaped console with a circular port at the top of it, the port looks to be big enough to fit a soccer ball inside.

 _‘Thirteen must manage this all on their own. I mean, this place is just void of people right now.’_ Izuku fidgets trying to think of the best way to word his question. “Just how can you do all this while maintaining your duties as a teacher and a pro hero?”

“Oh, well, I have a pretty good assistant.”

Before Thirteen could explain further a rather small but cheery voice makes itself known. ^Thirteen is that you? Did you bring guests?^

It is immediately accompanied by a similar sounding voice, but this one sounds much drier and more somber. _^You should have warned me I would have cleaned up. This place is such a pigsty…^_

^Well I think it’s homey.^

_^You would…^_

_‘Just where are those voices coming from?’_ Izuku scans the Surveillance Room but there’s nobody else in here other than the three of them.

Ochaco gasps cupping her face as a giant grin forms on her face. “Oh my God it’s a robot!”

Izuku spins around to where she’s pointing and there sure is a robot sitting right on top the nearest workstation. With its short stature and white coating that matches the desk it’s no wonder they overlooked it when they first entered. And it’s certainly not what he expected an alien robot to look like.

The robot is more like a small white orb with four stubby legs, and a black band running vertically around its spherical body. Between the electronic black band are 2 pairs of tiny white circles, which are meant to be the robot’s eyes.

The ball shaped robot leers up at Ochaco. _^I prefer sentient mechanical being…^_ Its voice drips with dry sarcasm. The robot holds one of its tiny legs at itself, its voice changing to a cheerful tone. ^But you can just call me One-^

_^One…^_

Izuku smiles warily of One-One, apparently the little guy has two voices: a Glad-One and a Sad-One. He wonders why that is, perhaps it was a programming error.

One-One blinks up at the brunette. ^And who are you?^

Ochaco smiles kindly. “I’m-”

^Are you a spy?^ Glad-One asks with a hint of suspicion.

“What?”

Glad-One repeats the question. ^Are you a spy?^

“Um, no.”

_^Then you’ve come to bring me the sweet release of death…^_

Even if it’s a bit morbid Ochaco gives a nervous chuckle in response breaking the tension. “Also no.” Ochaco looks to Thirteen hoping for some sort of explanation.

Thirteen laughs at One-One’s antics. “Sorry about him One-One can be a bit odd at times.”

Ochaco nods in understanding before picking up One-One’s small frame. “Well, nice to meet you One-One. I’m Ochaco Uraraka and this is Deku.”

She turns One-One so he can see the green-haired boy for himself.

Izuku feels a bit uncomfortable about how Ochaco introduced him. It’s one thing for her to call him Deku but it’s another thing when it comes to someone/thing else.

He never gets to voice his complaint.

^A pleasure to meet you Miss. Uraraka and Mr. Deku. I’ve heard so much about you both, I’m glad we’re finally able to meet. I hope we can be good friends!^

^ _Or mortal enemies…either way is fine with me…_ ^

Izuku raises an eyebrow looking to Thirteen with a very confused and slightly concerned look. “Um…”

Thirteen shrugs. “Yeah, he has a literal split personality.”

“What do you mean by literal?”

To demonstrate One-One splits into two halves. Each half falls out of Ochaco’s grip before landing on the ground with a soft thud. Each half is a half-circle shape with the black electronic band running along the bottom, each has only one white eye, and their stubby legs also divided giving each pair 4 tiny limbs.

^Tada!^

^ _Uh, I feel so exposed._ ^

Ochaco awes as Glad-One scampers around her feet while Sad-One simply stands by. “Awe it’s twice the robot for the price of one!”

Thirteen walks towards the main monitor. “That’s not all he can do. One-One why don’t you show our guests?” They stop near a strange console at the base of the monitors, embedded into the console is a circular indent big enough for One-One to fit himself in to.

^You got it! Yay!^

^ _But I really don't want to._ ^

One-One puts himself back together before using his round boy to roll himself over to the strange console. With catlike mobility the little round bot jumps up and embeds himself into the round slot.

White light begins to surround the bot as a powerful surge of energy flows into his tiny but highly advanced system. The entire base seems to react as the lights become brighter, sounds of the generator roar through the halls, and the Surveillance room hauntedly comes to life as various monitors and screen flash on, a hologram of the planet Earth is projected into the middle of the room, and the large area of seemingly black space is flooded with hundreds of video surveillance of Japan’s resident aliens.

Ochaco awes at the screens, just look at all those aliens! “Woah!”

Without prying his eyes away from the hundreds of videos Izuku questions Thirteen. “What is this?”

“This is how we monitor any and all alien activity in Japan.”

Izuku’s eyes wonder the entire space taking in how each monitor seems to have its own task: one monitor is scrolling through a list of what appears to be wanted alien criminals of the galaxy, another looks like is meant for communication since it’s receiving messages from other Plumbers on Earth, and another monitor seems to be scanning through the Plumber base’s status and conditions.

“This is amazing!”

Ochaco points at one of the small video recordings playing. “Look it’s ML-E!” Sure enough, there on the screen is the little Kineceleran girl they met a while back; she’s holding her mother’s hand as they stroll through a park.

One clip catches Izuku’s attention. “Hey that’s Mr. Baumann’s store.”

One camera must have constant surveillance on Mr. Baumann’s store.”

Thirteen nods, enjoying their positive reactions. “Pretty cool, huh?”

They teens nod in agreement. “Oh yeah.” Although, they can’t help but feel this is sort of a breach in privacy.

Thirteen pats the console that One-One is embedded in. “This system specifically locks in on any and all DNA signatures of all alien beings that are registered into the Plumber database.” This of course includes registered criminals, but they don’t get too many of those around here.

“You’ll find that a lot of our programs and regulations involve identifying one’s DNA. In fact, to prevent anyone from just entering this base their DNA has to be recognized by the system first.”

A worrying thought pops into Ochaco’s head. “Wait! If we were able to enter than that must mean you already have our DNA in the system, right?!”

“That is correct.”

“Okay, so, how did you get our DNA?”

…

“It doesn’t matter…”

“I KINDA DOES!!!” 

Thirteen clears their throat before deciding to move on. “And none of this would be possible without One-One here. Since he’s able to process all incoming surveillance at 10 times the speed.”

Ochaco sends the hero a nasty look but they don’t even take notice. _‘Don’t ignore my question.’_

One-One pops out of the console, the entire base calms down as he ejects himself from the circular port. ^Awe, thank you!^

^ _Don’t patronize me._ ^

“He’s also the main reason why I can also hold up as a pro hero and a teacher. Basically One-One is a one-man crew; he even keeps maintenance over the entire base.”

Izuku smiles petting the smooth round surface of the bot’s form. “Huh, that’s handy. With him you wouldn’t need any other Plumbers.”

One-One nods his entire body as if to agree, meanwhile Thirteen waves a so-so gesture. “Sort of sure One-One is a great help, but he’s not designed or fit to aid in combat or missions other than providing information.”

^Hehe, yup I’m more of a lover than a fighter! And I even have a heart to prove it.^

^ _Even if that heart is actually made up of cold soulless wires and circuits…_ ^

“My point is that now that the both of you are going to be part of the Hero Course my plan is that as you gain experience, I hope to take you all out on more missions.”

Ochaco gasps with worry and a bit of thrill, oddly enough. “Does that mean?”

“Combat…well yes and no. I’m certainly not against you assisting but we have to keep any and all combat on the downlow since illegal Quirk usage still applies. At least until your second years and you get your Provisional Licenses.” Thirteen sticks a finger near Ochaco’s face making her nervous. “That said school will come first. If your grades slip, then forget about your… extracurricular activities. Am I clear?” Thirteen sends them a warning look.

They both reply. “Crystal.”

“Good, other than that you guys now have full range of this entire base. Minus the armory and contraband of course.”

 _‘This is all so much.’_ Izuku grips the Omnitrix, feeling it cool smooth surface under his fingers. _‘They’re giving us access to all of this…and after using up so much of their time to help me. To help train my powers. There’s absolutely no way I would be here without Thirteen’s help and guidance. And now they’re trusting me with an entire alien base! Doesn’t he deserve this? Perhaps, he does, it was his efforts that also got him this far, not just Thirteen’s.’_

“Thirteen.” Izuku looks Thirteen right in the eye as he speaks. “Thank you for putting your faith in me. Without your guidance I would have never gotten as far as I have.” Keeping his back straight he bows as low as he can in gratitude and respect. “Thank you.”

Thirteen smiles with appreciation, petting Izuku’s hair ruffling it up a bit. “Believe me Midoriya the honor is all mine. You’ll be an excellent hero someday. That I’m certain of.”

Wow, Thirteen is really that great of a person. Aren’t they?

“Uraraka, I want to thank you as well.”

Ochaco is a bit surprised, mainly because she thought this was a moment between the two of them and not her.

“You were my first real friend in a long time, I can’t thank you enough for that.” Once again, Izuku is bowing in gratitude to someone else who has been just as kind to him over these long months.

A blush rises to her cheeks, this is rather embarrassing for Ochaco having someone else thank them like this. “There’s no need to thank me, if anything I should be thanking you. But that said, it’s been great getting to know you too Deku and I hope that we keep moving forward and getting better together.” She holds her fist out. “Now let’s go become heroes!”

Izuku fists bumps her hand. “Yeah, and Plumbers too!”

Despite her cheery smile, a sweat drop forms on Ochaco’s head. _‘That’s still a stupid name…’_

One-One decides now is the time to remind everyone of his presence. ^Hooray we have new companions to join us in our valiant efforts to upholding the peace on Earth!^

Sad-One is quick to interrupt as he speaks with a very rapid and highly professional tone. ^ _By-agreeing-to-be-in-association-with-the-Plumbers-you-agree-to-release-this-intergalactic-body-of any-liability. This-may-include-mental, emotional, and physical-harm, injury, and/or death-that-may-occur-while-performing-your-line-of-duty._ ^

It takes a minute for the two teens’ minds to process the onslaught of flying information. When they finally comprehend the message, their anxieties take over as they beg for One-One to explain why he had to say that.

Izuku begs to know what kind of dangers there are, while Ochaco hounds the bot for work compensation for possible future injuries.

Meanwhile, Thirteen watches from the side finding it all entertaining. _‘This is going to be interesting.’_

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

 _‘Interesting.'_ Yagi Toshinori continues scrolling through the school issued computer. He’s currently in U.A.’s staff room where each staff member has their own work desk and computer to use. And right now, Yagi is using his to read up on one odd green-haired boy. ' _It appears young Midoriya registered his Quirk shortly after we met. But why is that? Just what could it mean? Is there a chance I pushed him too far and he ended up making a deal with that devil?! No, no, I took care of that threat a long time ago…’_

“What are you looking at?”

“EEEEKKKK!!!” He nearly has a heart attack, and at his age that’s really dangerous. Yagi clutches at his heart, spinning around in his chair so he can get a good look at his almost murder. “Oh, it’s just you.”

Leaning over him, his eyes trained on the screen, is a man with long black hair and is in desperate need of a good night’s sleep. “So, this one caught your attention, too, huh?”

Yagi turns back to the screen currently their eyes are locked on a clip of Izuku’s performance at the U.A. Entrance Exam. “You could say that…”

Yagi clicks on the next video this one is a recording of the Izuku saving a brown-haired girl with a round face, and vice versa.

The tired slender man sighs as if accepting a fate that’s out of his control. “I have a feeling these two are going to be major pains.”

Dread for the future students makes Yagi stiffen up. “What exactly are you planning?”

The man straightens up before making his way for the exit. He slides open the door, probability to go find a quiet place to sleep. Not before he makes his leave he peers back at Yagi with a single red eye. “I’m planning to push them past their limits.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

In Yokohama, Kamino there is a seedy little bar that’s hidden away in a quiet and unassuming alley. This place was meant to be long abandoned but yet there are two patrons sitting inside the rather well-kept bar.

One man is extremely slim with deathly-pale skin and tangled blue-grey hair. His attire is simple consisting of a black and unkempt long-sleeve shirt, matching pants, and a red pair of sneakers. The most disturbing part of his attire is the severed grey hand latched onto the front of his face blocking his sour scowl from view.

“I don’t like him. He thinks too high and mighty of himself; it’s disgusting.”

The other patron, the bartender, whose body appears to be made up of a dark purple mist save for his glowing yellow eyes. His attire is definitely that of a bartender with only the metal brace around his collar bone standing out of place.

“Please, calm yourself he could prove useful.”

“Pft. The only reason he’s here is thanks to his Quirk. And you know that I hate players that use cheat codes!” The slim pale-skinned man scratches at his neck so vigorously that he may just tear off his own skin. “Just where did Giran find this punk? And why the hell does he have more than one Quirk?!”

 ** _“Why indeed.”_** A calm yet dominating voice resonates throughout the bar silencing the other two patrons.

The two look over to a single TV sitting near the end of the bar. The TV isn’t displaying a station, rather static plays in the background, but someone is using it to communicate through. 

**_“I’m rather curious about this one as well.”_** With no provocation a single image appears on screen, it’s of Henzu Uuichi. The picture is dark and hard to make out amongst the static, but one can clearly see a teen with messy long dark hair and a paddock lock hanging from his neck. **_“But as for his Quirk it is unclear as of now whether it is similar to my own, or if it’s a mere coincidence.”_**

“I still don’t like it. I'd rather just keep him as an NPC that’s better served as cannon fodder.”

**_“You don’t need to enjoy his company, but with his array of abilities and weak mind you can certainly use him to your advantage. He could prove useful to you in the future.”_ **

“I doubt it. I rather see him die in a dark alley.” There’s a finality to the young man’s voice, before he grabs a nearby cup of water and drinks what’s left inside with a few sips.

The bartender decides to move the conversation on. “Master is the weapon ready?”

**_“It will be but our doctor’s newest…associate is seeing to some rather unique modifications.”_ **

The blue-grey haired man finishes his drink. “Like what? What could a quack with an animal fetish have to offer.”

**_“His Quirk. His Quirk allows him to alter the DNA of animals, and with some…modifications to his device we have been able to expand on his capabilities. In other words, we used his skills, knowledge, and Quirk to our advantage in order to help serve our own purposes.”_ **

The pale-skinned man peers through his hand-mask leering at the photo of Henzu. The photo is a bit clear now and this time he can make out the faint outline of a second pair of arms growing out of the punk’s sides. “Fine. If he wants to prove himself then he’ll get his chance,” He holds up the empty glass circling it around in front of him. “but if he fails.” With no warning he grips the glass within his entire hand, the glass is quick to shatter and break apart showering down onto the bar in a rain of broken glass and sand like particles. “then that will be the end of Henzu Uuichi.”

############################################

** Sukima **

(Takes place a few months back, after Izuku and Thirteen came up with a cover story to explain the Omnitrix and Izuku’s new “Quirk”.)

Izuku and his mother are in their living room, sitting across from each other. Izuku has just explained that his Quirk “manifested” late because it is an extremely rare case of a new mutation of his Quirk Factor. He also explained that “One Man Army” allows him to transform into…monster-like forms with the aid of the special watch.

“Okay, Mom. I’m going to show you my Quirk, but you have to promise that you won’t freak out.”

Inko gives her son a stern look. “Honey, please, give me a little more credit.” She smiles softly. “Besides I’m just so happy that you gained a Quirk! Anyway, I’m ready when you are.”

Izuku activates the Omnitrix, its faceplate shoots up, and the green-haired boy scrolls through the selection of aliens. _‘I don’t want to scare her so I should probably go for my more friendlier looking forms…maybe Ditto? Yeah, he’ll work he’s small, funny, and not at all threatening. He’s perfect.’_ With a few turns Ditto’s DNA is selected. ”Alright, here goes.”

Inko has to shield her eyes from the bright eerie green light as it engulfs her child. She rubs her eyes, recovering from the flash, and finally she opens them to see what kind of Quirk her son really has.

She’s greeted by the sight of scaly fiend with a maw of jagged-razor teeth that’s roaring right in her face. “RAAAAA!!!”

“AAAAAHHHH!!!” Inko jumps backwards so fast she knocks over the couch, the only reason she stops moving is because she crashes into the wall.

She’s clutching at her little heart, as she hyperventilates at the sight of the freaky fish man.

Tears stream out of her eyes in shock and fear. _‘What happened to my baby?! Where did this thing come from?! Izuku!!’_

Meanwhile, Ripjaws is gasping holding his throat as if choking. “Water, I need…water!” He didn’t expect this, although he should have, and because of that the moment he transformed his gasp to breathe came out like that of a roar.

He needs water fast! Gasping for oxygen Ripjaws steps forward toward the kitchen and that’s when he notices how cool and wet his feet feel. Curiously, he blinks down noticing water flooding the apartment floor. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, he plunges his head forward into the living saving water.

“Ahhhhh.” The Piscciss Volann sighs in relief as he picks his head out of the water. “Sweet relief, but where did all this water come from?”

He turns and what he discovers is shocking, disturbing, and concerning. His mother is crying so hard with shock that the tears are pouring out of her eyes like geysers flooding the entire apartment like a swimming pool.

“Mom!! Stop!! We don’t have flood insurance!!”

“WAAHH!!! MY BABY BOY HAS A QUIRK!!!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that was Ch.10 I really hoped it was still enjoyable even if it feels like it's mostly exposition, descriptions, and filler. I did add a fun little Sukima in the end to make this chapter a bit more light hearted. I would love a review; let me know what you like? Disliked? And feel me to ask me questions about anything you're curious about or need clarification on. Again, I promise that Ch.11 will be much more enjoyable, mainly because we're finally getting to U.A. 
> 
> *One-One is a character from the Cartoon Network series known as "Infinity Train" check it out it's a great watch. I was actually thinking about introducing this character all the way back in Ch.1 but I wasn't sure how to fit him in properly or justify him being there. But my beta-readers (my brothers) pestered me to include this character and I gave in. Obviously. 
> 
> *Just to clarify, One-One can split himself into two parts that are independent of each other and the creators of "Infinity Train" refer to each one as "Glad-One" and "Sad-One" because if their personalities. 
> 
> *Ochaco's stuffed toy is supposed to be Stitch from Disney's "Lilo and Stitch". 
> 
> *A Sukima is meant to be a sidestory that is canon to this fanfic but it adds nothing to the overall story and isn't meant to be taken seriously. It's just meant to be for laughs. Also, I've based the Sukima off the way they are handled in the anime series known as "Mairimashita! Iruma-kun!" check it out if you haven't, I think it's a funny anime.
> 
> *I hope to have more Sukimas and Omakes in the future: they are meant to be short, fun, and/or sweet so if you have any suggestions than please let me know what you want to see.


	11. Know Your Limits

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Izuku and Ochaco finally arrive at U.A. for their first day as part of the Hero Course. Unfortunately, they don't receive the warm welcome that they were expecting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for being late with this update. Would you believe that my laptop broke thankfully I save my stuff on Google Docs and a flashdrive, and I was temporarily lent a computer. My laptop won't be back for a little bit so the next chapter may take a while to get here. 
> 
> Anyway enjoy Ch.11 it's a long one, 54 pages long! But it was surprisingly easy to write despite the set backs.

_‘This is it, I’m finally going to be part of U.A. and make my way to becoming a hero!’_

U.A. somehow looks even more magnificent than from when they were last here. It may be that thanks to the sunny sky is clear, song birds are about, the smell of watered flowers lingers in the air, and the cherry blossoms are dancing in the wind. Or perhaps it’s just because now this magnificent school represents all of their hopes and dreams.

Izuku Midoriya with an excited happy smile on his face leans his head to the side, curious about Ochaco Uraraka’s reaction. He tries his best to ignore how nice she looks in the U.A. school uniform.

She’s not looking at him her eyes locked onto the hero academy, presumably she’s having the same reaction as him, judging by the expression on her face and the glimmer in her eyes.

From out of the corner of her eye she spots Izuku watching her. She flashes him a smile. “Let’s do this! Let’s make our first day a good one!”

Izuku nods. “Yeah!”

Together they make their way inside passing by other U.A. students whether they’re Hero Course, General, or any other.

It doesn’t take them long to find their destination, Classroom 1-A.

Ochaco gaps at the giant sliding door. “That door is massive!!” It makes sense though, this school should be accommodating to all sorts of Quirks and people. “I just hope that those mean guys aren’t part of our class.”

That comment confuses him slightly, “Mean guys?” He’s quick to realize whom she is talking about, and as a result his face drains of color. _‘Oh, she means Kacchan and the blue-haired guy with glasses.’_ Shaking away his fears, Izuku grips his backpack in an attempt to calm his nerves. “Maybe we got lucky and neither of them are here.” Summoning all of his courage Izuku rips open the door not wanting to delay the inevitable.

“Remove your foot from that desk!! Such an action is insulting to those who came to U.A. before us!!”

“Like I care!! Hey, what middle school are you from?”

Izuku is in so much shock and despair he can almost feel his body dissipating into nothingness. _‘The universe must hate me…’_

They’re both here. Of course they are! Why wouldn’t they be? Even with his steaming pile of crap personality there shouldn’t have been any doubt that Katsuki Bakugou made it in. Plus there’s only two freshman Hero Course classes so it was a 50/50 chance that he would be in the same one.

Same goes for the stern young man with combed blue-hair and glasses.

Currently the stern teen is berating Bakugou who is seated at his desk with his feet kicked back onto the desk.

Even if he’s a bit put-off by Bakugou’s crude reaction, the young man introduces himself anyway. “I-I’m from Somei Private Academy. My name is Tenya Iida.”

“Somei?!” Bakugou’s teeth clatter. “You probably think of yourself as high and mighty, huh? I should blow you to bits!”

 _‘Blow me to bits?!’_ Tenya is visibly surprised. “You’re awful! Do you really wish to become a hero?!”

Before either of them could continue they both spot a terrified green-haired boy and an exasperated round-faced girl watching them from the doorway.

Realizing they’ve been spotted both Izuku and Ochaco freeze up ready to be either reprimanded by the stern engine-legged teen or cursed at by the angry Pomeranian.

With no hesitation or restraint Iida marches straight towards them his arms waving like that of a robot’s at his sides. “Hello, I’m Teny-!”

Izuku cuts him off by raising a hand. “Yeah, we heard you before. Ah…I’m Izuku Midoriya. Pleased to meet you, Iida…” Even though the teen puts him off he tries his best at a friendly smile.

She might as well introduce herself as well. “And I’m Ochaco Uraraka…”

Now that Iida has acquired both their names there’s no reason for him not to say what he has to. “Midoriya…Uraraka…you both perceived the true nature of the exam far better than I could.” He grimaces in shame, grinding his teeth. “I completely misjudged you both. I hate to admit it, but you were both far superior candidates than myself.”

Why is he acting like they’re geniuses? Ochaco looks to her counterpart for clarification. “Um, Deku, do you know what he’s talking about?”

Her counterpart shrugs in response, he’s just as confused as she is.

Iida waves his arms up and down in a frenzy. “How could you not know?! You…” He pauses to consider the facts: these two arrived at the same time, one has a nickname for the other, and they seem to carry a sense of familiarity with each other. Could they have…? “Wait!!” His outburst makes the two of them jump back in surprise. “Were you two already acquainted with each other before the exam?!”

Ochaco is the one to answer. “Uh, yeah we were…”

“Unacceptable!!” They cheated!!! “The exam was designed and organized to force the examinees to work alone and to ensure that everyone is judged on equal ground!! Yet you two managed to bypass this and work together!! Were those rescues staged?! How could U.A. allow this?!”

Okay, now that was offensive.

Ochaco leers at the taller teen, just what gives him the right to judge them like that?! “Woah! Woah! Woah! We did not cheat!!”

Izuku furiously nods his head in agreement. “Yeah, it was just dumb luck we ended up in the same arena!! And besides before the test we agreed to go at it alone!!”

“You did…?” Iida bows, his back bent at a perfect 180 degree angle. “My sincerest apologies!! I’ve overstepped and misjudged both of you a second time!! Shame on me!!”

Feeling somewhat bad for snapping at him, Ochaco tries to wave off his worries. “No, no, it’s okay. You didn’t know.”

Not wanting to be on bad terms either Izuku tries to shrug off the whole ordeal. “Yeah, it would seem fishy to anyone.”

As Iida thanks them for understanding someone else from the entrance exam let’s their presence be known. “It’s nice to see that the two of you made it in as well.”

Looking upward Izuku is greeted by the sight of the multi-limbed fellow from the entrance exam as well as the time Rojo kidnapped Ochaco. “Oh, it’s you!! You’re that handyman…!!” Realizing he said that last part out loud Izuku shields his face from view, it’s red with embarrassment. _‘Oh my God, I’m terrible!’_

It’s hard to tell whether he’s smiling or not thanks to his facemask but nonetheless he doesn’t sound offended in anyway. He seems the type to let things like this slide. “My name is Mezo Shoji.”

“Right, sorry.” Okay, Izuku time to salvage the situation. “Anyway, it’s nice to officially introduce myself to you. My name is -”

“Yeah, I heard you from before.”

Was that a sarcastic callback?!

Shoji rises one of his limbs, attached to the end is a human mouth. “When I heard about the rescue points, I knew right away that the two of you would be here.”

Izuku ignores the mouth to speak with Shoji. He then introduces Ochaco to Shoji explaining to her that he couldn’t save her without his help. Iida also takes a moment to introduce himself to Shoji even though the multi-limbed teen already stated that he overheard them introduce themselves already.

Forgotten in the background, is Bakugou. He could care less about any of these extras so he doesn’t bother to even attempt to remember their names. Instead he’s too busy glaring at the target of his frustrations. “Deku.”

##########(Flashback)#########

“How wonderful that two of our students have made it into U.A.!” Izuku’s middle school teacher turns in his seat to gaze up at both Bakugou and Izuku. “Especially you, Midoriya! That’s a miracle we never expected!”

Izuku has no doubt that that is the truth.

It was a relatively brief meeting just a formal congratulations thing. Nothing too fancy or drawn out. So they are released to go home rather quickly. At least Izuku would have liked too…

“What dirty trick did you pull, you Quirkless piece of shit?!” Bakugou has Izuku by the front of his shirt so tightly that Izuku’s shirt squeezes around his neck making it rather difficult to breath. “HUH!?!” God, he’s so pissed off right now, it’s a miracle that his hands haven’t even begun to spark with mini-blasts yet.

Izuku flinches back, bracing himself for the inevitable explosion that’s going to be sent his way.

After being released Bakugou dragged Izuku to the back of the school building; away from prying eyes and far enough away where his explosions won’t be heard.

“I was supposed to be the first and only one to get into U.A. from this crumby school!” Bakugou has Izuku by his collar hoisting him up as to better push him around. “Not only that, but you somehow stole the first place spot for yourself!! Just what the hell did you do?!” He shoves Izuku against the wall; a bruise is sure to be there in the morning. “You just had to fucking screw up my grand plan didn’t ya! You worthless piece of shit!! I thought I told you to give up on becoming a hero!!”

Now that crossed a line.

Izuku grabs Bakugou’s arm. He’s heard enough from Bakugou’s foul mouth, and there’s no way in hell he’s going to let this asshole ruin anything for him.

The grab tightens around his arm, it doesn’t necessarily hurt but it’s enough to throw Bakugou off. Izuku’s never done this…he’s never fought back before.

Well that changes now. “S-someone… No, my f-friends believe in me…that I can become a hero…!” Izuku finds his footing allowing him to take a more stable stance. “A-and I know that I can be one, t-too! Th-that’s why…” His steely eyes lock on to Bakugou’s and for a brief moment Izuku is the dominant one. “I’m…I’m going to U.A. no matter what! And you can’t stop me!!”

########(End Flashback)#######

The school bell rings signaling the official start of the school day.

But it’s largely ignored by the entire class, especially the odd group of four gathered at the door.

Meanwhile, Bakugou continues to simmer in annoyance from his seat, his eyes never leaving Izuku’s form. _‘He actually stood up to me… Something smells fishy about all this. Dammit, Deku!’_

Shoji lays a hand on Izuku’s shoulder gaining his attention. “By the way during the exam you said something odd.”

Izuku tenses up. “Huh, I did?”

“Yeah, you mentioned something about owing me for something I apparently did for you. Did we meet before by chance?”

 _‘Oh, yeah. I guess he wouldn’t have recognized me unless I was Four Arms.’_ Rubbing his head sheepishly Izuku attempts to explain how Shoji gave him directions so he could find and track down Rojo. “Oh, well we did, but you see-”

“If you’re here to socialize, then get out.” A dreary tired voice cuts it way through the conversation not only gaining the group’s attention but the entire class’ at the same time.

Izuku and Ochaco turn around shakily; the underlying tone of a threat did not go unnoticed.

There’s a giant yellow slug on the floor!! How did they miss something like that?!

The slug moves and that when they notice a tired looking face sticking out from the mouth of the slug.

“This is…the Hero Course.” A hand pops out of the mouth with a juice pouch which the man inside is quick to drink up.

A hushed silence falls over the entire classroom as they all have the same exact reaction. _‘There’s someone in there!?!’_ In retrospect they should have noticed that the slug was actually a sleeping bag from the beginning.

Then again when you live in a society of Quirks you never know what you’ll see.

With the juice pouch now empty the man indie the sleeping bag tucks it away before opening up the sack. “It took eight seconds for you to quiet down.” He gets up and out of his overly sized sleeping bag.

Now that he’s in full view Izuku and the others take a moment to examine this strange stranger.

This man is rather slender with pale-skin and messy, shoulder-length black hair. His black outfit is ragged. The only items worthy of noting are his utility belt and the strange long grey scarf around his neck and shoulders.

“Time is a precious resource. You lot aren’t very rational are you?”

Izuku continues to obverse this man as he steps out from his cozy cocoon. _‘All of U.A.’s staff are pro heroes. So, he’s got to be a pro hero too, right…? But…he doesn’t look familiar also…What’s his deal?!’_

“I’m your homeroom teacher, Shota Aizawa.”

Most of the class reacts simultaneously. “Homeroom teacher?!”

“Quickly now.” Aizawa reaches into his sleeping bag and pulls out a standard U.A. gym uniform. “Change into your gym clothes and head out to the grounds.”

The students blink unsure about their teacher’s intentions, but what choice do they have? They might as well go along with it. Who knows it could be fun.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Yagi Toshinori is busying himself in U.A.’s records room reading through one of his coworker’s files. _‘The system here at U.A. is like no other. Here the teachers can have free reign when it comes to how they approach their classes. But this_ i _s going too far!!’_ He can’t help but feel sorry for the newest batch of students since their homeroom teacher has been known to expel his students, even entire classrooms.

Hell according to his records he’s already expelled a whopping 154 students before.

Yagi grabs at his forehead, he can feel a migraine beginning to form. _‘And of course she got him of all people as her homeroom teacher.’_ He sighs in defeat, he might as well accept perhaps if worse comes to worse he could just intervene on Ochaco’s behalf. _‘Just what is that man thinking?’_

“Morning All Might.”

“Ah, Thirteen, morning. How are you today?”

“I’m alright. Hm?” Thirteen spots the file of Aizawa on Yagi’s desk.

Realizing he’s been caught, Yagi shuts it and springs up and out of his seat. “Excuse me I was just leaving!” With a stiff form he marches for the exit trying and failing to be subtle.

“Are you going to spy on Class 1-A?”

“What gave me away?!” Oops, he didn’t mean to say that out loud. “Uh, y-yes. W-why do you ask?”

“Thinking rationally, you’ve never really taught a class before. Am I right?”

Yagi looks away, a part of his pride doesn’t want to admit the truth.

Thirteen picks up Yagi’s obvious discomfort, they for one understand. “Ha ha ha, it’s okay to be nervous everybody is at the beginning. But since you're so nervous about it, you want to get to know your students as soon as possible so you know how to best deal with them. And Class 1-A is going to be your first ever trial as a teacher so of course you are going to go learn as much as you can about them.”

Well that’s partly true anyway, mostly he just wants to see how well Ochaco is doing. Also, see what that Midoriya kid’s been up to. “That’s more or less correct…I am rather curious about their abilities.”

“Well, then why don’t I join you?”

“Huh?”

“Honestly, I’m rather curious about Class 1-A myself.” Thirteen turns for the exit. “And Aizawa’s tests will certainly help us have a better understanding of their capabilities.”

“Wait, what do you mean tests…?”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

All Might and Thirteen find just the right spot to watch Class 1-A while remaining out of sight. They don’t want to get any closer, believing that their presence, or at least All Might’s, might take focus away from Aizawa and his tests.

Either way it’s amusing to see a buffed up All Might hiding himself away like a school girl trying to hide from her crush. **_‘GOOD LUCK YOUNG URARAKA.’_ **

Thirteen tilts their head. _‘I wonder how they’ll do.’_

Meanwhile, amongst the entrance of the P.E. Grounds.

Class 1-A cries out in surprise. “A Quirk Apprehension Test?!”

Ochaco worried tries to make her concerns heard. “What about the Entrance Ceremony?! Or Guidance Sessions?!”

Aizawa replies, without turning to even face her. “No time to waste on that stuff if you want to become heroes.”

“...?!”

“U.A. is known for its “freestyle” educational system.” He peers back at her, making her freeze up, as he leers at her. “That applies to us teachers as well.”

_‘Just what is his deal?!’_

“Standard physical tests. You did all these in middle school, yes?” A few of the students are just about to answer but a quick look from their teacher lets them know that the question was rhetorical. “This country still insists on prohibiting Quirks when calculating the averages of those records. It’s not rational. The Department of Education is just procrastinating.”

He’s right, Japan’s Department of Education wants students to feel like they are all on equal ground. However, with the inclusion of Quirks that is no longer the reality, and thus many children and to extent adults don’t have as much skill or experience to even use their Quirks. And sometimes that can lead those with more “problematic” Quirks down a less than ideal path in life…

“It’s important for us to know our limits. That’s the first rational step to figuring out what kind of heroes you’ll become. That’s why we are having this Quirk Apprehension Test.”

“Oh, I get it!” A girl with pink skin and curved yellow horns waves her hands in excitement. “Ha, this is awesome essentially we get to use our Quirks all we want for this test!”

A teen with odd elbows grins. “For real?! Man the Hero Course is great!”

“This is so awesome! It’s getting me pumped up!” The lone red-head of the class pounds his knuckles together in anticipation.

Their excitement is short lived however. “…Awesome you say?” Aizawa stares at his hand his eyes lost in a brief moment of grief as he recalls a sad memory from long ago. Oh how naive the youth can be. “You’re hoping to become heroes after three years here… And you think it’ll be all fun and games?” There’s underlying darkness to his voice, but it’s not so much a threat but a warning. He eyes the students making sure that he has their full attention. “Right. The one who fails to show their potential will be judged as hopeless… and will be expelled.”

“WHAAAA!?!” All Might and Thirteen cry out in outrage but they quickly cut themselves off and jump back into their hiding place before they are noticed.

Luckily most of the class are too preoccupied with Aizawa’s declaration to notice. Although those that did weren't fast enough to spot who it was that screamed out.

“Your fates are in our hands.” Aizawa grins like a cat toying with its prey, brushing up his long back-hair over his face. “Welcome. This is the Hero Course at U.A. High!!’

There’s general worry across most of the class minus those that are confident enough on their skills.

“That’s not fair!” Ochaco doesn’t stop to think before she decides to call out this blatant use of power. “It’s only the first day! I mean, even if it weren’t… That’s totally unfair!!”

“Unfair…?” Aizawa’s voice cuts through like a knife. “Natural disasters, accidents, rampaging villains…calamity is always right around the corner. I’d say that life is full of unfairness.” he sighs, he should be a little lighter thou after all he is dealing with children. “Heroes are the ones…who correct all the unfairness. If you were hoping to spend your time here slacking off, well, I’m sorry to tell you that for the next three years…” he grins madly, his smile like that of a twisted version of Totoro. “U.A. is going to run you all through the wringer.” he flexes a finger as if to gesture them forward to take on the gauntlet that is U.A. “That’s Plus Ultra.”

The class’s determined expressions are good enough of an answer; as they psych themselves up.

As for Izuku he is having the complete opposite reaction. _‘Oh, man. Alright don’t panic Izuku you’ve done plenty of training with Thirteen in these types of exercises before. It’ll be a snap as long as I don’t come in last place then I’ll be fine…but what about…?’_ Izuku’s eyes drift over to gage Bakugou’s reaction.

Bakugou is grinning like a madman that’s about to commit a massacre just for fun.

Izuku has a feeling that he would be the first one targeted in such a scenario.

While Izuku tempers his worries, Ochaco is having some issues of her own.

 _‘This is so not how I imagined my first day would go. Being threatened with expulsion! Oh, but all I can rely on is Zero-Gravity if I even attempt to use One For All now all I’ll be doing is disabling myself. But…’_ Ochaco’s hand balls up into a fist her nails digging into the palm of her hand. _‘I can’t use that as an excuse All Might is counting on me and I won’t let him down. I will master One For All one way or another!’_

Aizawa’s eyes scan the group of wannabe heroes each one is different with their own unique Quirks, personalities, and abilities. But there’s only a few that truly stand out to him in this crowd. So, let’s begin with the most perplexing of the group.

“Midoriya.” Izuku flinches not expecting to be singled out already. “You scored first place during the Entrance Exam so you go first.”

A soft ball seemingly appears in Aizawa’s hand and he tosses it over to the greeneete who nearly drops it after fumbling with it in midair.

Nobody notices the irk mark appearing on Bakugou’s head at the mention of Izuku placing first in the exam.

“How far could you throw in middle school?”

“Oh, um, about 40 meters.” A few snickers are heard amongst the class much to Izuku’s chagrin.

Aizawa is clearly not amused or impressed with either the snickers or the abysmal throwing distance. “...Okay, try it with your Quirk. Do whatever you need to. Just don’t leave the circle.”

Izuku steps forward into a chalk circle of the P.E. Grounds ahead of him are parallel lines marking distances across the field.

It’s simple just throw the ball as far as he can with his Quirk…there’s just one issue with that. Bakugou. Izuku’s been trying to avoid eye contact with him all morning but he knows that the ash-blonde has been watching (glaring) at him the entire time.

As a form of comfort, Izuku grips the Omnitrix allowing its presence alone to help stabilize his nerves. Why does he have to go first? And why expulsion?! He was just really hoping he could go about this without his aliens but that’s no longer a possibility. But why would he not want to use them? Simple, it’s because what happened the last time he revealed his Quirk to a so called “friend”.

Even though it’s been nearly a year now the confrontation between himself and Henzu Uuichi still weighs on him from time to time. Hell, he hasn’t seen either head or tail of his former friend since then. But then again Henzu’s always been a survivor so something tells him that no matter where he is he’s alive and probably kicking someone’s ass.

But now he may just relive those terrible events and the inevitable fallout that will most definitely occur. Shit, he knew that he should have packed burn cream before leaving home today.

Aizawa is losing his patience. “Get a move on already, you’re wasting time.”

“R-right! Sorry!”

While Izuku tries to figure out what to do Bakugou can’t help but smirk to himself. _‘Ha, goodbye stupid Deku! You’ll fuck it up and show everyone how useless you really are!’_

Sadly Bakugou may not be the only one with similar opinions.

“What’s with this guy? He’s taking a while.”

“Maybe his Quirk isn’t good for this kind of stuff.”

“He lacks style and flare.”

“He looks so innocent though. How did he come in first for the exam?”

“Maybe he cheated.”

“Perhaps he’s concentrating, kero.”

Ochaco heard that, she spins around glaring at the puny kid with purple balls on his head. Her glare is so intense and out of nowhere that the tiny student looks like he’s going to pee himself with fright.

Shoji steps between Ochaco and her quarry. “Excuse me, Uraraka.” Shoji gestures towards Izuku. “Is he okay?”

“I…I hope so.” She frowns. _‘Come on Deku, you can do it.’_

At her side Iida remains silent watching Izuku with interest wondering why he hasn’t transformed into his turtle-like form yet.

Meanwhile, from across the grounds Thirteen and All Might are anxiously waiting for Izuku to go. **“WHAT IS HE WAITING FOR?”**

“I’m not sure.”

Izuku lifts up the Omnitrix admiring the sun shining down on its smooth metallic frame. The way it shines and the green illuminates from it is as if the watch is trying to encourage him forward. ‘I have to do this, even if Kacchan takes it horribly, I can’t hold myself back, not for him!!’

Izuku activates the Omnitrix the sound of it activating is enough to gather everyone's attention.

Aizawa’s eyes narrow.

Izuku finds the proper alien for this job. Before he pushes down on the dial he looks back straight at Ochaco who gives him a friendly smile and an encouraging nod.

That’s all he needed.

He raises his hand up high and with a mighty swing he slams down onto the Omnitrix. Blinding rays of green light envelope around him, the green neon glow causes many of his classmates to shield their eyes. But a few manage not to turn away: Ochaco whose smile could reach the stars, Bakugou whose shock is very apparent, and Aizawa who watches on with indifference.

“Lodestar!!” Lodestar lifts up his pincer like a hand to examine yet. “Hey I got the guy I wanted.”

Not wanting to delay any further Lodestar looks out to the open field in front of him, he’s ready to take it on. He’s not so much as holding the ball but rather it’s floating between his hand thanks to the magnetic pull he’s exerting on its center. Looks like he was right about the ball having a metal interior and tracker.

With the soft ball in his hand he reels his arm back behind him and swings his arm to the side forward thrusting the ball up and away. With the ball released into the air Lodestar increases the push of his magnetic pulse so that it’s strong enough to propel the ball even further into the sky.

The ball is really flying now, racing through the air like that of a falcon diving at its prey. He keeps up the magnetic push for as long as he can until eventually the ball is actually pushed out of his reach at that point he can do nothing but let gravity do its job.

It doesn't take long for the ball to eventually reach the ground.

Lodestar releases a breath that he wasn’t aware that he was holding.

Aizawa peers down at his phone. “Took you long enough, but the result speaks for itself.”

Aizawa turns his phone around allowing everyone to see the results for themselves: 705.2 meters!

The entire class erupts into cheers. “WOAH!!”

“Way to go, Deku!”

“That was so manly!”

“What was with that light?”

“That certainly had flare.”

“I wonder if he was controlling the air pressure, or perhaps gravity, no maybe he was using magnetism.”

Even Thirteen is cheering for Izuku. “YES!!!”

All Might blinks wondering why his coworker is so excited, perhaps the tension was getting to them.

Thirteen unceremoniously walks back into their hiding spot trying to not to look All Might in the eye.

Shoji and Iida have similar stunned reactions. _‘What just happened?! I thought his Quirk turns him into a turtle!!’_

They are both referring to Terraspin which was the only transformation either of them witnessed during the U.A. Entrance Exam.

Aizawa tries to regain the class's attention. “Stop chatting, we have work to do!”

In that brief moment, Aizawa’s attention is drawn away from Izuku and that is a mistake.

“DEKU!!!”

That’s Lodestar’s only warning of his impending doom.

“DIE!!!” Bakugou swings his arm forward ready to blast his ex-friend into oblivion.

Lodestar freezes in place bracing himself for the inevitable, but the fiery inferno never comes.

Instead Bakugou, unintentionally, slams his palm against Lodestar’s floating head. The swing is so strong that his head literally flies off his body!

The class screams out in horror. “HOLY SHIT!!!”

Ochaco is probably one of the loudest. “Deku!!” She scrambles out of the crowd and after Lodestar’s bouncing head.

The metallic head comes to a stop, she falls to her knees, and gently picks it. “Are you okay?!”

Class 1-A balk. Why would someone do that?! He killed him!!

“Sshee, ow, careful.” Lodestar blinks, his head is spinning and he’s got a major migraine. “Anyway, yeah I think so…”

Ochaco looks like she’s going to vomit, and not because of her Zero-Gravity Quirk. “But your body!!”

Lodestar tries to turn his neck only to realize that he doesn’t currently have one. “Oh, wow okay. Just give me a minute to pull myself together.”

“Nani?”

Something cold taps her shoulder, turning around Ochaco gaps at the headless form of Lodestar’s body. _‘It’s moving on its own?!’_

Lodestar’s body reaches down and grabs his head out of Ochaco’s arms before placing it between his horned shoulders he turns his head like a screw as if to secure it. “Aw, there we go that’s much better. Man, the first day and I’m already losing my head.”

Class 1-A, including Ochaco, are staring in shock and awe of what they just witnessed. _‘How is that possible?!’_

Noticing their apparent disbelief, Lodestar shrugs trying to come off as humble. “What can I say? I’m much more durable than I look.”

That’s not a good enough answer for the brunette. “But how’d you do that?!”

Lodestar leans in and whispers. “Thirteen told me that Biosovortian can repair damage to their bodies by pulling in their parts back together but only as long as their heads remain intact.” Good thing he wrote it down in his notebook, _“Hero Transformations #1”._

“Oh.” Ochaco plants her fist into her hand to confirm that she understands.

Thirteen in the meantime is sighing in relief and very happy that they happened to share that tidbit with Izuku.

Meanwhile, Bakugou is at a complete loss of words. ‘ _What the hell?! How?! How?! How is this possible?! There’s no way!! How could shitty Deku have a Quirk?! I knew he was hiding something from me!!’_ Bakugou’s glare hardens. “Hey, De-”

A long thin cloth wraps itself around Bakugou’s head and upper body before tightening up and restraining him. “What the hell?!” He struggles to break free of the bindings he flexes his palms but there’s no explosion. “What is this?!”

“It’s a capture weapon made of carbon fibers and special alloy wire.” Aizawa’s eyes glow red as his hair rises waving around as if he was underwater. His long grey scarf, the capture weapon, is also floating around him along with his hair. “Also, stop trying to use your Quirk already. I’m getting a serious dry eye over here.”

“Too bad that Quirk is seriously amazing!!” Proclaim Class 1-A.

Lodestar really wants to nerd out right now, their homeroom teacher is the pro hero Eraserhead!! His Quirk, Erasure, allows him to cancel out any and all Quirks when he looks at someone. He’s only ever heard of this hero through online fandoms so it’s great to see him in person.

Aizawa tightens his hold on the mad bomber. “What made you think that was a good idea?”

“Huh?! What the hell are you talking about?!”

The pro hero gives the bastard a critical look.

Bakugou, knowing not to push his luck, stops struggling decided that for now he needs to play by the rules.

“If you want to be a hero then you need to do some serious thinking about your actions…and your attitude.”

Bakugou looks like he wants to snap back at their homeroom teacher, but he bites his tongue considering the pro hero’s words. This is way too confusing for him, no teacher has ever bothered to stand up to him, especially when it concerns Deku. But this guy did, and he has a jackoff of a Quirk that cancels his!!

“I don’t know what beef you have with him, but here you put that aside or else.” Aizawa cuts off his Quirk, his hair dropping back down, and the scarf slacks around his shoulders. “Now with your tantrum over with.” Aizawa looks over to Izuku inspecting him for any injuries. “Midoriya, how are you holding up?”

Ochaco and Lodestar rejoin the main group.

Ochaco makes sure to walk between Lodestar and Bakugou ready to intervene in case he tries anything again.

Lodestar rubs his metallic head. “Um, I’m fine sir. N-no harm done.”

“Hmm, alright.” And with that, the scarf completely unravels itself from Bakugou releasing the feral dog from his leash.

Thankfully said feral dog has enough sense not to do anything that may ruin his record.

Aizawa’s going to have to keep an eye on that one too. He has talent that’s for sure, hopefully he’ll grow out of his ego. “You’ve wasted enough of our time.” He turns to the rest of the class. “If anyone else decides to do something stupid they’ll be the first ones to be expelled from the Hero Course.” His eyes flash red enhancing his warning. “Am I understood?”

“Yes, sir!!”

“Good now let’s move on.”

Ochaco grabs Lodestar’s arm. “Are you sure you can continue?”

“I’m fine.” He pushes her hand away and tries to give her a smile.

It’s small but it’s enough to satisfy her.

Lodestar looks over towards Bakugou who is still standing there in the same spot. _‘Kacchan…’_

For now he’s not going to dwell on it, Bakugou isn’t what’s important right now, the Quirk Apprehension Test is and he’s got to focus on it here and now.

And so the Quirk Apprehension Test truly begins.

Aizawa leads the students away to start a different exercise instead. Like he said they can’t afford to waste time here.

First up is a 50-Meter Dash across a track with a camera bot stationed near the finish line.

Izuku eventually reverts back to normal, thankfully there doesn’t appear to be any lasting damage from Bakugou’s attack minus a few spots of soot on his clothes and in his hair.

Luckily for him by the time Aizawa gets through his explanation and the students get themselves organized the Omnitrix is back to being fully charged.

They’ll each go individually, so Izuku places himself in the middle of the line.

Tenya Iida’s up first and with his Engine Quirk perfectly tailored for this test he walks away with 3.04 seconds.

After him a girl by the name of Tsuyu Asui, a girl with features similar to that of a frog, literally hops across the finish line with a score of 5.58 seconds. Izuku can’t help but feel like he’s seen her before from somewhere, but he can’t seem to recall where or when.

A few others go such as that pompous blonde that Izuku saved at the entrance exam. He uses his Naval Laser to rocket himself across the track although he constantly had to stop and refire the laser in order to continue.

The girl with pink skin and matching fluffy hair is next, sliding across the track with acid spilling out from the bottom of her feet.

Next up is the one and only Ochaco Uraraka. _‘Okay, if I concentrate maybe I can call upon One For All…’_ Her face falls with disappointment. _‘But then again if I overdue it then there’s no way I’m going to be able to even attempt the next exercises. I guess I’ll just have to rely on my physical training rather than One For All.’_ But that doesn’t mean she can’t rely on her other Quirk. “I’ll just make my clothes weightless that ought help me out a little.”

Unbeknownst to her, Aizawa eyes narrow in response as if he can tell what Ochaco is thinking.

The camera bot declares her score. “6.14 seconds!”

Ochaco grins clapping her hands together. _‘Not bad all things considered.’_

Next is Bakugou, the way he carries himself suggests that something is weighing on his mind; whether it’s about his near act of murder or Izuku magically possessing a Quirk is unclear.

Bakugou looks back at the line behind him, his red eyes locking in on Izuku. The green-haired boy looks away in fright but his eyes drift back towards the ash-blonde. Their eyes lock making Izuku still up before he offers a shaky smile as to be friendly.

It fails, epically, Bakugou’s pupils shrink back like that of a predator and his usual scowl returns. _‘I’ll show you what a real Quirk can do, Deku!!’_

With his arms outstretched at his sides Bakugou releases a series of explosions, they’re not powerful, but they’re strong enough to launch him forward. “Die!!” Like a runaway rocket on a runway Bakugou flies across the track, when he passes the finish line his feet skid across the ground as he comes to a complete stop.

“4.13 seconds!”

“Ha, my Quirk is the most versatile one here!!”

A couple of his classmates have the same opinion. _‘What a prick…’_

Eventually, after a few more students go, it’s Izuku’s turn. _‘All right Omnitrix don’t screw this up for me.’_

The students that were unfortunate to stand behind Izuku are once again blinded by a green eerie light.

“XLR8!!” XLR8 flicks his tail to test if it’s true, it is. “Ha, yes I’m two for two!!”

He’s so thrilled about the Omnitrix turning him into the correct alien that he misses his classmates’ astonished expressions.

After getting into a running stance XLR8 zips across the 50-meter track leaving behind a trail of wind, dust, and looks of bewilderment.

“1.03 seconds!”

XLR8 zips by the camera bot leaning against it with his arms crossed. “Ah man, I thought I’d be faster.”

The class bursts out into an uproar. “FASTER!?!”

Even Iida’s pride as a speedster is a bit wounded.

“What the hell?!”

“What’s with this guy?!”

“Just how many Quirks does he have?!”

Aizawa’s doesn’t take his eyes off the blue raptor, examining his features, and all with a face of disinterest.

Ochaco approaches the transformed Izuku. “Why do you do that?”

“Do what?”

“Call out the name of your…transformation?” She looks around making sure nobody's listening in.

XLR8 all of a sudden becomes bashful. “Oh, I ah well, I thought it would be cool. You know to call out the names of my…transformations. You know?”

Ochaco shakes her head, it’s not of shame because of the entertained smile on her face. “You’re such a dork.”

The very confused crowd watch on before they decide to move on with their own runs, among them a girl with frog-like features holds a finger to her chin in curiosity.

Bakugou is just as if not more confused. _‘What. The. Hell?!’_ How? How could Deku’s Quirk be so…so, versatile?! And why does this shitty blue lizard look so familiar?

Luckily, for XLR8, there’s no time for Bakugou to search, or threaten, for answers since they must move on with the exercises.

Next up is the Grip Strength, Aizawa leads them indoors for this one, handing out hand dynamometers.

Ochaco glares at her like it’s personally challenging her to an extremely difficult task. _‘Okay Ochaco you have to do it. Now’s the time. You have to use One For All.’_ Or at least a fraction of it, if she can’t use it for such a simple task then there may not be any hope for her to control it.

She squeezes the dynamometer with as much strength as she can muster, trying to call upon her new power, the dynamometer sends out a beep when she reaches her max grip strength.

She’s very disappointed to see that it’s only 54 kg, not exactly the world record breaker she wanted.

“Wow!!”

Ochaco’s attention snaps over towards Shoji. It appears he’s gained a tiny audience. The guy with strange circular elbows grins up at the multi-limbed teen. “540 kg?! Are you a gorilla or an octopus?!”

A height challenged boy stares up at Shoji, his face suggestion he’s thinking of something that’s very very wrong.

 _‘I wonder how Deku’s doing?’_ Ochaco’s eyes wonder the group before landing on a red mass of muscle.

“Hi, Uraraka!” Four Arms waves over to her, in two of his hands are dynamometers. “Look I got 650 kg!”

Shoji and his admirers over hear him.

The one with odd elbows deadpans. “Upstage much, dude?”

Four Arms offers an apologetic smile in return. He winces back when he notices Ochaco’s face.

She’s steaming mad, growling with irritation a part of just wants to scream out in frustration.

Shoji however looks like he’s just seen a ghost. “Oh, now I get it”

The boy with odd elbows raises an eyebrow. “Get what?”

“We did meet before.”

Four Arms trots over, finally he can properly explain himself. “We did you gave me directions that one time.”

“Indeed I did, I had no idea the same scrawny guy I saved at the exam was you though.”

Four Arms grins rubbing the back of his head. “Yeah, I know but tha-Hey! Who you calling scrawny?!”

The next event is the Standing Long Jump. Those with Quirks that can aid their mobility have a much easier time making it across such as Bakugou who once again uses his explosions to rocket himself across.

Eventually Izuku’s up and this time as Terraspin.

Both Iida and Shoji both watch on in interest, glad to have some sense of knowing what this form is capable of.

Iida cups his chin. “Oh, so he does turn into a turtle.”

Shoji nods in agreement. “I suppose so.”

“His Quirk is odd isn’t it?”

A sweat drop forms on Shoji’s head; wondering if he of all people should even agree with Iida’s statement.

Once again with the right alien at his beck and call this task proves to be a sitch for Izuku all he does is fly right over the sand pit and to the other side. He even raises his arms up in self-celebration, both Aizawa and Bakugou are a bit irked by his display of vanity.

Ochaco is next, she considers using One For All again but her Zero-Gravity will probably prove just as useful if not better. She backs up and then press the tips of her fingers against her clothes, she then rolls back her sleeves and crosses her arms making sure to plant her fingers onto her skin activating her Quirk. With a running start she floats right over the sandpit albeit as she nears the end she’s moving so slowly that she has to do butterflies in midair in order to make it any further.

The fourth event is the Side-Stepping both Izuku and Ochaco go about this without aid of their superhuman powers, not fully sure how they could apply them in this situation.

Although the same cannot be said for some of their classmates who did manage to find ways incorporate their Quirks into the exercise such as the purple kid making clumps of his purple hair to act as springs while he bounces off of them at rapid speed.

Once everyone completed the Side-Stepping Aizawa takes every one back for the Ball Throw.

Aizawa let’s Izuku sit this one out since he’s already got the teen’s score from earlier.

Bakugou decides that he’ll go first, snatching the ball from his teacher’s hand. He eyes Izuku as he stomps his way towards the circle, making the shorter teen quiver. _‘I’ll show you what a real Quirk can do!’_

He reels back his arm along with all the anger he has over Izuku’s sudden Quirk, for sure he’s going to address that issue later, and with a mighty roar he chucks the ball into the air firing off an explosion that equal in strength to the one he attacked Lodestar with. “DIE!!!”

Somehow his roar of murder is louder than the actual explosion.

The soft ball flies through the air like a runaway meteor until it reaches the other side of the P.E. Grounds.

“706.4 meters!”

“HA!!! I win Deku!!”

“Wha?!”

He sure did…by 1.1 meters, it’s small but it’s enough for Bakugou to feel like he’s reasserted his dominance. God, is he going to let Deku have it later, but not while Eraserhead is around though. For now he’ll savor this victory, no matter how shallow it is.

Ochaco observes the stupid grin on the ash-blonde’s face, she hates to admit how much she would love to plant her fist against that face, especially after what he did to Deku. But an idea pops into her head, a brilliant idea, one that makes her smirk with evil delight.

With a soft ball in hand she purposely marches in front of Bakugou as he steps away from the circle. Their eyes meet and for a second the blonde is thrown off by the spiteful glint in her eyes.

_‘What’s her deal?’_

Ochaco looks between the ball and back at Bakugou to ensure that he’s watching; he is but mainly because he doesn’t understand why she’s looking at him the way she is.

The round-faced girl never stops smirking as she grips the ball, letting Zero-Gravity to take hold of it, before she tosses straight towards the sky.

The ball soars higher…and higher…and higher. Holy shit, it’s not stopping!

“Whoops!” Ochaco smirks back at the pile of shit that is Bakugou, sarcasm dripping from her voice. “Looks like I threw it too hard.”

 _‘What is she…?’_ Bakugou’s eyes widen in pure horror, his eyes locked in on Ochaco’s score.

Several members of Class 1-A cry out in shock. “Infinity?!”

Sure enough the infinity symbol is on full display upon Aizawa’s phone as he holds it out for them all to witness.

Bakugou’s reaction though is what’s important to the gravity girl. _‘She…she completely…blew my score out of the water!! And she…WASN’T EVEN TRYING!?!’_

Ochaco’s smirk becomes even more self-indulgent, his face is priceless, oh if only she had a camera! _‘Take that Bakugou you’re Quirk isn’t the end all be all!’_

 _‘What. The. Hell?!’_ Bakugou stares daggers at Ochaco’s retreating form, she doesn’t even look back at him to acknowledge him. _‘I will not be shown up! Not by Deku and not by some round-faced bitch!!’_

During the next event Bakugou is sure he keeps the lead especially against Izuku and Ochaco. Although the event was an Endurance Run so it was somewhat complete overkill to throw thruster explosions into the mix to move faster, but Bakugou will be Bakugou.

Despite that both Ochaco and Izuku do well thankfully all of their physical training doesn’t allow them to wear out by the time it’s done.

The final two events are just as easy for them with them being the Seated-Toe Touch and Sit-Ups, but with no real foreseeable reason to use their “Quirks” they both decide to rely on their physical capabilities alone.

Unbeknownst to them, Aizawa leers at them the entire time they perform the exercises as if irritated about their lack of something in particular. Perhaps he’s irritated by their sense of safety thinking they’re safe from being terminated from the Hero Course. Nothing irks him more than those that don’t take things seriously.

And with that, the Quirk Apprehension Test is complete.

“Here are the results.” Aizawa’s electronic device lights up and a holographic projector forms in midair displaying the class’ rankings.

All the students scan the board for their names, Izuku and Ochaco find theirs having earned 6th and 7th place respectively. They both sigh in sweet relief knowing that they’re safe from being expelled from the Hero Course.

Although it’s too bad for the last placed kid, now identified as Minoru Mineta, the poor guy looks like he’s going to collapse from the shock.

Minoru is a very small young man with a large, round head, and rather large cheeks. His nose is small and stubby, and it sticks slightly upwards, and he has an unusually distinguishable philtrum, oval-shaped eyes with large, black pupils, and notably thin eyebrows. He has four large purple and black balls in something resembling a mohawk where his hair should be.

Even though it’s a tragic scenario both Izuku and Ochaco are just happy that they get to survive their first day of U.A. _‘Too bad for him, at least it’s not us.’_

Aizawa notices the duo’s very relaxed and reassured expression. “Midoriya, Uraraka…” The named teens looks to their teacher in confusion. “You two are out, go home.”

And just like that their reality shatters around them, goodbye hopes and dreams. Even All Might’s face pales in shock, his usual immortal grin is now that of a gaping fish; Thirteen however just looks rather annoyed by all of this.

There are out cries amongst the class.

An invisible girl, like she’s actually invisible, gasps. “What?! Why?!”

A raven-haired girl with a rather mature physique for her age is visibly depressed. “I was wrong…?” She must have assumed that the expulsion was a ruse.

A muscular teen with large lips is completely astonished. “Oh, harsh.”

Standing next to him is Bakugou, who’s wearing a stupid satisfied grin on his face. _‘Ha, take that Deku! I knew U.A. would eventually wise up and realize you weren’t worthy of being here!’_

A spiky red-haired teen with sharp teeth pushes his way forward through the crowd. “Hang on! That’s not right, man.”

“Yeah,” The teen with a wide grin and black-hair nods. “I thought that the person that gets last place was the one getting expelled?”

“I never said that,” Aizawa eyes the students, apparently they need to work on their listening skills. “I said that “the one who fails to show their potential will be judged as hopeless and will be expelled”. You were the ones that assumed I meant the one who came in last place.”

Mineta releases a large sigh, looks like he’s in the clear.

Iida, however, will not stand for this outrage. “You deceived us?! How could a professional as part of U.A. do such a thing?!” His right arm waves up and down as if to hammer in every word that comes out of his mouth.

Aizawa shrugs uncaringly. “I wouldn’t get so worked up about it.” Aizawa sighs, he might as well come forward. “Besides, I only said I would expel someone just to ensure that you all would do your best.”

The class blinks. Wait…? Is he saying what they think he’s saying?

“Yup,” Aizawa’s Totoro-like smile pops out from behind his scarf. “it was a rational deception!” He only went through with the lie to see Ochaco’s and Izuku’s faces.

Hey, bringing misery to teenagers is one of the main perks of becoming a teacher, and there’s no way Aizawa is going to miss out on the fun.

The mature physiqued girl holds hand to her chest as she sighs in relief. “Thank goodness, I was right…”

From their hiding spot, Thirteen eyes at Aizawa with an exasperated look. _‘I knew it._ ’

But what’s important are the non-expelled students’ reactions. _‘A deception? So, that means…’_ tears of joy leak from their eyes as they both simultaneously cheer in pure joy at the sky. “We’re not expelled!!”

Their homeroom teacher’s voice cuts right through their moment. “I wouldn’t be so sure.” he turns to the rest of the class. “Understand this, at any point if we find any of you unfit to become heroes any teacher here has the right to expel any of you.” He eyes Bakugou specifically, the teen at least has the sense to look somewhat perturbed. “Am I understood?”

“Yes, sir!”

Satisfied with his class’ answer Aizawa figures that he’s tormented them enough for today. “All of you are dismissed, with the exception of you two.” He’s of course referring to our main duo.

Class 1-A begins to leave for the locker rooms, few of them look back in worry for their classmates’ situation wondering what their teacher has to say to them.

All Might and Thirteen continue to watch on from afar.

**“WHAT IS HE UP TO?”**

“I’m…not completely sure.”

For now all they can do is watch.

Izuku fidgets in place, he really doesn’t like this, just what is their teacher planning?

Ochaco is equally if not more worried if her fidgeting hands are any indication.

Aizawa taps away at his phone, probably to prepare for whatever he has planned. “Midoriya.”

“Y-yes!” Why does his reply sound like a yap of a scared little dog?

If she wasn’t so nervous, Ochaco would have giggled at Izuku’s yelp.

“How…many of those transformations do you have?”

“Uh, nine…?” Come on Izuku be more confident with your answers.

“And each one has its own…abilities?”

Izuku hesitantly nods his head.

“Alright,” From the space between his scarf he tosses Izuku a soft ball much like the one from before. “I want you to do all the tests again.”

Izuku tilts his head to the side. What purpose would that serve?

“I want you to do all the tests again but this time each one of your transformations, including how you are now, have to complete each and every task.”

“H-how come, sir?”

Aizawa is really exasperated now. “The point of the Quirk Apprehension Test was to help not only you all to gauge your capabilities but for me as well. As your teacher I need as much info that I can get about my students in order to best prepare all of you for the future.”

Oh, that makes sense. So he needs as much info not just on Izuku but on his forms as well since they are technically him as well.

Ochaco takes a cautious step forward, her hand is up warily like one would do to ask an embarrassing question. “Um, do I have to do the tests again too?”

Aizawa tucks his hands into his pockets. “Not sure, it depends.”

“Depends?”

Rather than answer her, the black-haired man turns his attention back to the freckled-faced boy. “What are you waiting for?”

Izuku blinks.

“I gave you your instructions.” He waves the back of his hand as to get the kid moving. “And make sure to be quick about it. I couldn’t help but notice the apparent time limit you have, we’ll have to work on that.”

“Um?” Izuku looks down at the soft ball before scanning the P.E. Grounds; the camera bots are still positioned at the various exercise stations, there’s even an extra camera bot but this one is holding equipment to help with the Grip Strength, Seated-Toe Touch, and Sit-Ups.

Izuku curiously looks back towards his teacher and the sight makes him blanches.

Eraserhead’s hair rises up as his eyes flash red. “Stop wasting my time.” His voice drips with irritation.

Out of pure reflex Izuku salutes in response. “R-right, right away sir!!” And without looking he activates and slams down on the Omnitrix.

Aizawa and Ochaco have to cover their eyes, when they are able to look again, a very nervous Feedback is already running over towards the pitching circle.

As Feedback begins the tests using his electricity to fire the ball into the air, Ochaco is left to suffer in the festering awkward silence between her and her teacher as the watch Feedback race over to the 50-meter dash tacks.

“Um, Mr. Aizawa, you never fully answered my question from before…”

Aizawa looks on in disinterest acting like he never heard her.

And so they’re back to watching Feedback run around the P.E. Grounds from the Standing Long Jump to the Endurance Run. The stewing silence is really getting to the round-faced girl now, just how much longer are they just going to stand her?!

“Uraraka.”

Ochaco nearly jumps in surprise, she had gotten so used to the silence that she wasn’t expecting Aizawa to say something. “Y-yes?”

“Would you care to explain your secondary Quirk to me?”

**…**

Que total and utter panic. Ochaco leaps back as if to get away waving her arms about in a frenzy as a look of horror adorns her face. Could he have found out about All Might’s Quirk? “Wha?! What-secondary-Quirk? What-is-that-anyway? Never-heard-of-one! Where-do-you-get-one?! I’m-not-acting-weird! You’re acting weird”

Way to be subtle, Uraraka, he’ll never suspect a thing.

Aizawa doesn’t look at all disturbed by her reaction, in fact he may have been expecting it. “I already know about your Zero-Gravity Quirk thanks to your file. But I’m talking about that Quirk you used during the entrance exam.”

“The entrance exam?” Oh, right he means how she punched the 0-pointer’s face in.

How is she going to explain this? All Might and her never even thought about a cover story…that probably should have been something to prioritize, even Deku has an alibi to explain the Omnitrix.

 _‘What should I do? Do I tell him the truth? No…or maybe…?’_ Maybe she should just play along with Aizawa’s assumption. “To be honest, I didn’t become aware of it until the entrance exam.” That is pretty much the truth. “And I’m not fully sure what it is or what it’s capable of and because of that I didn’t see how updating my Quirk Registry would be any help.”

In the background Feedback flops onto the ground having completed the Endurance Run and now he’s onto the Seated-Toe Touch.

Aizawa scratches at his cheek his mind replaying what he witnessed during the exam. “From what I understand you’re Zero-Gravity is pretty straight forward: press all five fingers onto something and it becomes weightless, pressing your fingers together releases this effect, and if you use it too much you could get nauseous. Am I correct?” His eyes drift to her right arm, the arm that she used to demolish the behemoth of a robot. “But that power you used, even unintentionally, was not something you could feasible do with Zero-Gravity and so my conclusion is…your Quirk evolved.”

 _‘Evolved…?’_ This may be an out for her, but she has some questions. “What do you mean?”

“It’s rare, but it does occur, where people experience a dramatic change or facet of their Quirks, usually in extremely stressful situations. Sort of like a last minute safeguard.”

“How could that be though?”

He shrugs. “Not sure, honestly, there’s so much we as a society don’t understand about Quirks. Hell, we can’t even say how or why we were given these abilities, yet we have them.” Aizawa’s eyes drift upward towards the clear blue sky as if it holds the answers, before his gaze falls back towards the P.E. Grounds. “Honestly, I thought Midoriya had multiple Quirks as well, but from what I’ve seen he only has one OP Quirk…although with a major weakness.”

Ochaco isn’t quite sure what he means until she takes a look for herself. He has a time limit. It looks like the Omnitrix has timed out and Izuku, as a human, is going through the tests again so Aizawa can compare his basic stats.

“There are all kinds of Quirks out in the world, it’s not at all surprising.”

 _‘Huh, what do you know? I guess he doesn’t know about All Might’s Quirk, but…what is he getting at?’_ Ochaco inhales before speaking. “But sir, what does this have to do with my quote-on-quote expulsion?”

“Just like with Midoriya we need to understand the limits and capabilities of your latent Quirk. So, I need you to run the tests again but only use the…superpowered version of your Quirk.”

That may be an issue.

“But sir,” Ochaco gazes at her open hand. “I can’t fully control it yet,” Her frown deepens. “heck, I don’t even know how to properly summon it.”

And if she can’t even summon One For All how could she even consider herself All Might’s successor?

Aizawa scratches his head, an annoyed expression adorns his face. “Ugh, well I guess that explains why you never used it in the first place.” He exhales. “Alright, I guess we have a starting point now.” He cups his mouth thinking on how to move on from here.

Eventually something comes to mind. “Meditate.”

“W-what?”

“You are going to meditate. I want you to sit and think on your Quirk.” Aizawa turns pointing a finger at her head. “You need to reflect on how and why your Quirk activated. What were you feeling? What was going on in your mind when it appeared? And what do you know about it? Contemplate on all of these things.” He moves his finger downward until it’s pointing at her heart. “When you do then and only then will you truly know how to summon your new found power.” He begins to step away so he can check up on Izuku’s progress (he’s currently performing the Standing Long Jump). “You have until Midoriya fully completes the tests that should give you plenty of time.” With that final piece of instructions her homeroom teacher takes his leave.

Ochaco grips her wrist, her mind repeating Aizawa’s instructions. _‘Reflect on how I felt, huh…?’_ But what was she feeling, thinking, during that moment? ‘It was just so fast she can’t recall any of those things. Was she scared? Yes. Happy? No. Angry? Maybe. Sad? No.

But what was going through her mind? What was it…?

Ochaco grabs her head in frustration. “Hmmm, this may take longer than I thought!”

And so for the next hour or so this is how things played out: Ochaco eventually took a seat under a nearby tree to ponder about how to properly summon One For All. When she thinks she has a breakthrough she would focus as hard as she can, her hands balled up into tight fists, trying to get One For All to show some kind of response. All attempts end in failure, and her becoming more and more frustrated. It gets so bad at one point that she actually screams out in madden fury as she rolls around the dirt like a child throwing a tantrum.

Meanwhile, Izuku wears himself ragged as he goes through transformation after transformation the only rest is when the Omnitrix has to recharge allowing him to relief himself and get some much needed water.

Four Arms really proved himself during the physical tests, for obvious reasons, though he did skip the Grip Strength mainly because he already did it earlier.

Water Hazard also does fairly well especially on the ball throw and the long jump. For the last one Izuku took a page out of Bakugou’s playbook by rocketing himself up and over the sand pit by blasting water behind him. The Sit-Ups and Seated Touches, however, were embarrassing to say the least; as it turns out Water Hazard isn’t exactly flexible.

Ditto, though, does really well at the Sit-Ups considering his diminutive size, heck a clone was actually holding his feet down for him for this one. The clones also proved useful during the Standing-Long Jump and Endurance Run: Izuku tried to do a human (Splixson) ladder to reach across to the other side, but they ended up tipping over and only made it a quarter of the way and as for the Endurance Run Ditto would create a clone to tag in and continue after a few laps… Stubby short legs are really not meant for this kind of stuff. 

Terraspin does a fairly average job all things considered, although, he messed up on the ball throw. The whirlwind he made ended up throwing the ball off course and so it didn’t reach as far as he thought it would.

XLR8 also proved himself during most of the exercises minus the Grip Strength, his species isn’t really built towards strength, just look at his thin arms.

Izuku struggles the most as Grey Matter and Ripjaws: one because of his tiny size and the other because they had to stop and hose him down with water in order for him to even breathe. Aizawa really didn’t find it at all amusing to see a fishman flop around on the ground gasping for breath.

While Izuku rests after nearly suffocating, Ochaco continues to try and fail to summon All Might’s Quirk. “I can’t do it!” Ochaco flops onto her back trying to find solace amongst the clouds.

She keeps trying to call upon the fear she felt and worry she felt when she took down the 0-pointer but still nothing.

Deciding to take a quick break, for the hundredth time, Ochaco sits up cross legged as Lodestar sprints the 50-Meter Dash, well, more like he pulls himself forward by magnetizing the metal chain fence at the other end of the P.E. Grounds.

 _‘How does he do it?’_ Her face scrunches up in irritation. _‘He’s Quirkless and yet he never seems to struggle with activating his powers. I have two and I can’t even turn one on!’_

She’s missing something, but what is it? Maybe…maybe she’s focusing on the wrong thing.

She inhales and then exhales. _‘Okay Ochaco let’s think back one last time. What was going on: there was a loud crash, then the ground shook, people were screaming, and she was scared… No.’_ She shakes her head, her hair whipping around her face. _‘That’s not everything I…I saw Deku he was trapped and he…was going to die! And I was terrified! No!! Stop it Ochaco fear and adrenaline wasn’t the answer…but what is?’_ Deku was trapped and going to die. He was in trouble. He was scared. He…needed saving.

“That’s it!!” Ochaco springs to her feet as eureka strikes. “I have been focusing on the wrong thing!” She raises her fists readying another attempt. _‘I need to focus on that, the need I felt to do something, to take action, to save the day!’_ She didn’t force One For All out it surged through her, she unknowingly willed it forward, that’s what she must do not force it but releases it!

She takes a fighting stance her fist reeling behind her, a look of focus and determination adorns her features.

All Might continues to observe it’s all he really can do other than ponder on and on about what’s she’s going to do.

There it is the flow, the rushing wave of immense power coursed her arm in the form of a pink illuminating aura. “Now!” She launches her fist upward and in spectacular fashion a whirlwind blasts forward into the air like a beam of light.

The blast of wind kicks up the earth around her launching dust and grass at her teacher and Lodestar both were caught off guard by the sudden display of power.

Ochaco stares in wonder of her great feat, her eyes drift down to her arm that’s encased in a heavenly glow. “I…I… I did it!!” She cries out in pure blissful joy. She’s really done it! “Ow, but it hurts.” The pink aura evaporates as she gently grabs her arm, it’s red, bruised, and swelling. _‘Hgn, I really need to dial it back.’_

“Well, done.” Aizawa approaches, although she does notice that his voice remains as indifferent as ever. “Although it took you longer than expected.” Yeah, nearly two hours. “Did you figure it out?”

“I-I think so, although it seems I need to work on the output though.” She raises her arm, wincing in pain, so he could take a look for himself.

“It appears so.” Aizawa pulls out a little piece of paper and a pen, before jotting something down. “Here go see Recovery Girl and get that fixed up.”

She takes the note, reading it over; it’s an injury notice for the school’s nurse. “Right.”

An exhausted Lodestar joins the two, he slouches over as he regains his breath. “Nice…job…Uraraka.”

In a flash of red light Izuku takes Lodestar’s place.

“Thanks, Deku. But are you okay?”

Izuku nods his head, his hair sticking to his sweaty forehead. Man, he’s really sweating like a pig understandable considering he had to perform the Quirk Apprehension Test multiple times!

Aizawa doesn’t even offer the boy a sympathetic look as if he’s expected to work himself to the bone. Well, when you consider the school’s modo then that just may be the case. “We really need to see if we can change that time limit of yours.” He pulls out his phone before a large holographic display projects itself above them.

Names: Ranks: 

Four Arms 1st

Feedback 2nd

Water Hazard 3rd

XLR8 4th

Terraspin 5th

Lodestar 6th

Izuku Midoriya 7th

Ditto 8th

Ripjaws 9th

Grey Matter 10th

Izuku smiles, proud of the results.

“Don’t look so smug. But good job nonetheless, now I have a good base to work with. However, I hope you know what this means.”

Izuku leans his head to the side. “What sir?”

Ochaco wonders the same thing, she might as well listen up as well.

Their teacher releases an exasperated breath. “Even with your Quirk, especially because of your Quirk, you have to work even more than anyone else here.”

“What do you mean?”

Even Ochaco looks a bit taken back, their teacher is really confusing!

“Since your Quirk allows you access to multiple Quirks that means you have to train yourself to use each and every one of them to their full potential.”

 _‘He’s right,’_ The alien transforming human peers back up at the scoreboard looking over all of his scores. _‘Just because I have access to all these aliens doesn’t mean I can slack off. If anything right now I have to work 10 times harder not only for my aliens but for myself as well…’_ He views his own results, as in his normal weak human form results; 7th place not that impressive when you think about it, heck it should be 8th considering Ripjaws did so poorly because they had to stop and get him water the entire time. _‘Compared to my aliens I’m actually pretty weak and fragile in comparison even with Thirteen’s physical training.’_ And there will definitely be times where he can’t rely on the Omnitrix. What if it were to malfunction or run out of power while he was confronting a villain or performing a rescue?! He needs to make sure that he’s efficient with all of his transformations, he needs to be adaptable, and he can’t ignore his own capabilities. “I’ll work hard, sir!”

His teacher approves, although he gives no indication of showing it.

Ochaco, still cradling her injury, considers her own progress or lack thereof. She too has a lot of hard work ahead of her, starting with her power output.

“Well any way I say that’s enough for the day. Midoriya do you mind seeing Uraraka to the infirmary I rather she not get injured any further.”

“You got it.”

After a farewell nod of their heads Izuku leads the way to the infirmary, besides hopefully this little side quest will give him some time to relax.

Aizawa watches as his students enter the building before he decides to call out his somewhat incompetent colleagues. “Did you two enjoy the show?” He doesn’t even turn to look at them and after what they’ve been doing there’s no need to show them that much respect. “Don’t bother hiding, honestly, it’s amazing none of the students noticed, especially you.” He is of course referring to All Might and his magnificent glory that is only out completed by the sun itself.

The Number One Hero steps away from behind his hideaway and approaches the less than friendly pro hero. **“THAT WAS A PRETTY NASTY PRANK YOU PULLED. THREATENING EXPULSION, SERIOUSLY?”**

“What makes you think it was a prank?”

 **“NANI?”** That remark makes All Might a bit wary.

“I was being completely serious if any of those students at any point demonstrated that they don’t have what it takes to become heroes then there’s no point in keeping them around.”

All Might grimaces. **_‘ISN’T THAT A BIT HARSH THOUGH?’_**

“But anyway care to explain why you were watching?”

Thirteen appears from behind All Might’s muscular form. “We were curious about Class 1-A since they’ll be both of our first classes this semester.”

**“R-RIGHT!”**

Aizawa eyes his colleagues try to gauge if they’re lying or not. “Hm, if that’s the case I’ll send you the results of the Quirk Apprehension Test.”

The Number One Hero gives him a big thumbs up. **“MUCH APPRECIATED!”**

Aizawa eyes All Might for a moment, silently coming to some sort of conclusion, before turning away to leave. “All Might since I’m technically your senior when it comes to teaching how about some free advice?”

**“LAY IT ONE ME!”**

“As a teacher it’s your job to prepare your students for any and all situations.” He shifts his head ever so slightly making sure that the big buffoon is listening to his words. “Fail to do that and it could spell disaster for everyone.” With nothing left to do Aizawa takes his leave probably to find a quiet place to nap.

As they watch him lurk away Thirteen pats All Might’s arm gaining his attention. “He’s right you know. You have to make sure you’re giving each student the proper amount of time and effort to help them succeed. That includes considering their feelings and even circumstances.”

**“WHAT DO YOU MEAN?”**

“Every student is different and I don’t just mean their personalities and Quirks but their values, ambitions, and circumstances. It’s good when you keep yourself open to those kinds of things as to better understand them allowing you to better teach them.”

All Might considers the advice eyeing his much shorter colleague. He really can’t tell if they’re serious or not thanks to the large black helmet.

Thirteen sighs waving his hand as if to say not to take things too seriously. “Other than that just be yourself.”

Their phone rumbles in their pocket, Thirteen slides it out of his pocket to find a message requesting for their presence.

“Ah, that would be our boss. I better get going and see what he wants.” Thirteen pockets their phone before jogging away for the main U.A. building. They wave All Might goodbye. “Take care All Might!”

 **“SEE YA!”** He returns the wave keeping it up until All Might is the only one left on the P.E. grounds. **_‘I NEED TO TAKE THEIR ADVICE TO HEART…’_** He sighs looking up to the once clear sky, it looks like clouds have started rolling in, and maybe it’s a sign of a storm occurring in the future. **_‘I NEED TO DO BETTER FOR YOUNG URARAKA.’_** He recalls watching with festering anguish as Ochaco struggled to summon One For All. **_‘I SHOULD HAVE BETTER PREPARED HER, THEN AGAIN I NEVER REALLY HAD THAT MUCH TROUBLE WITH ONE FOR ALL…I GUESS THAT’S WHAT THIRTEEN MEANS BY EVERYONE BEING DIFFERENT.’_** All Might coughs into his hand as a splatter of blood appears on his hand. Realizing he’s been buffed out for far too long today he poofs back into his much weaker form. “Tomorrow is a new day. So, I’ll just have to make sure I do things right.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Ochaco lets out one big yawn as both her and Izuku exited through the main U.A. doors.

“How’s the arm?”

Ochaco flexes said arm. “It’s in tiptop shape!” Her smile wavers slightly. _‘For now at least. It’s more likely I’m going to experience even more pain in the future if I want to master All Might’s Quirk.’_

“So, this new power of yours are you finally going to tell me about it?” In a flash, Izuku has his Quirk Analysis notebook out and ready.

 _‘He sure is quick with that thing.’_ Ochaco offers a worried smile. “Yeah, about that.” She claps her hands together. “I’m so sorry but they haven’t given me permission to talk about it yet! I’m sorry!”

“It’s okay I understand, there’s no rush.” Despite his smile, his mind can’t help but be disappointed. _‘Although I really want to know about this transferring Quirk and what it can do.’_

“So, what do you think of our teacher, Mr. Aizawa?”

“Oh, uh, he’s…strict.”

 _‘That may be an understatement.’_ Ochaco holds a finger to her chin. “You said he was the pro hero Eraserhead right?”

“Yeah, he can cancel Quirks just by looking at you.”

Ochaco’s eyes widen in amazement. “Oh, wow. Then you must have been really lucky.”

“Hm?”

Ochaco points at her own eyes with one hand and pulls up her hair with the other. “Well, if he used his Quirk on you then there’s a pretty good chance that it wouldn’t work, right?” She releases her hair. “Cause you don’t really have a Quirk.”

**…**

“Aaaahhhh!!” Izuku collapses right then and there, holding his head as he presses it against the ground.

“Deku?! Are you okay?!”

“Oh, m-m-m-m-my G-g-g-g-god! H-he c-could e-end up e-e-ex-exposing m-me!”

He totally overlooked this! If Eraserhead decides to use his Quirk on Izuku then it won’t work and he may discover the truth! What is he supposed to do then? Play oblivious? Beg him to keep a world shattering secret? Oh, man, this could be a disaster.

Ochaco pales. “W-well, I-I’m s-sure we c-can find a work around like…” Ochaco presses her fist into her palm. “I got it!! We’ll throw a blanket over you every time we think he’s going to use it on you.”

Izuku presses his head onto the ground further wishing he could bury it into the dirt as he releases a painstaking moan.

“What is this? You are a student of U.A. you should not be laying in the dirt like some boar! You have to represent this great establishment at all times!”

As Izuku stops moaning and lifts his head up, Ochaco smiles worried at the newcomers hoping they didn’t hear their conversation. “Oh, hi Iida, Shoji.”

Iida and Shoji are both hanging around the main gate of U.A. They’re both in their school uniforms with their bags slinged over their shoulders.

Iida’s arm shoots up quickly like a robot trying to mimic waving. “Hello, Uraraka.”

“What are you two doing here still?” She looks between the both of them waiting for an answer.

Shoji is the one to reply. “Well, after we were sent back to the classroom the principal came by to give us our own welcome speech and guidance sessions. Since Mr. Aizawa didn’t let us attend the real one.”

Iida decides to cut in on this. “Yes, it was quite the warm welcome like that one would expect from such a prestigious academy that is U.A. Although, I did think the principal was a rather odd man, but even so he held himself with such professionalism. It was really quite inspiring! …”

Shoji gives his classmate an odd and somewhat concerned look. _‘You must have been the only one to enjoy it, since it was nearly two hours long.’_

As Iida continues to ramble on about the level of grandeur here, Izuku gets back on his feet and listens on to his fellow classmate. _‘You know I thought he was mean at first, but really he just has a lot of respect for heroes and school.’_

Iida cups his chin as if to consider something critical. “Although, I don’t think that can be said for everyone here.” Iida grimaces shaking his head from side to side. “Our own homeroom teacher isn’t above pulling dirty tricks. And what’s up with that Bakugou character he outright tried to attack a fellow student! Unforgivable.”

Izuku sheepishly chuckles, mostly to himself, at that remark. _‘To be honest, Kacchan’s reaction may have been justified…for once.’_

“Excuse me, kero.”

Ochaco turns around as Izuku peeks around her, standing behind her is the frog-like girl who must have approached them while they were talking. She must have been hiding out somewhere nearby and waiting to talk to them.

She’s short with a relatively slender build, her hands are notably large, with a very wide yet somewhat cute mouth, and oval-shaped eyes. Her hair is a dark sea-green color, and is very long, reaching all the way to her waist, the ends tied together at the bottom in a bow of hair.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Tsuyu Asui but please call me Tsu.”

Everyone is quick to greet her with friendly smiles “Nice to meet you Tsu/Asui.”

Izuku offers a smile. “Is there something we can help you with?”

“In a way. I just wanted to talk to you.” She points a large finger at the only other greenette of Class 1-A. “Specifically you Midoriya.”

What is she talking about? “Oh, about what?”

“It’s about that form you took, the blue dinosaur one; the one that can move really fast, kero.” If anyone was paying attention they would have noticed Iida in the background clutching at his chest as if it was stabbed.

Izuku takes a moment to think. “Oh, you mean XLR8?” He asks with a smile.

Tsuyu nods. “Yes. Do you mind changing into it real quick, kero?”

Izuku shrugs his shoulders. “Um, sure I don’t see the harm.” With little to no hesitation Izuku transforms himself into the requested form.

The iridescent light is quick to disappear allowing XLR8 to appear. “Well here I am!”

Tsuyu eyes scan the creature from head to tail, before coming to a conclusion. “I knew it.”

XLR8 slowly lowers his hands. “Pardon?”

“You probably don’t remember but you saved me once.”

“I did?!” Now that’s a shock! Where and when did he save her?! The mall maybe?

“Yes, but I understand if you forget it was a rather quick thing.” It’s really hard to gauge whether or not she’s offended by his forgetfulness, but her voice doesn’t seem to hint at an animosity. “It was a runaway truck. It was going to crash into me and my little siblings, but you used your speed to save us.”

“Siblings…?” XLR8 scratches his chin trying to remember such an incident. “Oh, I remember now! It was a month before the entrance exam! The driver had lost control over the truck and was screaming like a mad man.”

He did save her, so those little kids were her siblings, and she’s in the hero course, too! What are the odds? Well, that explains a lot after all she did look like she was calm and ready to jump over the truck so she must be really good with her Quirk if she’s here. “

“That’s the one.”

“Oh, my I never even recognized you.” XLR8 bows repeated at such a fast speed that Tsuyu can almost use him as a fan. “I’m so sorry!”

“Why are you apologizing?” XLR8 stops to peer up at her. “You saved me and for that,” She bows her long green hair flips over her head as she does so. “Thank you, you saved not only my life but the lives of my precious siblings. Thank you.”

XLR8 is left speechless; the last thing he honestly expected was a thank you. It’s not like he did it for the recognition, even so he can’t stop the sense of pride in his heart. He feels light yet like he could take on anything. Maybe he can with all his aliens there’s no situation that he can’t handle. He can save the day!

“Well done, Midoriya!” Thanks Iida, you killed the moment.

XLR8 flinches in response, he was not mentally prepared for Iida’s loud and stern voice.

With a mischievous grin, like one of a cat playing with its prey, Ochaco coyly elbows Izuku’s side. “Look at you already saving damsels in distress.”

It feels like XLR8’s face is boiling with scalding hot water. He's pretty sure that steam is emitting from his mouth as if his soul has withdrawn from his own body. Ochaco laughs at the sight of a blue reptile’s face turning into a complete shade of red. It’s so bad XLR8 has his visor shut close as to help hide his face, but despite that he still uses his claws hands to hide behind as he begs Ochaco to stop mocking him.

While XLR8 tries to calm down Shoji approaches Tsuyu and introduces himself. Afterwards they watch on as Iida continues to praise XLR8 for his chivalry and Ochaco enjoys his reactions. “You know the first time I met him he was trying to save Uraraka then, too.”

“That doesn’t surprise me, kero.” Tsuyu looks up to the giant of a teen. He looks down and finds a kind friendly smile on her face, and despite her mostly unreadable expression it is clear that she is smiling. “It is nice to know that we have such amazing people in our class, huh?”

“Absolutely.”

Iida once again cuts the moment short, “Come on now! Let’s not dawdle we all need to be at our respective homes before dusk!” He begins marching past the main gates. “Let’s go!”

Everyone else salutes simultaneously before following along. “Aye!!”

A thought pops into XLR8’s mind, he unnecessarily zips himself to Ochaco’s side. “Speaking of which, you live in Endori, correct? That's pretty far from here. I could give you a ride if you want. I mean…?” He gestures to himself, knowing that she would understand what he’s offering.

Ochaco gasps, but not of worry but of a simple mistake. “Oh, I didn’t tell you.”

XLR8 blinks. “Tell me what?”

“My folks were so proud of me for getting into the Hero Course that they got me my own apartment here in Musutafu!”

“Really? That’s great.”

“Yup, it’s a tiny little thing; it’s a studio apartment” It’s basically one big room with enough space for a makeshift kitchen. “But since I’m the only one using it I don’t really need a whole lot of space.” Her eyes drift away as she considers something else. “But I’ve been thinking of getting a part time job to help pay for necessities. This way my folks don’t have to pay for everything.”

“That’d be nice. Any ideas what you would do?”

She smiles softly. “I have one idea.”

As the newly group of five make their way to the train station a certain ash-blonde bastard with a pension to violence glares at their retreating forms.

“Dammit, Deku! Just what the hell is going on?! You’re supposed to be Quirkless?! Have you been lying all this time just so humiliate me?! Well guess what? You better not get comfortable shitty Deku, because the first chance I get to put you back in your place I can guarantee,” There’s a maddening glint in his crimson eyes. “I’ll fucking kill you!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that was Ch.11. What do you think? Please let me know. Again Ch.12 may take a while to get here, mainly because my laptop is broken. Look forward to Ch.12 nonetheless since it'll be All Might's combat training!


	12. Boiling Point

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Battle!! It's time for Izuku to confront yet another terrible excuse for a friend! And this time there is no holding back. Let's go Izuku! You can do it!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!! I got my laptop back and it’s as good as new! And even better news, inspiration really struck while I was writing this chapter hence why it’s out earlier than expected. Isn’t that great?! I think you’re all are really going to enjoy this one.

The following morning, Class 1-A took part in their normal everyday classes, with many of them wishing that they were doing anything else. Such classes include English with Present Mic, who is way too enthusiastic and loud for that early in the morning.

Present Mic stands at the front of the class holding a standard English textbook.

Present Mic is a tall, slim man with long blond hair, which he wears spiked upwards in a huge tuft behind his head, and a small mustache. He has rectangular eyes with concentric greenish-yellow pupils, which are hidden behind a pair of orange-tinted shades.

His hero costume consists of a black jacket with a very tall collar with studs, matching black pants, and knee-high boots. Around his neck is a large directional speaker which is clearly used to assist his Quirk.

He turns to the class and notices their dulled expressions. “Now which of these sentences contains a mistake?”

_‘So, boring…’_

“What’s with those bored expressions?!” He swings his arm into the air with too much energy that is physically possible that early in the morning. “All right everybody! HANDS UP AND SHOW ME SOME SPIRIT!!!”

 _‘Too loud!’_ Ochaco has to press her textbook around her ears in order to even muffle his voice. He’s so loud in fact that it’s actually making her head spin.

Next up for them is Midnight’s Modern Hero Art History.

Midnight is a tall, curvaceous woman with sky blue eyes, and red painted nails. She has abundant spiky dark purple hair with strands reaching down below her waist.

Her hero costume is very similar to one of a traditional dominatrix. She wears a black leather breastless leotard over a white bodysuit, which emphasizes her…assets, the leotard possessing red gemstone-like accessories in a vertical pattern from the collar to the midriff. She also wears translucent black thigh-high stockings and black knee-boots. She has a small, red mask outlining her eyes, a handcuff on each wrist, and a red utility belt decorated with gold studs around her hips, a matching pentagonal buckle in its center. And for some reason she’s constantly whipping around a flogger-style whip.

Izuku is furiously blushing in his seat as Midnight trots between the aisles as if she’s modeling for a fashion show. _‘Why the heck did someone let her become a teacher?!’_

He’s not the only one being affected, even some of the girls look a little hot and bothered by her antics. But whether Midnight is aware or not of her effect on them is unclear.

Midnight swings around to face the class. “The Sokovia Accords were signed in 2016 to further regulate superpowered and enhanced individuals. However, the Accords resulted in the split of one of the most prominent hero organizations of the twenty first century.” She cracks her flogger-style whip. “Can anyone tell me why they split up?!”

The dark-haired girl sitting a seat behind Izuku raises her hand. “I can, ma’am.”

“Yaoyorozu!”

Momo Yaoyorozu is a fairly tall teenage girl with a rather mature physique, considering her age. She has long black hair that’s tied into a spiky ponytail with onyx eyes.

Yaoyorozu stands clearing her throat before she speaks. “You see, one side believed that those with Quirks should be placed in check and overseen by the government. While the opposite side believed that everyone had the freedom to choose how and when they can use their Quirks.”

_‘Wow, she’s smart. Did she have that memorized already?’_

That’s how their morning went until it was lunch time. Where they discovered that the food is to die for, even the cheap stuff; it’s like it came straight out of a five-star restaurant! Although that’s thanks to the Cook Hero: Lunch Rush’s master craftsmanship.

Afterwards Class 1-A find themselves back in their homeroom class waiting in anticipation for what’s bound to be their first ever true class of the Hero Course.

A girl with earphone jacks hanging from each of her earlobes leans forward in her seat as to talk to Shoji who is sitting directly in front of her. “I wonder who our teacher is going to be.”

Her name is Kyoka Jiro and she’s a petite, slender built girl with triangular, lazy-looking onyx eyes. Her hair is short, about chin length, and is dark purple in color with an asymmetrical fringe, and two reflections shaped like sound waves on either side of her head. Her most prominent features are of course the earphone jacks that act like extra limbs. 

Shoji turns to address her. “I heard they got someone new this year. But I’m not sure who it is.”

Tsuyu overhears them. “Maybe Mr. Aizawa will be in charge of it, kero.”

“I hope not.” A pinked-skin girl leans back in her seat. “He’s a total downer.”

Listening in, Ochaco internally gasps. _‘Wait, didn’t All Might mention something about working here. So that must mean…’_ A wide smug smile spreads on her face. _‘No way?! He is, oh I can’t wait!’_ Her eyes gleam with anticipation, she can’t wait, this class is so going to be awesome! _‘I bet Deku’s reaction will be the best, he’s going to be so surprised I wouldn’t doubt if he started cheering like Present Mic.’_ She giggles at the thought, although she would much prefer it if he didn't scream out like their loudmouthed teacher.

 **“I. AM. HERE!”** That’s the signal, before the class door swings open and a glorious titan of a figure presents himself, his cape bellowing forward emphasizing his entrance **“WALKING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!”**

“It’s All Might!! Incredible he’s really gonna teach us!!”

“That his Silver Age costume!”

“His text is even different from ours!!”

 **“HELLO STUDENTS ARE YOU READY FOR,”** he pauses for effect. **“HERO BASIC TRAINING?!”**

“YEAH!!!” The class roars in excitement, their hearts are racing, making them even more pumped for what’s to come.

All Might let’s out a full-hearted laugh as the students decide to bask in his greatness. 

Izuku’s eyes immediately light up like that of a child waking up on Christmas and discovering a mountain of gifts under the tree. _‘It’s All Might!! It’s really All Might!!’_ His grin is huge and full of pure joy, almost as if he won the lottery. _‘I, I can’t believe it! He’s here, he’s really here! And as a teacher!’_

Ochaco, who’s gotten used to All Might more than dramatic entrances, is busy observing Izuku’s reaction, finding his shining grin a sight to behold.

Somehow his grin becomes even wider and brighter. _‘Amazing, with the Number One Hero teaching us, there’s no doubt we’ll become outstanding heroes!’_ A brilliantly light lightbulb pops into his mind. _‘Wait, I should ask him about different techniques to apply to my transformations!’_ Izuku hurriedly digs through his backpack looking for his Quirk Analysis notebook. _‘This’ll be great! I can ask him all sorts of things, about his Quirk, how to best apply myself, and…and…’_

Oh, no. Izuku’s grin and previously bright demeanor falls apart. ‘ _Wait…’_ Izuku shakily looks up toward the Symbol of Peace who is trying and failing to calm the class. _‘He…he knows. I-I told him I was Quirkless!!’_ Izuku grips his head before smashing it down onto the hard surface of his desk, in an attempt to hide himself for as long as he can. _‘What do I do?! Should I call Thirteen?! Should I fake being sick?! Oh, this is terrible!!’_ It really is! With all the excitement of his idol being his teacher, he had temporarily forgotten that he already encountered All Might once before! Not exactly his fondest memory for him; it’s not every day when your own personal hero tells you to give up on your dreams. _‘What do I tell him?! Maybe he doesn’t recognize me!! Oh, but what if he does? If I’m not careful he could end up finding out the truth.’_ Izuku grumbles to himself as he stews in self-agony.

Ochaco notices and she is not liking what she’s seeing. _‘Deku…are you alright?’_

She’s not the only one who’s noticed the boy’s state of mind. All Might glances over towards Izuku trying to gauge his reaction. _‘ **IT’S TOO SOON TO OUTRIGHT CONFRONT YOU. FOR NOW, I’LL WAIT AND SEE WHAT YOU CAN DO. AND MAYBE…SOME THINGS WILL COME TO LIGHT.’** _

All Might claps his hands, the class still hasn’t settled down, but he needs to get things moving.

 **“AS I WAS SAYING, THIS CLASS WILL PUT YOU THROUGH ALL SORTS OF SPECIAL TRAINING TO MOLD YOU INTO FINE HEROES!!”** Not to mention a ton of credits. **“NO TIME TO DALLY. TODAY’S ACTIVITY IS THIS!!”** He flashes out a large laminated card with the word **BATTLE** written out on it in big bold lettering. **“BATTLE TRAINING!!”**

Bakugou grins like a feral dog, as Izuku finally pops his head up a worried expression having fallen over his face. Meanwhile, Ochaco balls her fists raising one up as to show how ready she is for this.

 **“AND FOR THAT…YOU NEED THESE!”** All Might clicks on a remote that he must have been hiding away somewhere.

Four slots begin to rumble out of the left wall nearest the board revealing rows of silver suitcases with bolded numbers on them. Inside are undoubtedly their costumes that they specifically requested, the thought of showing off their unique and creative designs gets some of them so excited that they’re already leaping out of their seats.

 **“AFTER YOU CHANGE, MEET ME IN GROUND BETA!!”**

While most of the class rush for their costumes, Izuku hesitantly grips his backpack. In other circumstances he’d probably be just as pumped as everybody else, but how could he be excited when the man, the hero, the legend that is All Might is right there? The very same All Might that turned his back on him and told him to give it all up.

Bakugou grabs his briefcase before his red eyes trace back to Izuku. Seeing Izuku’s hopeless expression is enough to make the ash-blonde grin. _‘Damn, right you better be scared Deku. Because today’s the day I show all these losers, including All Might, how much better I am than all of them!’_ He swings the case over his shoulder before stomping off for the locker rooms. _‘And I’ll do it by destroying your weak and useless ass.’_

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Wow, just check out your bod!” The pink-skinned girl stands way too close for Ochaco’s liking.

Currently the girls of Class 1-A find themselves in the girls’ locker room changing into their bright and colorful hero costumes.

Ochaco had just unbuttoned and removed her uniform top when suddenly her shameless classmate, who’s already ditch the U.A. jacket, started admiring her muscles. 

The pink-skinned girl with fluffy hair boldly pokes at Ochaco’s stomach, admiring her abs. “You must work out like crazy.”

Mina Ashido is a girl of medium height. And probably due to her Quirk, her skin is a light shade of pink with rather square eyes, their sclera black and their irises bright yellow. Her face is framed by fluffy unruly hair, which is a pleasant pink color, slightly darker than that of her skin. She has two thin, pale yellow horns protruding from her head, hooked squarely and leaning diagonally to opposite sides.

Ochaco’s cheeks blush even more than they already are. “Oh, uh, I guess you could say that. But they’re nothing special.”

Yeah, right! Thanks to “The All-American Dream Plan: the Lady Liberty Version” Ochaco’s muscles and body have really developed. At first, she was afraid that she would become a bit too buff, not exactly the best look for her in her own opinion, but her body is like that of an Olympic swimmer! Well-toned, slim, and it easily makes her probably the most physically able female of Class 1-A. Unless that invisible girl, Tooru Hagakure, is secretly muscular as well. Either way she should be a bit prouder, it took a lot of hard work and discipline to gain these results.

Mina backs off slightly looking very unconvinced. “Ah, geeze, you gotta be kidding me! Your muscles are so awesome!” With an annoyed expression Mina raises her fist into the air in protest. “Don’t be scared to show off your goods, girl!”

Hagakure joins in too presumably she raises her fist into the air too, the only indication of her is her shirt. “Yeah!”

Oh, the irony.

As Mina and Hagakure continue to howl on about being proud of one’s body, Ochaco tries whatever she can to redirect the conversation. She fails. 

Standing nearby in front of her own locker, Jiro recoils at the sudden declarations, becoming extremely flustered all of a sudden. A slight blush forms on her face, as she holds her leather jacket closer. “What?!” Her gaze drifts to Yaoyorozu, specifically towards her more impressive…features. The purple-haired girl’s expression darkness with despair as she admires the taller female’s body. 

Yaoyorozu pulls up her large utility belt around her sleeveless crimson leotard that is way less modest than it has any right to be.

Said girl notices Jiro staring. “Is something the matter?”

Jiro’s entire face floods with blood as she spins away. “N-no!”

Tsuyu smiles softly from the bench enjoying the sight of her classmates interacting. “Kero.”

But fun can come later, right now they must prepare for Hero Basic Training.

Mina and Hagakure end their tirades so they could get their own costumes on finally allowing Ochaco a moment to breathe. _‘Combat training, huh?’_ Ochaco opens up her silver briefcase and gazes upon her own hero costume. ‘ _Today I’ll show everyone, and All Might what I’m capable of.’_ She grips her costume. _‘I will make you proud!’_

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Izuku waits along with the rest of Class 1-A’s male population. He’s so glad he brought his Quirk Analysis Notebook with him. _‘Everyone’s costumes are so cool!’_ He scribbles away, doodling each and every costume that he’s presented with from Iida’s knight like armor to a tailed male’s basic karate gi attire.

Everyone's designs are so different with their own unique styles, colors, and functions. It all makes Izuku a bit self-conscious of his own.

His costume is really nothing all that special when you look at it. The main center piece is of course the Omnitrix on his left wrist. Thankfully his mother had the foresight to make his left sleeve a bit shorter as to not cover his "watch". Other than that, his costume is a green full-body jumpsuit with a red belt, elbow pads, knee pads, and gloves, all of which match his signature red boots. He also has a mesh respirator with a makeshift smile as to mimic All Might's own immortal smile and hanging down behind his neck is a mask with long ear-like protrusions that are meant to resemble All Might's hair of all things. 

Izuku regrets that part greatly, hence why he’s decided not to put it on. But he’s not sure if he should have it removed altogether yet, after all his own mother made it for him as to show him that she fully supports his dream. It’s a symbol for him and him alone, so that he always remembers that his mother is always cheering him on. _‘How could I wear anything else?! Who cares if it’s not “efficient” or “cutting-edge? This is my hero costume!!’_

And he’s going to wear it proudly, minus the mask of course. But honestly, he’s actually struggling with throwing that thing on anyway, at the very least it’ll cover his face especially from the man himself, All Might.

Just because Izuku’s been going along with everything doesn’t mean he’s any less worried about All Might’s reaction to him getting into U.A. A Quirkless kid somehow gains a Quirk and enters into U.A. of all places should be impossible. And it is, at least in his case he is technically still Quirkless. _‘Huh now that I think about it. I’m actually the first and only Quirkless student in the hero course.’_ Rather than feeling like his self-worth is in question, Izuku’s heart swells with a bit of pride instead. _‘I guess…I unintentionally proved All Might wrong.’_

That still doesn’t change the ever-growing storm of worry in his stomach. Because when this is all over there’s a good chance that if, by chance, All Might recognizes him then he needs a proper way to explain himself. Sure, he can fall back on being a late bloomer but that would seem suspiciously convenient to the hero. Also, Thirteen said that not all heroes are or should be made aware of aliens so he can’t outright tell the man the truth. But then again…does he really owe him an answer? 

He was the one that nearly sent Izuku down a spiraling path, thankfully the Omnitrix arrived just in time to prevent it, but his heart still aches. Yet it makes sense why All Might said what he said, he’s the Number One Hero yet even he gets injured and has weaknesses. So, it makes sense why he would tell a Quirkless defenseless kid to not pursue their dream of becoming a hero. He was looking out for him… That still doesn’t make him feel any better.

But he understands if the Symbol of Peace could be weakened then that is especially true for someone Quirkless. _‘Huh, maybe that’s why All Might is teaching at U.A. This way he can cover up his time limit from the public by saying he’s using his time to teach.’_ Izuku nods. _‘Yeah, that must be it. I mean, why else would he be here?’_

“Looking good, Deku!” That was Ochaco’s voice.

Izuku spins around to greet her. “Thanks, Ura-RAKAKA!?!” His face flushes red.

Ochaco looks so amazing in her hero costume!

It’s a black full-bodysuit with a pale pink design down the middle of her torso with two black circles over her chest. She has circular wrist guards, a dark pink handle on the back of each one, wide knee-high boots with magenta soles and a two-piece belt around her waist, a pale-pink helmet with a tinted visor.

Ochaco manages a smile albeit a shy one as she rubs the back of her head. “I wish I’d been more specific on my request form. This suit’s so revealing. It’s embarrassing…” But she could probably get used to it, even she has to admit that it looks really good on her.

And she’s not the only one to think the same thing. Especially as all the other girls of the Hero Course join the rest of their class, who can’t help but admire their choices in costumes.

Especially two of the class’s male students, a blond-haired guy by the name of Denki Kaminari and Mineta. The two smile smugly each holding up a pair of thumbs up. “Being in the Hero Course rocks!”

Denki Kaminari is on the skinny side at least compared to his other classmates. He has relatively short blond hair with a black lightning-shaped streak on the left of his side fringe.

His hero costume consists of a black jacket with a white lightning pattern across his back, and matching pants with two lines running down his legs. He has a single, square-shaped earphone over his right ear with something resembling a radio antenna sticking out of the top. 

His fellow pervert, Minoru Mineta is the shortest student in their entire class with a large, round head, and rather large cheeks. His most notable features are his four large purple and black balls in something resembling a mohawk where his hair should be. 

His hero costume is very simplistic, consisting only of a purple shirt and mask with a yellow cape, boots, and gloves. His pants are white with a lighter purple trim, it kinda looks like a fruit bowl but it could also look like a diaper to others.

 _‘Perverts…’_ Izuku is embarrassed for the two of them.

With a quick shake of his head in attempt to rid himself of his own red cheeks he decides to change the subject. “So, you excited for combat training?”

“Oh, heck, yeah!” She pumps her fist forward in a display of her coolness. “I can’t wait.”

“Hm, hm, me too. Do you plan on showing off your…Quirk today?”

Ochaco needs a second to realize what he means. “Oh, uh, yeah I sure hope so.” She rubs her arm. “I still need to work on properly summoning it, but I’m hoping that I can accomplish that with today’s training.”

“That’s great and…” Izuku raises up his Quirk Analysis notebook “I can’t wait to witness your power, again! And this time I’ll be ready with my own notes.” He leans in close for the next part. “By the way, I don’t mean to be a bother, but…” He scans the area making sure nobody is listening in. “did you get permission yet?”

“Hm? Oh, yeah don’t worry about it.” Ochaco smiles tilting to the side with her hands behind her back. “I should have an answer for you by the end of the day.” 

While Izuku is unclear by what she’s getting at, he is nonetheless satisfied by that answer. Unbeknownst to him, All Might happened to notice Ochaco’s smile and subtle glance towards him. Even if he didn’t hear her something tells him that she’s reminding him of what they discussed a while back: telling Izuku Midoriya about One For All. He’s not so sure about that.

Now that everyone is present, he decides now is the time to begin, All Might clears his throat before speaking. **“SHALL WE BEGIN, MY WARDS?!”** That draws everyone’s attention. **“IT’S TIME FOR BATTLE TRAINING!!”**

Iida steps forward with an inquiry. “Sir! This appears to be the same field used in the Entrance Exam. Will we once again be performing cityscape maneuvers?!”

Ochaco cups her hand over her mouth whispering into Deku’s ear. “Iida’s costume is so cool”

Izuku cups his mouth too. “I know right.”

Iida’s costume consists of a black one-piece suit with a high collar, over which he wears various pieces of armor, all a pale silver in color. He wears a helmet covering his entire face with two curved horns just behind and a single spike sticking out of the back of his head. On his feet, he wears silver knee-high boots with gold accessories, and around his torso, he has three thick metal pipes.

All Might continues his explanation. **“NOPE! YOU’LL BE MOVING ON TO STEP TWO! INDOOR ANTIPERSONNEL BATTLE TRAINING!!”** He eyes his students ensuring they don’t miss his words. **“VILLAIN BATTLES ARE MOST COMMONLY SEEN OUTDOORS, BUT…”** His tone falls slightly taking a more serious vibe. **“STATISTICALLY, THE MOST HEINOUS VILLAINS ARE MORE LIKELY TO APPEAR INDOORS.”**

Both, Izuku’s and Ochaco’s minds flashback to how they fought off the villain Rojo in a store. Coming to the conclusion that All Might knows what he’s talking about.

**“BETWEEN CONFINEMENT, HOUSE ARREST, AND BLACKMARKET DEALS… IN THIS HERO-FILLED SOCIETY OF OURS… AHEM. THE CLEVEREST VILLAINS OUT THERE…LURK INDOORS!!”**

Now it’s time for him to explain the exercise. **“YOU’LL NOW BE SPLIT INTO “VILLAIN” TEAMS AND “HERO” TEAMS AND FACE OFF IN TWO-ON-TO BATTLES!!”**

Battles already?! Now this is a surprise for the class, most of them thought there would be more directional lessons before they moved on to actual combat. Heck, some of them have never really fought another living being before: human, alien, or otherwise.

Tsuyu decides to voice what’s on everybody’s mind. “So, no basic training?”

Her hero costume consists of a bright green bodysuit, tan-colored gloves, and two matching belts, one above her chest, and one around her waist. Two black lines run all the way down her suit, each framed with yellow, and she wears tight black boots with green webbed flippers resembling frogs’ toes on her feet. She wears a tan headband with goggles that have dark green-tinted lenses attached on either side.

**“PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE TEACHES YOU THE BASICS! THE DISTINCTION HERE IS THAT YOU WON’T BE FIGHTING DISPOSABLE ROBOTS.”**

“Sir, what determines victory?”

“Can I just blast everyone away?”

“Are you threatening to expel someone, like Mr. Aizawa did…?”

“How do we proceed to divide ourselves into teams?!”

“How fabulous is my cape?”

All Might points finger from one student to the next as he replies to each of their questions. **“I’LL ANSWER THAT IN A MINUTE. NO! ALSO, NO! YOU’LL SEE. AND IT’S DAZZLING!”**

Izuku is gobsmacked. _‘Huh, he was able to get all that.’_

All Might pulls out and flips open a little piece of paper. 

_‘A cheatsheet…!’_ Now that’s a surprise to Izuku.

The same cannot be said for Ochaco. _‘I’m honestly not surprised…’_

All Might then begins to read off his cheatsheet which apparently has his entire script written onto it. He explains that the villain team will hide and protect a “fake” nuclear weapon in the building, and it will be the hero team’s job to find the bomb and secure it. There is a time limit; the heroes have to either capture both villains or secure the bomb within the time limit while the villains have to protect the bomb until time is up or they too can capture the heroes.

Throwing away his cheatsheet, All Might pulls out two separate boxes with holes cut out of them. **“YOUR BATTLE PARTNERS WILL BE DECIDED BY DRAWING LOTS!”**

That doesn’t seem right to Iida. “Is that really the best way?!”

Izuku unwittingly speaks up, his hero nerd side temporarily revealing itself. “Makes sense because pros often have to team up with heroes from other agencies on the spot during emergencies.”

Shoji also chimes in. “In other words, in a real villain situation we won’t really get a say on who we get to team up with. So, we have to get used to adapting and cooperating with others.”

“I see…!” Iida turns back to their teacher putting up a hand in solace. “I apologize for getting ahead of myself. My mistake!”

**“IT’S FINE!! LET’S JUST GET TO IT!!”**

And so, began the team pairs:

Team A: Izuku Midoriya & Mezo Shoji 

Team B: Shoto Todoroki & Hanta Sero

Team C: Momo Yaoyorozu & Minoru Mineta

Team D: Katsuki Bakugou & Eijiro Kirishima 

Team E: Yuga Aoyama & Tenya Iida

Team F: Rikido Sato & Koji Koda

Team G: Denki Kaminari & Kyoka Jiro

Team H: Fumikage Tokoyami & Tsuyu Asui

Team I: Mashirao Ojiro & Toru Hagakure

Team J: Ochaco Uraraka & Mina Ashido 

Shoji places his large hand onto the smaller teen’s shoulder. “It looks like we’ll be teaming up for this one.”

“Yeah, looking forward to it.”

“By the way I like your costume, it’s a very simple design.”

“Thanks, back at ya…”

Shoji’s hero costume consists of a tight blue tank top, six white markings resembling eyes decorating it like a dice, connected at the top to a darker, more indigo-colored mask. He has a belt with another, larger eye shape embedded into its center, this time yellow, below which he wears slightly baggy trousers to match his shirt, and indigo boots.

Meanwhile, Ochaco and Mina are having their own interaction.

Mina squats down before fisting her hand into the air. “Check it out Team Pink is ready for some action!”

Ochaco raises an eyebrow. “Team Pink?”

“Yeah, because of our colors.” Mina points to her skin and then to Ochaco’s suit. She then rubs a finger on her chin. “Hm, that or we could do Team Astro!”

“Team…Astro?”

“Yeah, because your costume is like an astronaut. And I’m an alien!” She proclaims as if it was the most obvious thing in this world.

Ochaco gasps as the blood drains from her face. “Are you serious?!” How could she say that out into the open so carelessly?! What if someone else heard her?! There could be worldwide panic!!

“Nah, I’m just kidding.” Mina grins amusedly at Ochaco’s reaction.

Ochaco releases one of the biggest sighs of her life. _‘Thank goodness…’_

“It’s not like aliens actually exist.”

_‘You’d be surprised Mina… Heck, she could probably pass for one, even her costume helps to sell the whole alien vibe she has going on.’_

Her hero costume consists of a plain white eyemask, and a purple and turquoise skintight bodysuit with a camouflage pattern, ending just above her breasts. Over this, she wears a cropped, sleeveless tan-colored waistcoat with white fur along its collar, which she leaves unbuttoned. She is also wearing custom made plum-violet and beige acid-proof boots with holes in the soles.

After the rest of the class have gotten acquainted with their own partners All Might continues the lesson.

 **“MOVING ON, THE FIRST ONES UP ARE…”** He sticks his giant meaty hands into two separate boxes: one labeled as “Hero” and the other as “Villain”. **“THESE GUYS!!”** He withdraws two large bingo balls one labeled with the letter A and the other with the letter D. **“THE HEROES ARE TEAM A!! AND THE VILLAINS WILL BE TEAM D!!”**

Both Izuku and Bakugou are stunned for a moment neither of them expecting a confrontation so soon after just starting at U.A.

All Might gestures to the nearby faux office building. **“THE VILLAINS WILL ENTER FIRST! THE TIMER STARTS IN FIVE MINUTES AT WHICH POINT THE HEROES WILL BE ALLOWED TO ENTER. THE REST OF US WILL WATCH VIA CCTV!”**

 **“KIRISHIMA. BAKUGOU, YOU BOYS NEED TO ADOPT A VILLAIN MIND-SET! THIS IS PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE SO MAKE SURE TO GO ALL OUT. DON’T HOLD BACK!”** He decides last minute to throw in this next part. **“THOUGH I WILL STOP YOU IF YOU TAKE THINGS TOO FAR…”**

After his explanation All Might hands both pairs a rough blueprint of the building before, he starts herding the rest of the class to the monitor room. As All Might turns away Izuku and Bakugou do their best not to acknowledge the other, they just stand there in festering silence.

Izuku glances over to his former friend taking in his costume.

Bakugou’s costume is composed of a tight, black, sleeveless tank top, with an orange “X” across the middle. There are two dots along the left line of his collar much like Ochaco’s. He also has a metallic neck brace worn with rectangular ends that have three holes on each side. His sleeves reach from within his large grenade-like gauntlets to his biceps. His belt, which also carries grenades, holds up his baggy pants, and he has knee-high combat boots. His mask is jagged and black with orange-rimmed flare shape protrusions at each side.

Eventually Bakugou decides to head inside with a boisterous Kirishima following alongside him trying to get Bakugou to get pumped up for the exercise too.

As the class begins to clear the field, Ochaco looks back in worry for her friend. Out of everyone else there she’s the only one who’s somewhat aware of the two’s…relationship. Plus, there was Bakugou’s rather explosive reaction from yesterday so there’s no doubt in her mind that this exercise may take a turn for the worst.

But what can she do? She is not Izuku’s partner for the Battle Trial and she doesn’t want to step on All Might’s toes either. So, for now all she can do is remain silent and follow her classmates to survey the match. _‘You got this Deku! Show everyone what you got!’_

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

A few minutes later Bakugou and Kirishima found the fake bomb in a large room full of crates and large concrete pillars decorated across the length of the room.

Eijiro Kirishima is a muscular young man of average height, with a rather impressive physique and spiky bright-red hair. He has red eyes and a small scar just above his right eye. He also has small eyebrows and very pointed teeth.

His hero costume has two gear-shaped shoulder pads, dark red in color, a jagged sash joining the one in his left to the right side of his belt, which has a red “R” set into its center. Below this, he wears baggy black pants and half cape with a ripped hem and sporting black boots. His chest is bare, and he wears a wired guard around his face, reaching from just above his hairline to below his jaw with an extra piece going over the bridge of his nose. Overall, he has the look of an Oni.

Kirishima stares up at the large faux nuclear bomb, taking note that it’s simply paper-mache. “So, we’re the villains, huh? Well we better act the part!” Kirishima grins displaying his shark-like teeth. “This is going to be awesome! What do you think?” He is of course addressing Bakugou who isn’t bothering to even look at his partner.

Instead he stands with his back to Kirishima, his fists clutching in his hands, and his eyes cast down at his boots. “Hey. Do you really think Deku has a Quirk…?”

“Who the hell is Deku?” Kirishima takes a second to think before remembering that Bakugou is referring to the green-haired kid with the cool hi-tech watch. “Oh, you mean Midoriya. Yeah of course he does… Actually, does he have more than one Quirk or something…? Lucky.”

‘More than one Quirk?!’ Oh, that is it! There will be no mercy for him no matter how much he begs. ‘He’s been punking me this whole time?!’ A grin that oughta be on a crazed villain appears on Bakugou’s face instead. “That damned nerd!! I’ll murder him to hell!!”

Kirishima isn’t quite sure how he should react. “Well, that’s not very manly.” But then again, they are supposed to act like villains so maybe Bakugou is onto something.

Bakugou’s grin somehow becomes even more threatening as he waits for the battle to start.

Despite the scary grin, Kirishima can’t help but find it a bit amusing. “Huh, that’s a scary look. Do you have a plan or something?”

“Yeah, I got a plan alright. I’m going to take on that shitty nerd and teach him his place.”

“Sounds like you want a one on one fight, I’m not sure of your reasons, but” He gives Bakugou a friendly thumbs up. “A fated match between men sounds great! So good luck!” He’ll just stay out of the way and protect the bomb; he is built for defense anyway.

Bakugou doesn’t bother to acknowledge his teammate as mini explosions begin to spark within his hands. _‘Get ready shitty Deku! Because I’m going to hurt you so badly that they’ll have to scrape you off the floor!’_

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“We better memorize these since we’re not allowed to use them when we start.” Shoji is referring to the building blueprints that All Might handed them before he left.

Currently Shoji and Izuku stand outside the faux building reading through the building schematics.

Shoji generates several extra eyes from his arms as to scan the blueprints thoroughly. “Hmm, considering how my Quirk is more surveillance based and yours is so…unpredictable we should have no problem with this Battle Trial.” But there is one major issue. “Hmm, but that Bakugou guy may be a problem. His explosion seemed powerful. What do you thi-are you alright?!”

He has a reason for concern because his much shorter partner is literally quaking in his boots. “I, uh uh, I, uh, ye-yeah. I-I’m fine.” His grip tightens to the point that his nails are digging through his gloves and are beginning to tear into the paper.

“You’re clearly not…”

“Ah, uh, y-yeah I guess you got me.” Izuku smiles humbly accepting defeat. “I guess you can say that I’m pretty nervous.” That’s stretching the truth. _‘More like terrified!’_

And it’s not just because he has to face off against Kacchan, but because of who’s watching him fight Kacchan. So, far All Might hasn’t given any signals that he even remembers him…that kinda hurts all things considered, especially after what he did. But hopefully that’s for the best. Otherwise, he has no idea if the Number One Hero will buy his alibi. And All Might must already be aware of his “Quirk”. He is a teacher after all, so he really doesn’t have a reason to hide the Omnitrix during this exercise. But the fear and anxiousness are still there!

“Wanna…wanna talk about it?”

Izuku doesn’t react to the question initially, instead he considers it. Sure, All Might being here could end up terrible, but the prospect of having to fight an ex-friend isn’t any better. In fact, it feels a little bit like Deja vu for him. Wow, Ochaco was right he really does have the worst taste in friends. Even so…it doesn’t help to swallow down his fear.

“It’s Kacchan…”

_‘Kacchan? Is he referring to Bakugou?’_

Noticing Shoji’s confused expression Izuku clarifies whom he’s referring to. “Uh, he’s the one that can explode.”

“Ah, gotcha.”

“Well, you see…” Should he really continue? Yes, it was Thirteen who told him it’s better to share one’s worries with someone rather than let them build up and implode on you. “We’ve known each other our entire lives and well things have never exactly been…good between us.”

Ever since he got his Quirk… Ever since then he’s always viewed himself as the be all end all, as number one, as the best thing to ever inhabit the Earth. And his goals of surpassing even All Might…

“He may be a jerk, but he’s amazing… His goals. His confidence. His strength. His Quirk. He’s so much better than me in every way.” Izuku drops his hands, slouching forward, staring into the ground hoping it would swallow him up. “So, I guess I don’t think I can actually beat him.”

Shoji gives his partner a deadpanned glare. “Are you serious?”

“Huh?!”

Shoji sighs, facepalming himself. “The first time I met you, you were running headfirst to a villain that captured your friend. Then you jumped right in to save the very same friend when they were in danger. And to top it all off! You have such a powerful and versatile Quirk! And yet you don’t think you stand a chance against a guy with angerment issues?”

He’s right… Everything he said was right! He did do all those things, and more!! He fought killer robots way before the U.A. Entrance Exam! He fended off literal monsters and saved an entire prefecture from a mutant invasion! Hell, he even fought the very same Sludge Villain that attacked him and Kacchan, and that was something even All Might failed to complete!

In general, he has the most combat experience out of everybody in his entire class, and that includes the prone to violence Kacchan!

“Yeah, you’re right.” With a new found resolve Izuku gazes up at the building in front of them, ready to take on this fight head on. “I can’t just roll over for him and give up right before we even start.” He raises his fists with purpose. “I don’t wanna lose… No, I won’t lose! Not to him!”

“That’s what I like to hear! Nothing like a spirited fight between rivals.”

“Uh uh, y-yeah! Sure…” Perhaps that statement has more merit to it than he would like to believe. 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

All Might and the rest of Class 1-A find themselves in a large dark room filled with monitors each one displaying a different part of the building where the first battle trial is to take place.

Ochaco’s eyes never leave the screen that’s displaying Izuku and Shoji, she can’t hear anything, but she can tell that they’re discussing their game plan. And judging from the expression on Izuku’s face he’s dead serious about something. _‘I wonder what he’s planning.’_

Tsuyu must be wondering the same thing. “How do you think this will go, kero?”

“I…don’t know.” replies Ochaco still not looking away from the screen.

Kaminari speaks up letting his opinion be heard. “I bet that Bakugou has this in the bag! He’s like crazy strong.”

His classmate who has odd round elbows responds. “Hm, I don’t know I think that Midoriya guy is going to surprise us.”

His name is Hanta Sero. He’s a tall, lean young man with black hair, and a wide straight toothed grin. His elbows have the shape of cylindrical tape dispensers.

His hero costume consists of a black, skin-tight bodysuit, with a white design on his mid-torso area, and two yellow trimmings. He wears white boots, lined with yellow, and a yellow helmet, shaped similarly to that of a tape dispenser which has a large black visor obscuring his face.

Mashirao Ojiro’s tail droops down with disappointment.

He’s a young man of a muscular build with short blond hair, swept to the front of his head. He has thin eyes and a long tail with a hairy tip.

Ojiro folds his arm together. “It’s kind of unfair, his Quirk is really amazing. I mean a Quirk that grants you access to even more Quirks has got to be impossible.”

If anyone was paying attention, they would have noticed All Might’s smile falter for a second.

A student with a crow-like head speaks in an ominous tone. “And yet such is the mystery of this world, we have witnessed it for ourselves.”

The student’s name is Fumikage Tokoyami and other than having a head of a black bird his body is that of a normal human.

His costume is rather simple too consisting of a black cloak that covers his entire body, only stopping halfway down his shins, and knee-high black boots.

Jiro looks to Yaoyorozu for her opinion. “What do you think?”

Jiro’s costume resembles that of a punk rocker: black leather jacket, long salmon-colored shirt with several rips at the collar and hem, black pants, and boots with stereos built into their shafts. She also has two small, triangular red paint marks just below her eyes, a plain black choker, and white fingerless gloves.

Yaoyorozu cups her chin observing the two teams on the screens. “I believe the one with the most strategic prowess will win.”

“I agree!” Chimes Iida.

That doesn’t answer Jiro’s question though. “So, who then would win?”

“Hm, I’m afraid I cannot say.” Yaoyorozu points at the first screen, which is displaying Bakugou’s terrifying grin for some reason. “From what I can tell Bakugou is far too violent, Kirishima seems a bit too straightforward, Shoji is a bit of an enigma to me, and Midoriya’s… Quirk is far too unpredictable.”

“So…it’s anybody’s game.” 

All Might has to agree with the young woman’s last observation. **_‘YES, HIS QUIRK IS…UNPREDICTABLE.’_** Although from what he saw yesterday Izuku has about nine different Quirks but for some reason he’s got a time limit for how long he can use them. Curious. **_‘I’LL BE WATCHING YOUNG MAN, BUT NOT OUT OF SUSPICION BUT AS YOUR TEACHER!’_** Even so. **_‘BUT WHO KNOWS MAYBE SOME THINGS WILL COME TO LIGHT DURING TODAY’S LESSON. AND HOPEFULLY I CAN FIND OUT IF MY SUSPICIONS ARE TRULY UNFOUNDED.’_**

All Might turns to address the class readying his own personal clipboard as to take notes and give scores. **“WATCH CLOSELY AND TRY TO LEARN SOMETHING, EVERYONE!”**

“Yes, sir!”

Ochaco cups grips her hands together. Hope resonates within her at the sight of Izuku’s determined expression. It’s obvious to anyone that knows Izuku and his relationship with Bakugou that there’s only one true goal on his mind. _‘Kick his ass, Deku!’_

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Infiltration is a success.” Izuku whispers out loud, pressing his back against the cold tiled wall scanning his current environment as he gently shuts the window behind him. _‘Lots of blind corners, I better be careful.’_ The interior of the building seems to be comprised of narrow hallways leading to a number of doors, and evenly distributed across the outer walls are rows and rows of windows. In fact, most if not all the light in the building is thanks to the natural sunlight filtering through said windows.

He cautiously moves forward his eyes constantly scanning ahead and behind him. Maybe he shouldn’t have split up from Shoji having him here would probably help ease the tension.

The micro-transceiver in Izuku’s ear buzzes alerting him on an incoming message. He holds the micro-transceiver close as to not miss a word. On the other side is Shoji’s voice.

Izuku nods even though Shoji isn’t there to see it, he presses on the micro-transceiver so he could respond back. “Got it, keep to the plan and locate the bomb.”

He continues forward, no point in delaying the inevitable, and if his instincts are right…Bakugou will come for him.

His micro-transceivers buzzes with an alert.

Izuku instantly leaps backward and at the same time Bakugou leaps out from behind a corner. The mad bomber releases a booming explosion that destroys the spot Izuku was just occupying.

As rubble and dust cloud the hallway Izuku takes note of his lack of any visible damage. _‘He missed!’_

“Nice dodging, Deku.” Bakugou has his hand lodged into the broken wall, a quick tug removes it from its confinement.

Izuku readies himself his instincts telling him to flee, but his heart…his spirit makes him hold his ground. “I knew you would come straight at me.”

“Did ya? Well, do you know what I’m going to do to you?” Bakugou releases a massive maniacal grin as he swings his right arm backwards readying one hell of an explosion. “I’ll mess you up so bad that they’ll have to stop the match!!”

Before he can fully swing his palm forward Izuku latches onto arm halting its movement and taking Bakugou by surprise.

With his opponent temporarily stunned Izuku spins around quickly.

 _‘What the?! Did he just read my moves?!’_ Is the horrifying question in Bakugou’s mind as Izuku wrenches his body up and over himself.

“RAHHHH!!!” Izuku roars out in defiance as he slams his tormentor against the ground, hard.

“Urk…!!” The hit knocks the wind out of Bakugou, his eyes dazed over in disbelief, as if he just experienced something that should have never occurred not in a million years!

Izuku is breathing heavily, for a moment there pure adrenaline had taken over making his heart race faster than ever before. “Kacchan…you almost always lead with a big right hook. I’ve seen it…I’ve experienced it enough to know!” Izuku begins to straighten himself back up, as Bakugou props forward. Now time to drop the bomb on the literal living bomb. “You see, I’ve analyzed heroes I think are awesome…in that notebook of mine! The same one you blew up and chucked out the window!”

Bakugou reels back his head with a nasty scowl adorning his features. He can’t believe that shitty Deku had something like that written away in the piece of junk book!

From the monitor room All Might’s mind rewinds to the day he met the young man, specifically he remembers the contents of the boy’s notebook. Guess he now knows why the notebook was in such poor condition.

Izuku glares down at his long-time tormentor, ready to set things straight. “I’m not gonna be your worthless punching bag anymore! I’M THE DEKU THAT WILL ALWAYS DO HIS BEST!!!”

Just like Ochaco said, that what the name Deku should mean.

Bakugou snarls, he actually recognizes this side of Izuku. The side that either too stupid or too brave to backdown from him! The side of him that always gets in his way! “You spout that crap…all while scared out of your mind.” Bakugou roars like a monster that’s been released from its cage. “IT PISSES ME OFF!!!”

As both Izuku and Bakugou ready themselves the ash-blonde’s micro-transceiver receives a message.

“Yo, Bakugou! How’s it going man? Did you find them?”

“Shut up! I’m going to wreck this damned nerd!”

“Uh, okay? I guess…”

Meanwhile, a bored and oblivious Kirishima stretches his arms waiting patiently for someone to arrive. “Hmmm, I kinda wish one of them would get here.” His arms harden just before he clangs them together. “I really want to fight!”

Sorry, Kirishima you’ll just have to wait. Because it’s their turn to fight it out!

Bakugou launches himself forward much like he did during the Quirk Apprehension Test, but this time he only uses a single hand to do it. “Take this Deku!!” Bakugou aims a nasty kick at the side of Izuku’s head, who takes the kick at full force only using his arms to help disperse the blow. 

*Zwip*

There’s something thin wrapping around Bakugou’s leg. Darting his head down he discovers what it is. _‘The capture tape?!’_

Yup, Izuku isn’t dumb enough to not dodge such an obvious attack. Instead he’ll try to finish this as quickly as he can.

As he tries to bind it around his foe’s legs, he recalls the strategy he had written up in one of his older notebooks. But Bakugou’s movement is changing, sensing an oncoming attack, Izuku releases the tape before scrambling forward just narrowly avoiding being cooked alive.

Back at the monitor room, Ochaco is grinning widely. She really shouldn’t be surprised, Izuku has always been good at this kind of stuff, making plans on the fly. And with all the experience he’s gathered up to this point there’s no way he’s going to take any blast just sitting down.

 _‘So, the capture tape failed... Fine. Then it’s time to show everyone what I’m made of!!’_ Izuku rises back up, his aim locked-on to Bakugou. “Like I said, Kac-Bakugou, I’m not going to be your punching bag anymore!!” It’s time for the big guns! By which, Izuku means the Omnitrix and an alien that’s more than capable to take on Bakugou.

The sudden change in how Izuku refers to him strikes an odd cord within him, but it’s easily wiped away.

Bakugou releases smoking explosions from his palms. “BRING IT ON!!! EVEN WITH A QUIRK I’LL STILL CRUSH YOU!!!” That’s enough talk, he charges forward just as Izuku slams down onto his watch’s faceplate!

The living nuke releases a giant explosion and this time his attack makes its mark. Izuku’s form is launched backward, crashing into the wall in a cloud of smoke and ash which completely conceal his condition!

“And it’s over…” Bakugou’s glare lightens, not a lot, but it’s clearly over to him. No way someone, especially Deku survived that. _‘This is how things should be, Deku. You’re nothing but a fucking pebble, a useless, Quirkless, waste of space.’_ His mind replays every memory he has of Deku: from being weak, unskilled, meek, but most importantly…how defiant he’s been especially in more recent memories.

Whereas he, Bakugou, has been anything but what Deku is. He’s strong, he’s nowhere near useless, he’s skilled at everything, and he has the best Quirk! _‘Why can’t you understand that?! Why don’t you understand how much…’_ He howls. “BETTER I AM THAN YOU!?!”

There is no response, and why should there be? Deku is down for the count.

Or is he?

Bakugou has no idea what hits him until it’s too late, from within the cloud of smoke a highly pressurized stream of water crashes into him pushing him backwards until he slams into the wall his form going limp as he drops to the floor.

Groaning Bakugou is left in shock and in disbelief of what just occurred.

“Sorry, to rain on your parade.” The smoke clears revealing Izuku’s condition. “But we’re just getting started.” Water Hazard makes a swipe with his hand clearing away the smoke; revealing his unscathed inhuman transformation.

Most of the class, including Bakugou have the same reaction. ‘ _Another form?! How many transformations does he have?!’_

Bakugou pushes himself back up. He’s completely drenched but that does nothing to cool his raging hot temper. “You think a little water can stop me?!”

“I don’t know.” Water Hazard replies matter-of-factually as he raises his fists. “Let’s find out. Shall we?”

“Die!!” Shouting is Bakugou’s reply followed by a swift blast to the Orishan’s face. “Ha, got you!”

From within the smoke Water Hazard’s claw springs out latching onto Bakugou’s forehead. “I think you mean I got you!”

He slams Bakugou’s down, the back of his head smashes into the ground. “Gah!!” The room spins for a second and his vision temporarily blurry. _‘How did he withstand that?!’_

He doesn’t have time to think because Water Hazard is towering over him ready to deliver one hell of a punch. Bakugou quickly rolls to the side avoiding his head getting smashed in by the powerful punch, it’s so strong in fact Water Hazard’s fist cracks the hard floor underneath.

“Rah!!” Bakugou unleashes a flurry of smaller blasts while Water Hazard is leaned forward, but not one seems to do any damage other than cover Izuku’s transformed body in soot. The only thing they seemed to have done was push the taller being back a bit. _‘What the hell is going on?!’_

A powerful water stream to his chest sends the ash-blonde into the air. He expertly blasts himself away from the torrent and redirects himself back down at his foe with another well-timed explosion.

He’s coming way too quick for Water Hazard to dodge or block allowing Bakugou to deliver a strong axe kick that could break any of his opponents. Unfortunately, for him he isn’t fighting against any normal opponent.

The back of his foot strikes the top of Water Hazard’s hood-like shell and sure the force makes the alien slouch forward Water Hazard doesn’t actually feel any pain.

The same could not be said for his adversary. After delivering the kick Bakugou had enough acrobatics to leap back, but when he landed his foot instantly inflamed with pain. _‘God, damn, just how strong is that fucking shell?!’_ Luckily, for him his foot doesn’t seem to be seriously injured probably because of his thick combat boots.

“My shell is too thick to crack.” Water Hazard knocks his hand onto his red hood-like shell. As Bakugou regains his composure and stands back up. “Fitting, because I won’t let you hurt me anymore.”

Bakugou does something that Water Hazard is not expecting; he smiles. “We’ll see about that, Deku!!” Bakugou raises his right hand keeping it outstretched in front of him; specifically, he has his grenade shaped gauntlet at the ready. “Guessing you know this from all your stalking, but the sweat glands on my palms secrete a nitroglycerine like liquid. That’s how I make my explosions.”

Being the Quirk nerd that he is the morphed Izuku can’t help but be a little curious. _‘What is he getting at?’_

“Assuming they honored my design request,” Bakugou sticks a single finger into the pin of his grenade gauntlet. “This gauntlet’s been storing my sweat.”

Water Hazard instantly understands where things are going. He raises his own palms readying to counter with his own powerful attack.

All Might’s voice comes through the micro-transceiver. **“YOUNG BAKUGOU. STOP THIS NOW! YOU’LL KILL HIM!!”**

“He’ll be fine as long as it’s not a direct hit!!” And with a maddening look that should only be reserved for a villain, Bakugou pulls the pin.

The effect is almost immediate a powerful searing explosion booms outward like a beam of energy and charges straight for Bakugou’s potential burn victim.

With a deep breath, Water Hazard releases his own blast of torrential water.

The two opposing elemental beams collide head on with each other generating a powerful shockwave as they do, the shockwave demolishing the surrounding walls and floor, and the two forces ended up releasing a giant burst of steam that rushes through the entire building.

‘What. The. Hell?! I got jipped!!’ Bakugou is steaming mad! That attack was supposed to be way more powerful than that weak shit! The support company must have fucked up!!

No time to consider faulty gear he needs to find Deku and finish this. That’s easier said than done because the entire hallway has been encroached by a thick mist of steam; making it difficult to tell Deku’s position.

Typical Deku, he really shouldn’t be surprised that he’d pull such a wimpy ass move as to run and hide in this mist. “QUITE MOCKING ME!!!” His voice echoes through the hall. “Ever since we were kids!!” Ever since Deku tried to “help” him out of that stream. “YOU’VE BEEN LOOKING DOWN ON ME!!!”

A moment passes and there’s no sign of Deku, not a peep, or any movement.

Eventually Water Hazard’s voice echoes out from within the mist. “That’s not true… I never looked down on you.”

“Bullshit!! You’re doing it right now!!” Bakugou is hysterically darting his eyes around trying to pinpoint Izuku’s location.

“No…in truth I…always looked up to you. You’ve always been so amazing.” The tone shifts in Water Hazard’s voice. “And because of that… ” Like a ghost Water Hazard seemingly materializes out of the fog and behind the hysterical Bakugou. “I’M GONNA BEAT YOU, YOU IDIOT!!!”

Before Bakugou can even process what’s happening, Water Hazard delivers a fierce sucker punch into the side of the human’s face.

The single strike knocks Bakugou away; he crashes hard onto the ground groaning in pain. With a new found fury he leaps up to deliver a quick barrage of explosions, but they are smaller than what he’s expecting.

The Orishan counters with his own stream of water generating even more steam to add to the mist before he disappears back into the fog.

Bakugou pounces forward to where Deku should be but he just ends up kissing the wall.

“Having some performance issues, are we?”

Bakugou swings around attempting to backhand the annoying fuck, but there’s nothing “You did something didn’t you?!”

There’s a light chuckle before Water Hazard’s voice responds. “I did, but I thought you would have solved it by now.”

“Shut up and show yourself you coward!!”

“Haven’t you figured it out yet?”

“What?!”

“Why your Explosion Quirk is so…useless against me?”

Now that strikes a chord with the living nuke, turning his fury into a silent anger. As disbelief washes over him. “What…what the hell are you talking about?”

“As you stated before, you secret nitroglycerin from your palms, the root of your explosions. But do you know what happens when nitroglycerin mixes with water?”

Bakugou’s eyes widen with pure shock as the answer crosses his mind; it dissolves. 

Water hazard must be able to make out Bakugou’s expression, probably because his species lives in such dark oceans. “That’s right, nitroglycerin is soluble to water.”

Basically, Izuku figured early on, it was actually one of his first Quirk analysis that he discovered this, that water and cold temperatures were Bakugou’s main weaknesses. So, by having Water Hazard constantly drenching Bakugou in water he knew the water would soak his palms and thus weaken his Explosion Quirk. That’s also why Bakugou’s grenade gauntlet was weaker than he thought it would be, although that was just an accidental bonus.

“You could have seen this coming, but why even consider that I had a brain? That was your mistake…Bakugou.” The mist is finally thin enough to make out what’s around them. “In other words…THIS MATCH IS MINE!!!”

There he is, Water Hazard has positioned himself at the end of the narrow hallway his arms poised behind him as his palms absorb the water vapor in the air. And with a plentiful water supply he is ready to finish this match once and for all.

The morphed Izuku fires out a highly pressurized stream of water onto the wall behind him. The force of the blasts are enough to rocket him forward just like how Bakugou uses his explosions.

Bakugou is absolutely stunned, Deku is using his moves against him! With actual fear in his eyes Bakugou scrambles to ready his other grenade gauntlet in an attempt to defend himself. “D-DEKU!!!” With no time to waste he pulls the pin unleashing a second long-range explosion.

With adrenaline rushing through his veins Water Hazard begins to spin generating a whirlpool like jetstream behind him making him spin faster and faster like a flying torpedo. “Improvised Special Attack: DEEP-SIX TORPEDO!!!”

The two special attacks collide but unlike last time, they are not evenly matched. The force and water generated by Water Hazard’s Deep-Six Torpedo completely overwhelms Bakugou’s explosion. Thanks to the combination of Water Hazard’s thick shell, spinning momentum, and gushing water he easily breaks through the fiery attack like an arrow piercing through paper.

Bakugou’s eyes flash with despair, disbelief, and confusion just before Water Hazard’s spinning form crashes right into him.

The powerful impact smashes both opponents right through the outer wall of the faux building, launching debris and rubble into the air as a tidal wave of water floods the street below.

Bakugou lays limp on the ground, his prone form lying atop a pile of rubble as water pools around him.

He moans in agony as his eyes shakily peer open, when his vision clears, he discovers an out of breath Water Hazard towering over him casting a shadow over his form.

“I win, Bakugou. I beat you.” And with that Izuku has won the match.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Holy. SHIT!!!” Class 1-A is in a complete uproar over the outcome of the first battle trial.

Tears of excitement leak out from Kaminari’s eyes. “He beat him, he really beat him!!”

“That was so epic!!” Proclaims Mina.

“It was absolutely dazzling.” Take a guess which student said this.

“Most impressive.” Concludes Tokoyami.

However, none of their reactions can compare to the bright relieved smile adorning Ochaco. _‘Way to go, Deku.’_

While the class continues to praise Izuku’s efforts All Might is one of the few to not speak up. **_‘I GUESS I WAS RIGHT, SOME THINGS DID COME TO LIGHT…’_** Although it wasn’t what he was expecting, not at all.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

With Bakugou clearly down for the count Water Hazard turns holding his aching arm as he limps away back to the building, he still has an exercise to complete and he’s already wasted too much time. Unfortunately, the impact of that last attack did more of a number on him than he thought it would. Then again, he wasn’t really thinking when he decided to go through with it, but he’s not going to argue with the results.

As he limps away Bakugou is left to fester in the aftermath of his defeat. _‘I…lost. I lost…to Deku. To fucken Deku?! Oh, hell no!!’_ There’s no way he can expect this as the outcome! He’s supposed to be the best! The cream of the crop! The one that’s going to surpass All Might and become the Number One Hero in the entire world!! He will not lose to Deku no matter what!!

Bakugou’s entire body screams in pain as he shakily lifts himself off the ground, his eyes never leaving Water Hazard’s retreating form.

 _‘I’ll fucking kill you…’_ He raises his palm readying one final blast. _‘YOU BASTARD!!!’_

He never gets the chance as something large and muscular slams into him from behind. Several pairs of muscular arms wrap around him binding him in capture tape and all before he even hits the ground face first. A strong large hand presses down on his back keeping him there.

“You heard him, didn’t you?” Asks Shoji as he peers down at his defeated classmate. “It’s already over for you. There’s no point in resisting any longer.”

All Might’s voice rings out through the micro-transceivers. **“BAKUGOU IS CAPTURED HE IS OUT FOR THE REST OF THE EXERCISE.”**

Water Hazard turns around not at all surprised to see Shoji standing there pinning Bakugou down.

Shoji eyes his partner. “Make sure to use the capture tape before you decide to walk away next time.”

Water Hazard nods. “R-right.”

Bakugou struggles in his bonds, they’re not that tight, but what’s the point he’s not even allowed to continue any more. “Where the hell…did you come from?”

Shoji looks down deciding to indulge the faux villain. “I’ll tell you.”

##########(Flashback)#########

Back before the start of the match Izuku and Shoji continue to plan out how they’ll approach this exercise.

“Kacchan will come for me, I can guarantee it.”

“Alright, so I’ll sneak in and find the bomb while you distract him.”

Izuku shakes his head. “No.” He looks up but not to the target building but the ones standing next to it. “Like you said your Quirk is built more towards surveillance so let’s use that. If you climb up to these buildings instead you could peer into the windows and act as sort-of our eyes in the sky.”

Shoji understands what he’s getting at. “Oh, I see. I can not only locate the bomb, but I could also locate both Bakugou and Kirishima, and warn you when they’re nearby.”

Izuku grins at his partner. “Exactly.” His smile drops. “But could you let me fight Kacchan one on one first?” He has a faraway look in his eyes. “I…need to settle something between us.”

Shoji considers the options; he sighs when he comes to a conclusion. “Alright. I won’t interfere until after you’re done, but I will step in when things get out of hand.”

Izuku smiles gratefully. “Fair enough.”

########(End Flashback)#######

“When I saw that you were going to attack while Midoriya’s back was turned I figured that enough was enough.” He actually used his limbs as makeshift wings to glide his way down, thanks to a genius suggestion from Midoriya.

Bakugou glances between the crustacean and octopus. His mind still unable to process how he could have lost to Deku of all people. 

Confident that he won’t do anything, Shoji releases Bakugou before approaching his now taller than him partner. “Shall we finish this? I did locate Kirishima and the bomb a while ago.”

Water Hazard nods. “Sure.”

The two enter the target building leaving behind the distraught Bakugou to fester in his grueling failure.

He remains there for several minutes, his mind constantly questioning and replaying everything that’s occurred. From Deku having a Quirk that he’s been hiding all this time. To what he said to him after they were both accepted into the Hero Course. To how he had the gull to spout in his face during their fight. And even to how seemingly weak Deku was back when they were just mere children.

“It…just…doesn’t make sense.” Bakugou whispers mostly to himself. “Is Deku…stronger than me? That…just can’t be possible.”

And yet he lost to Deku. Deku was able to predict his every move. Deku was able to pinpoint an actual flaw in his Explosion Quirk. Deku was the one to humiliate him in front of the entire class. Deku was the one he lost to.

And if it wasn’t clear to him then it sure is now as All Might’s rings through the micro-transceiver one last time. **“THE BOMB HAS BEEN SECURED.”**

_‘No! Then that means…’_

**“THE HERO TEAM WINS!!!”**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that was “Ch.12 Boiling Point” please leave a review and tell me what you think. How was the battle between Izuku and Bakugou? How were my depictions of the rest of the class? Please let me know what you enjoyed about “Ch.12 Boiling Point”. 
> 
> *Ch.13 will continue All Might’s Battle Trial class but it’ll focus in on Ochaco’s match as well as the rest of the students’. 
> 
> *I'll also show Kirishima's stance against Izuku and Shoji at the start of the next chapter. 
> 
> *I was originally going to have Izuku paired up with Ochaco like in the manga/anime but that would have made the chapter way too long and I would have had to split between two separate fights. And I rather Izuku and Ochaco both get time to develop so I switched around some of the teams. 
> 
> *Water Hazard’s special attack was originally going to be called “Aqua Comet” but one of my “editors” suggested “Deep-Six Torpedo” instead and I honestly like it better. Reason being is that "deep-six" comes from the Navy's description of something that is thrown overboard at or greater than 6 fathoms in depth which would difficult, if not impossible, to recover. Essentially, if this special attack makes contact without any interference it shouldn't allow anyone who has been hit by it a chance to recover. But since Bakugou was able to counter the attack this was not the case, plus the attack has some major recoil for the user.


	13. Cool Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Ochaco Uraraka and Mina Ashido vs. Shoto Todoroki and Hanta Sero. How will our fair maidens match up against their opponents, especially one that is a recommended student?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I’m late with this chapter, my schedule got super busy so much so I’d get home exhausted and would have little energy to work on this. But I tried my best to work on it as much as I could. That said I do feel like this is somewhat of a weaker chapter so if somethings feel off, I apologize, that’s what happens when you make so much progress then stop and then continue on later the next day. Like I said, I tried my best and I hope you still get something out of this. I’ll be back to a normal schedule soon so hopefully Ch.14 will get here faster than how long it took to get Ch.13 here. 
> 
> *I just want to state that I do read the manga and I do keep up with it. That said I will try to avoid manga spoilers for the most part and if there are spoilers than I will be sure to warn you. (There are no spoilers for this chapter by the way I just wanted to let you know).   
> *I also want to state that I have officially completed a full plan on how, when, and where each Ben Ten alien will be added to Izuku’s Omnitrix. As the story continues his arsenal will grow and grow, just some aliens will take longer to get here than others, so if there’s a specific alien you are dying to see then please be patient with me. I promise that they will eventually make their way into the story. Thank you for understanding.

**“BAKUGOU IS CAPTURED HE IS OUT FOR THE REST OF THE EXERCISE.”**

“Seriously?!” Kirishima gaps in surprise. “Shit after all that shaking and weird mist he up and loses?!” He cups his chin. “I wonder what happened…” A single tear escapes his eye as he balls his fist in frustration. “I bet it was a super manly fight!! Ahhhh!! I can't believe I missed it!” 

He takes a breath deciding now’s not the time to worry about that. “Fine then.” His arms harden before he slams his knuckles together. “Then it’s all up to me! Bring it on fellas I’m ready for ya!”

Kirishima grins in excitement; he is really gearing up for a fight and one that will no doubt get his blood pumping and his spirit roaring. He’ll defend the bomb until time runs out and he’ll win it all for his team!

With him positioned in front of the fake bomb furthest from the entrance way, now that’s left for him to do is to wait for Team A to show themselves. And it looks like he doesn’t have to wait long.

At the opposite end of the large pillared room the door handle jiggles slightly. Kirishima’s entire body hardens up, his arms becoming edged as he straightens them up like blunt blades.

The doorknob stops moving as the door creaks open just a crack. The red-haired faux villain doesn’t see any apparent movement although he is rather a fair distance away.

Nothing occurs for a few painstaking seconds that feel like they’re dragging on for hours, nothing but silence across the entire building only the sound of Kirishima’s own beating heart keeps him aware as the anticipation grows.

And just when it seems the wait has become unbearably painful, suddenly, just like that everything is in an uproar.

Shoji bursts through the door, smashing it to pieces, as a stream of water propels him forward like a bullet flying at its target.

He’s moving way too fast, Kirishima doesn’t have enough time to defend himself as Shoji crosses the width of the room in less than a second thanks to the mysterious geyser of water rocketing him forward.

The multi-limbed hero slams into Kirishima grappling him to the ground.

“Urk!” Kirishima flails in his muscular binds, his arms pressed against his chest. “Grr, it’s not over yet!”

If Shoji wasn’t wearing his mask Kirishima would have noticed him smirking (assuming that there is a mouth underneath). “Yes, it is.”

“Huh?”

That’s when he notices it…not all of Shoji’s arms are being used to bind him. His upper right arm is extended upward, following his arm upward Kirishima is in for another surprise. Out of Shoji’s hand is a second arm, and at the end of that second arm is a firm hand tagging the bomb. Kirishima gasps. “Oh, no!!”

All Might’s voice rings through the micro-transceiver one last time. **“THE BOMB HAS BEEN SECURED. THE HERO TEAM WINS!!!”**

Kirishima deactivates his hardened skin. “Ah, man!! I really wanted to show off what I can do!”

An unrecognizable voice, at least to Kirishima, calls out from the hallway. “Sorry, that’s my bad.”

A slightly limping Water Hazard enters through the doorway as water drips from its frame. Even though he’s on his feet he’s a little worse for wear, besides the limp his right arm is aching, and his frame is slightly singed probably due to Bakugou’s last attempt at victory.

“Midoriya?”

Water Hazard nods, confirming his identity. “Yeah, anyway, I just…wanted to get this over with.” He’s way more exhausted than he had first thought.

Shoji releases Kirishima, he even provides a helping hand to get the red-head back on his feet. “I wouldn’t let this get to you. In all honesty you just got the shortstraw when it came to partners today.”

Kirishima is oblivious to Shoji’s comment. “What…what do you mean?”

Neither Shoji nor Water Hazard have the heart to tell him figuring it might be better if he wasn’t made aware.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

After a quick message from All Might to head to the monitor room, Team A and Team D have rejoined their classmates. Except for a disturbingly silent Bakugou who was carried away on a stretcher by Mini Conveyor-Bots.

**“WELL DONE EVERYONE!”** Greets All Might. **“WAY TO START THIS CLASS OFF WITH A BANG! IT WAS EXCELLENT!”**

An embarrassed Izuku shyly rubs the back of his head while Shoji seems indifferent to the praise, and Kirishima seems depressed about missing out on all the action.

A round of cheers and praise erupt from class making Izuku’s cheeks blush.

Ochaco’s cheer is the loudest among the crowd. “Way to go Deku!” She runs up to him pumping her arms into the air. “That was so cool!”

“U-uh, t-thanks!” Izuku’s entire face turns bright red so red that Shoji eyes him with concern. 

From the side Jiro can’t help but chuckle at the sight of Izuku’s red face because it reminds her of a tomato. “He’s not so confident when he’s back to normal is he?”

A muscular guy with big lips replies. “Maybe it’s a side effect or something.”

Rikido Sato is a very muscular young man with a wide build. His brown hair is short and spiked upwards away from his head. He has very full lips which are slightly darker in color than the rest of his skin, and a notably large, round nose.

His costume consists of a yellow full-body suit, covering the entirety of his body, the only exceptions being the holes around his mouth, eyes, and hair. He wears white gloves and boots, and a utility belt around his waist.

As Ochaco continues to praise the blushing greenette she finally takes note of Izuku’s condition.

Ochaco gasps in concern. “Deku, are you okay?! You’re all burnt up!”

He really is; he looks like he just came from a disaster of a cookout. He’s covered in soot from head to toe. His hair is somehow even messier and darker than usual thanks to all the ash; heck some of the ends of his are even smoking. Should they be considered about that?

And the same could be said for his costume! Hell, it’s in even worse condition not only is it covered in ash and dust, but it's torn and covered in burn marks. Not even his hood survived the battle.

Izuku is already aware of all of this. “I-I’m all good. Promise.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, just some minor burns and scrapes nothing too serious.” All things considered he’s used to it, after all, being Bakugou’s personal victim for the last decade will do that to you. At least now he actually stood up for himself, so now the burns aren’t so much a reminder of how weak he is, but badges of honor that are proof that he overcame Bakugou.

As for his leg and arm…they aren’t as bad as they seem. At least that’s what he tells himself, he really doesn’t want to give All Might a reason to send him away. He’d rather not miss out on everyone else’s matches.

Although there is a reason to be concerned: it appears the damage received while in alien form transfers over to his regular human form. And in this case although Water Hazard’s shell protected him from most of the physical damage and pain, his shell still took the brunt of Bakugou’s explosions and thus the damage caused by the flames carried over to his costume. Wait, what happens to his clothes when he transforms? Do they transform with him? Do they get sent to a pocket dimension or something? Guess it’s just another mystery to add to the enigma that is the Omnitrix.

Mina rushes up as well practically leaping onto Ochaco and bouncing off of her. “That was amazing! Hey, what was with that fire-hydrant transformation?”

“Oh, i-it was, I-I call it-him Water Hazard.” Izuku assumes that’s what she’s talking about. “In that form I can launch pressurized blasts of water through the portholes in my hands. As well as absorb moisture from the air through the same portholes. Water Hazard’s armored exoskeleton protects my body from most physical damage although it’s clear to me now that he has a slight vulnerability to heat attacks, ironically. Water Hazard also has a bit of enhanced strength and-” 

The class backs away, feeling just a little bit disturbed by their classmate’s unnatural muttering. “Creepy.”

“O-ops. Sorry!”

As Izuku suffers from the traumatic embarrassment, Ochaco laughs awkwardly at his side. 

While the rest of the class continue to awe in the aftermath of the first match, All Might’s thoughts wonder to what he overheard over the microphones that are strewn about the building during the battle.

**_‘WELL THAT MATCH CERTAINLY REVEALED QUITE A FEW THINGS, ALTHOUGH NONE OF IT WAS EXACTLY EXPECTED.’_** Even though he read that both Bakugou and Midoriya are from the same middle school, he never expected that they had such a…troubled relationship. Although relationship probably isn’t the right word.

His mind wanders to the ash-blond boy that got hauled away to the infirmary. **_‘YOUNG BAKUGOU FROM WHAT I SAW YOUR EGO IS FAR TOO INFLATED FOR YOUR OWN GOOD. TAKE HEART, HOPEFULLY TODAY HAS TAUGHT YOU A VALUABLE LESSON.’_**

It’s just as Thirteen said he has to consider each student’s feelings and circumstances in order to better understand them and to better lead them onto the path of becoming heroes.

Speaking of which it’s time to continue their education. **“YES, YES, MIDORIYA HAD A GREAT SHOWING OUT THERE, BUT LET US BREAK DOWN THE MATCH EVEN FURTHER! FOR STARTERS I NAME THE V.I.P. OF THIS MATCH AS SHOJI!!”**

Everyone stares at All Might like he grew a second head. “...Huh?”

Tsuyu holds a finger to her chin. “Not Midoriya? Even though he did most of the fighting?”

**“EXCELLENT POINT! DOES ANYONE CARE TO GUESS WHY?!”**

“I do.” Yaoyorozu’s hand shoots up at attention. “It’s because Shoji was the most adapt to the scenario.”

Without any indication to stop speaking, she explains her reasoning. “From what I saw, Bakugou’s every action was motivated by an obvious personal grudge: from charging head first into a fight to rejecting help from his teammate. And his destructive attack indoors was extremely foolish. Such destructive power is counterintuitive both as a hero and in this case as a villain. It went completely against the objective of the exercise.”

If his powerful last attack was any more destructive there could have been a chance that he'd destroy the bomb; such an attack would be unthinkable if the nuclear weapon was real. 

Yaoyorozu moves on to the other combatant of the battle. “The same can be said for Midoriya’s performance. He too upright abandoned the main goal of the exercise to pursue a fight with Bakugou.”

Izuku winces. _‘She’s right, she’s absolutely right. Honestly, I totally disregarded the exercise and my attacks…especially since Deep-Six Torpedo was far too destructive for indoor use. I need to keep that in mind, I definitely don’t want to cause unnecessary destruction.’_ Yeah, could you imagine? An Omnitrix wielder causing unwarranted destruction wherever they went? Ridiculous!

“As for Kirishima… He was too complacent: he allowed Bakugou to face the enemy alone, and then he did no prep work for Team A’s arrival. And thus, was completely overwhelmed.”

Kirishima grimaces in anguish. “Why don’t you tell me how you really feel?”

Yaoyorozu frowns trying not to react to Kirishima’s reaction. “But as for Shoji he cooperated with his teammate even though Midoriya was pursuing a personal goal, he made fine use of the surrounding area to scout out and pinpoint the enemy and the bomb. He’s proven himself well as not only a supporting role but as a key player in any given scenario.” He did an amazing job as a surveillance and a scout, as well as when he was used as a living cannon ball. “He was the only one to remain focused on the task at hand even saving Midoriya from an attack more than once.”

He did warn Midoriya about Bakugou’s sneak attack and not to mention he saved him when Bakugou tried to attack him from behind.

“The hero team won, not because of Midoriya’s fighting abilities but because Shoji’s adaptability to the situation at hand.”

A harsh silence befalls the class. Even All Might is a little put off by the overwhelming explanation.

**_‘SHE SAID IT BETTER THAN I COULD!! HELL, I HAVE NOTHING TO EVEN ADD TO THAT…’_** With a shaky smile All Might gives her a big thumbs up. **“Y-YES…YOU’RE CORRECT…!”**

Yaoyorozu stands proud with her hands on her hips. “Hmph. We’ve got to start at the bottom and work up! And if we don’t earnestly cheer each other on. We’ll never be top heroes!”

**_‘WELL, SHE CERTAINLY EARNED THAT NUMBER 1 RECOMMENDED SPOT AMONGST THE FIRST YEARS.’_** All Might swings his arm drawing in everyone's attention. **“ALRIGHT, LET’S KEEP THIS MOMENTUM GOING AND GET ON WITH OUR SECOND PAIRS THAT WILL DUKE IT OUT!! SAY IT WITH ME NOW! GO BEYOND!!”** The entire class joins All Might in one mighty cheer. **“PLUS ULTRA!!!”**

Next up is Team E: Yuga Aoyama and Tenya Iida as the heroes.

Iida waves his arm about stiffly. “Aoyama, Let’s give this all we got!”

Aoyama nods swerving around to show off his glittering cape. “Yes, we will show everyone our style and flare.”

And the villains will be Team I: Mashirao Ojiro and Toru Hagakure.

“I’m going all-out, Ojiro. The gloves and boots are coming off.” Hagakure proceeds to remove said gloves and boot.

“Y-yeah cool…” The plain-looking boy averts his gaze in an attempt to preserve his innocence and Hagakure’s purity. _‘Hagakure is using her Quirk to our advantage, but it’s kind of weird to know that there’s a naked girl standing by me… What exactly am I supposed to do here…?’_

Hagakure must have realized this as well. “Ahah, Just don’t look okay.”

“What’s the difference?”

The rest of Class 1-A remain in the monitor room watching the two teams prepare from the screens.

Sato eyes the screens. “Who do you think is going to win?”

Sero leans back a bit with his hands at his sides. “Hm, I think Iida.”

Mina is quick to refute. “Nah, I bet it’s Hagakure she can just sneak right up on them.”

Ochaco looks to see if Izuku has a guess. “What do you think De…ku?” 

Her voice trails off as she’s drowned out by Izuku’s own muttering aided by the sound of a scribbling pencil. “Aoyama definitely has the advantage since he’s the only one that can attack from long range. But then again from what I’ve seen he can’t fire repeated shots for too long without repercussions. As for Iida he’s without a doubt the fastest but Ojiro seems to know how to put up a fight thanks to his clear martial arts background so he may just be able to counter Iida’s attacks. I think the real one to look out for is ironically Hagakure since no one participating has any sensory type Quirks she can easily sneak up on any of them and take them out. There’s also the fact that-”

Jiro deadpans. “Does he have a mute button or something?”

“Ah?!” Izuku nearly drops his pencil in surprise.

While Izuku tries to compose himself and hide his embarrassment Yaoyorozu thinks about what he had to say. “Midoriya brings up some very good points. Ultimately the ones that are able to pull off the best teamwork will win.”

And without any further ado All Might begins the second battle trial.

And sure, enough both Izuku and Yaoyorozu were right about how the match would go. After Iida and Aoyama snuck into the building, Hagakure snuck up behind them and managed to bind Aoyama’s hands while he was busy posing with his hands over his head.

He was quickly declared captured and thus out of the battle.

Iida was swift to retaliate, since he was standing directly in front of his partner, he can only assume that Hagakure is positioned right behind Aoyama since she’d have to be close enough to cuff him. So, with a quick shove to move Aoyama out of the way he delivers a swift kick that crashes into Hagakure. Looks like his hunch was correct and the kick slams Hagakure against the wall. Hagakure shoves herself off the wall to try and get away as to prepare another sneak attack, but it appears Iida was ready for that. He takes his capture tape and runs through the hallway and right past the invisible girl. When he feels a tug on the tape, he knows that it’s snared her, so he expertly turns around and sprints in the opposite direction until the tape bends and he knows for sure where his target is. With a quick run around he has Hagakure bound with capture tape taking her out of the match as well.

It’s at this point that Izuku becomes aware that no one else can hear what the combatants are saying to each other. Because it looks like Iida is apologizing, possibly for attacking a woman.

After of which, Iida moves on to continue his search for the fake bomb and for the last faux villain.

He is of course fast at tracking down the bomb and by extension Ojiro. The tailed-teen actually tries to ambush Iida with a tail slap from above, he was hanging from the ceiling just above the door. The strike lands knocking away Iida’s helmet, but it doesn’t seem to faze the speedster because the very next second, he spins around landing a strong kick to Ojiro’s side. The hit knocks the tailed-boy away allowing Iida just enough time to speed away and grab the bomb; winning the entire match for the hero team!

The two teams rejoin the class where once again Yaoyorozu is quick to praise Iida for being the V.I.P. of the match. And this is the general trend for the rest of the battles.

Next up are Team H: Fumikage Tokoyami and Tsuyu Asui vs. Team F: Rikido Sato and Koji Koda.

Koda is wide with a muscular build with peach-colored skin. His head is like that of a rock, which is unevenly shaped, and he has a square-shaped jaw. His hero costume is a tight yellow suit with large red markings over his torso and sleeves. On his chest there’s a symbol resembling an open mouth.

The match goes in Team H’s favor, but not at first. They were actually attacked by a horde of rats and pigeons brought on by Koda’s Quirk. Tokoyami’s Dark Shadow easily dispeled the swarm while Tsuyu calmly and expertly leaped around the wide hallway to avoid the pests. Eventually the duo arrived at the bomb, where they clashed with Team F. Sato’s Sugar Rush looked to be strong enough to repel Dark Shadow for a time, but Tsuyu’s Frog Quirk allowed her to achieve victory. Combined with her great jumping skills, acrobatics, and long tongue she swiftly claimed the bomb bringing an end to the battle.

The following match consisted of Team G: Denki Kaminari and Kyoka Jiro vs. Team C: Momo Yaoyorozu and Minoru Mineta. And despite Team G’s best efforts it was actually Team C that pulled away with the victory. Although it was mainly thanks to Yaoyorozu’s competence and Kaminari’s lack thereof. After Jiro used her earphone jacks to locate Team G the electric teen tried to electrify them, but thanks to Yaoyorozu preparedness the dumbass ended up frying his own brain making it very easy to capture him. After that it was a simple matter for Mineta to glue Jiro in place and Yaoyorozu to launch a net at her, and thus winning the match for the villain team.

While the class waits for the four to return Mina excitedly jogs over to Ochaco. “It looks like we’re up next.”

Ochaco smiles nervously while nodding her head. “Hm hmph.”

“So, who are we facing?”

Izuku, who is standing next to Ochaco, points across the room without looking up from his notebook. “Them.”

Mina and Ochaco follow his finger and it leads them to Team B’s Sero and his teammate, Shoto Todoroki.

Todoroki is well-built for his age with dual-colored hair that’s evenly split between two colors: white on his right-side and crimson red on his left. His eyes also possess heterochromia iridium: the left eye’s iris is turquoise, and his right is a dark gray. The other standout feature is the large burn scar on the left side of his face. Although they cannot see it thanks to the ice like material shrouding the left side of his body.

That last part might actually be a piece of his hero costume: it’s a plain off-white shirt with matching pants and boots. As for the material resembling ice, it not only covers his entire left half of his body, but a single red lens covers his left eye. It really enhances his intimidation factor. 

Said glowing red eye seems to trail towards Mina and Ochaco as if he can sense them watching him.

Mina holds her hands up. “We…may be in trouble.”

“No kidding!” If the gravity girl wasn’t nervous before she sure is now. _‘But I can’t afford to get nervous. Not now.’_ Her fist balls up at her side. “Hey Deku.”

“Yeah?” He refuses to lift his head up and away from his journal.

“Do you have any info on Team B?”

Now that makes him think. Izuku actually stops writing as to skim through his notebook until he finds what he’s looking for. “Hmmm, I have a few notes from what I saw yesterday. I think Sero can shoot out tape from his elbows and Todoroki…”

“Can create ice. Yeah, that part was obvious.” Not going to lie, she was kind of hoping for something more. “Do you have anything else?”

“Um, no. Sorry.” He’s actually disappointed in himself for not knowing more.

Ochaco sighs in defeat. _‘Well that’s no good. We have little to no intel on them and I can’t use One For All properly. And wasn’t Todoroki one of the Recommended students?! Ah, we’re so screwed!!’_ She shakes her head of those bad thoughts. _‘Come on Ochaco! If I accept defeat now, then will surely lose!’_

Izuku’s instincts tell him that something is bothering her. “Is something else the matter?”

Ochaco blinks having been caught off guard by the question, at first, she is unsure on how to answer before deciding to let Izuku hear her out. “Yeah, it’s about my…Quirk. I’m still having trouble controlling it and summoning it for that matter.” She rubs the back of her head and pushes her hair up exposing her neck and ears. “It’s kind of frustrating you know. I mean you have no trouble using your…transformations’ powers considering you’re… you know.”

Yeah, he knows. He’s Quirkless.

“Why is that exactly?” She means, why is Izuku seemingly so good at using his aliens’ powers?

Izuku thinks on it for a minute. “Hmmm, I never really thought about it, I guess…I just let it go, you know.”

Ochaco deadpanned look says it all. “No, I don’t.”

“What I mean is…I don’t force those powers out I just let them…loose. It’s like a dam, I just open the gates and let the water flow.” 

“Let, the water flow?” Ochaco shudders worried about what that could mean for her. “Not sure if I can really do that without getting seriously injured.”

“Yeah, well to be fair my transformations are evolved around their powers, so they are much more adapted to use them naturally.”

“Makes sense.”

A loud overly excited and bubbly voice cuts itself into their conversation. “What ya talking about?!” Mina demands with a happy-go-lucky smile on her face.

Both teens freeze in place, looking like they were just caught committing a crime. “Nothing!!”

“Oh, really?” Mina asks teasingly, leaning in with a mischievous and knowing smirk. “You sure it wasn’t anything a little more intimate?”

Both teen’s faces turn several shades of red.

Ochaco flails her hands about as if she can bat this problem away. “No no no no no!”

Izuku’s reaction is just as bad. “W-we, we w-ere j-just t-talking strategy, right?!”

“Y-yeah, a-absolutely!”

Mina can’t help but laugh at their reactions.

All Might observes the trio from afar. **_‘DO YOUR BEST YOUNG URARAKA. AS YOUR TEACHER I CANNOT SHOW FAVORITISM, BUT JUST KNOW THAT I WISH YOU THE BEST DURING THIS EXERCISE. GIVE IT ALL YOU GOT!’_** All Might turns to face the class just as Teams G and C arrive back at the monitor room. **“ALRIGHT YOU NEWBIES!!”** Now that grabs their attention. **“LET’S GET STARTED SHALL WE? THE FINAL MATCH IS ON IT’S WAY!!”**

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The final match, it’s Team J: Ochaco Uraraka and Mina Ashido vs. Team B: Shoto Todoroki and Hanta Sero! Just which one of these teams will come out on top?

Ochaco scans the building schematics, the building they’re entering is a 15-story office building with a surprisingly small number of windows, and only one main entrance.

Ochaco eyes the building, her heart pounding with anticipation for what lies ahead. _‘I have so much more work to do. Not only do I have to work on One For All but also my own Zero-Gravity Quirk. This will be the perfect testing ground; I'll do my best to take everything I’ve learned up to this point and make it into reality.’_

Mina puts down her copy of the blueprints after noticing how intense Ochaco seems to be. “You look so serious. Are you alright?”

“Yeah. I’m just ready to get started.”

Now that puts a smile on the pink girl’s face. “Then let’s show these boys what we’re made of!” She shoots her fist into the air. “Team Pink is on the case!”

“Hehe, yeah!” She’s still not so sure about that team name…Team Astro was probably the better choice. Although both are still more on point than anyone would realize.

“Okay, partner here’s the plan!” Mina jabs a finger at the towering building as if it itself is their opponent. “We go in there guns blazing, take them out, and win this whole thing!”

Ochaco unceremoniously falls over. “That’s your plan?!”

“Well, do you have anything better?”

“Not really…”

“Then we go with my plan.”

Ochaco slouches over in defeat. “Sure, I guess.”

Maybe she should have asked Deku for a plan before she left. He is good at this kind of stuff after all. Oh well, she’s just going to have to think on her feet for this one. _‘No problem, I mean how strong could these guys really be?’_

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Meanwhile inside the 15-story building, Team B is stationed in a wide room with a low ceiling no windows, and a lot of concrete pillars. There appears to be only one entrance, which is perfect for them since in the center of the room is the fake nuke that they are assigned to protect.

Todoroki speaks out his tone as cold as the ice he wields. “Listen to me.”

Sero continues stretching his arms while Todoroki stands a few feet ahead of him with his back towards the nuke. “Huh, what was that?”

“Use your tape to lift yourself off the ground.”

“Um, sure.” Sero aims his elbow up and fires a single strand of tape onto the ceiling before he reels himself up into the air like a fishing line. “But why?”

Before Todoroki could answer, assuming he was going to, All Might’s voice booms through their micro-transceivers. **“OKAY, THE FINAL MATCH OF THE BATTLE TRIAL BEGINS NOW!!”**

Todoroki inhales and as he exhales a wave of ice rushes forward like a crawling wave freezing the entire room. His power doesn’t stop there as the ice rushes outward until it floods into the hallways and through the windows of the building until the entire 15-story building is suddenly a tower of ice. Every square inch is covered with solid ice, glaciers gauged their way through the windows curving up like horns, an ice wall blocks the entrance, and the surrounding air around the building is so cold that there are pockets of snowfall in and around the pillars of ice.

Everyone, as in Class 1-A, watch in shock and awe at the sight. _‘Just how powerful is this guy?!’_

There are pieces of frost clinging to Sero’s body and costume as he dangles in the air on a frozen piece of tape. “S-s-s-so c-c-c-cold.”

Todoroki doesn’t even pause to take in his handiwork or to even apologize to his partner before he makes his way to the exit, the ice cracking under the weight of his boots. “Let’s go.”

“R-r-right.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“I’m freezing!” Mina cries as she presses her hand against another ice wall, melting it with her acid until it becomes so weak that it finally shatters into pieces, then Ochaco releases her Zero Gravity and the ice falls to the ground. “I can’t believe he made a freakin’ ice castle!” She grabs at her arms rubbing them in an attempt to warm up. “It’s so cold!”

“Ice castle?” Ochaco thinks back to how the building looked to her before they entered. _‘Huh, it does kinda look like that.’_

Their progress has not exactly been efficient, thanks to Todoroki’s ice he not only made an ice castle, but every entrance was blocked off by ice walls, and nearly every hallway entrance is blocked by walls of ice as well.

And so far, they haven’t even made it to the third floor without arriving at an eighth ice wall. To break through Ochaco would use Zero-Gravity to release the pressure and strength of the ice and then with Mina’s Acid to melt it; it becomes easy enough for them to break through.

Ochaco would then make herself weightless and hold on to Mina’s shoulders while the pink girl skates across the ice using her acid to slip and slide their way through, but they never seem to make it far before another barrier blocks their way. Plus, the cold is really getting to them considering that neither of their costumes are geared to handle such frigid temperatures.

After each ice wall Ochaco silently thinks to herself that she wishes she could properly use One For All then she could just smash her way through each ice wall without having to stop. Then again that would probably give away their location way too soon.

“This is so annoying!” Complains Mina as they arrive at another ice wall.

Ochaco gently falls back to the ground. “There’s not much else we can do.” They do need to step it up though at this rate they’re going to run out of time before they even encounter Todoroki and Sero. “Besides I don’t think we need to worry too much, at least for now, I bet those two are guarding the bomb hoping the ice slows us down enough for time to run out.”

“Yeah, maybe, but I’m not so sure.” Mina’s horn twitch slightly like ears that have picked up on something in the distance.

Ochaco presses a hand to the ice the tips of her fingers glow pink as her Quirk activates.

The alarm bells are practically roaring in Mina’s head as she watches the ice lose its strength. “Wait, no!”

With no warning, Sero’s body crashes through the weakened ice like a maniac breaking through a window. With proficient acrobatics he whips out two tape whips that lash out at his sides. 

One of the tape whips wraps around Ochaco while the other whips past Mina’s head, luckily, she leaned back with excellent flexibility and reaction time that she avoided capture.

The tape binds Ochaco’s arms to her sides before she’s hoisted into the air and she’s left dangling there.

From behind his helmet Sero’s grin widens. “You know I’ve always sort of dreamed of having a girl all tied up, but I never thought it would happen so soon.”

Mina rushes in spraying acid at the tape. “Don’t be a pervert!” The acid dissolves the tape holding Ochaco up. It snaps before she falls to the cold floor. “You alright, Uraraka?”

“Y-yeah, I’m fine.” Ochaco rips away the last of the tape as she squats up on one knee. _‘The same can’t be said for my dignity though.’_ A shiver runs down her spine almost like she can sense that Mineta was getting off on that.

“You sure are.” Sero comments cockingly as he backs away putting a good distance between himself and his opponents; he’d rather not get involved in a two on one fight.

But it doesn’t seem like he’ll be alone for long as the sound of boots breaking ice approaches. Todoroki rounds the corner his glowing red-lens pierces through the dark cold air. With absolutely no sense of urgency he walks past Sero. “Don’t get cocky. If you had gotten them both this would be over all ready.”

“Come on man, you shouldn’t be so cold towards your teammate.”

Ignoring him, Todoroki eventually stops a few feet ahead of him. He leans his right side forward readying an attack.

Mina instantly picks up on his hostile intent, her horns twitching in response. “We have to move!!” She grabs Ochaco’s arm and begins to sprint towards the end of the hall where the frozen door leading to the staircase lies.

Ochaco stumbles at first but she quickly gains her footing as she runs at Mina’s side.

With a deep exhale Todoroki unleashes an ice blast, the ice rushes towards them like a giant lance.

Ochaco gazes back with horror in her eye, the ice is nearly upon them. If it hits this match is over before they could even get started.

As if on instinct, Ochaco whips her arm out of Mina’s grip, spinning around to face the oncoming attack of frozen water.

Her left-hand glows pink as an aura illuminates around it. _‘It’s like Deku said I just need to let it go!’_ She swings her fist towards the oncoming wave. “Smash!!” Just as the ice is upon both her and Mina, she thrusts her fist forward and a powerful gale of pressurized wind smashes right through the ice.

The strike is so strong that the ice is not only obliterated but everything is launched right back at its creator. As well as tears away Ochaco’s sleeve but somehow her arm brace survives although it’s partially dented.

Todoroki is more than surprised, his eyes widening in shock, thankfully he reacts fast enough to create a barrier for him and Sero to hide behind as a whirlwind of broken ice and rubble blast right past them.

Mina gaps in awe at the sight before her.

Ochaco stands in the middle of the narrow hallway her bleeding fist and bare arm are stretched out in front of her towards an open passage with a long stretching crater that reaches to Team B’s shield.

Ochaco is breathing heavily as she drops her hand, her heart is racing, she begins to move quickly grabbing Mina’s hand before she body checks the door leading into a staircase. With no time to waste she drags her partner up the staircase sprinting as fast as she can.

Mina struggles to keep pace as she’s pulled behind her partner. “What was that?!”

Ochaco doesn’t respond, instead she leaps through the fifth floor’s doorway and begins sprinting her way through searching for the next staircase.

Todoroki peers out from his barrier, he doesn’t see either Mina nor Ochaco the only sign of them is the large stretching crater, and the smashed in door at the end of the hall. He glares at the doorway knowing full well that those two are heading straight for the bomb. The air around him seemingly becomes even colder than it was before, producing a soft mist from his left side.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Sato jabs his hand towards the screen. “Did you see that?!”

He is referring to Ochaco’s sudden display of overwhelming power.

“I saw it.” Responds Kirishima. “I just can’t believe it.”

Iida cups his chin although his face is still hidden behind his helmet. “Hm, that looks like the power Uraraka used during the Entrance Exam.”

Shoji nods. “Yeah, but did you notice her hand? I think it’s injured.”

“Well that would explain why she didn’t use it during Mr. Aizawa’s test.”

Aoyama can’t help but butt in. “It was far from elegant, but it certainly was just as magnificent as last time.”

_‘Way to go Uraraka!’_ Izuku internally cheers. _‘You’re getting better at summoning your new Quirk; now you can really show everyone what you got! Also…’_ A stupid excited grin adorns his face as he scribbles away madly into his notebook. _‘you’re providing me with some amazing notes right now!’_ Not only on her Quirk but also Sero’s, Todoroki’s, and Mina’s Quirks; they’re also just so amazing and different he really couldn’t have asked for anything better!

All Might’s feelings of glee are nearly on par with Izuku’s. **_‘WELL DONE URARAKA! I KNEW YOU HAD IT IN YOU! WE’LL HAVE TO WORK ON YOUR POWER OUTPOUT IT SEEMS BUT FOR NOW I’M JUST SO PROUD ON THE PROGRESS YOU’RE MAKING.’_**

They can work on that later, for now he must be not only her mentor but a teacher to the rest of the entire class. So, he watches as Ochaco and Mina arrive at the sixth floor.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Ochaco arrives on the sixth floor where she quickly finds a small secluded room. It's the best place for her to catch her breath and to assess the damage of her hand.

She sits down to check, her knuckles are bloodied, her hand’s red, and her sleeve is all but gone but it could be worse at least she’s still got her dominant hand and she can still move her fingers so she can still use Zero-Gravity.

Mina plops down beside her throwing her head back allowing the adrenaline to wash away. “Sheesh, when were you going to tell me you had that kind of power? You could have led with that from the beginning.”

Ochaco answers between breaths. “I…can’t…control it.” She lifts her hand showing Mina what she means. “It’s too much power for me, that’s why I can only rely on…one aspect of my Quirk.”

“Really?” Mina raises an eyebrow, silently questioning if Ochaco is lying to her. But she sees no reason why she would have to lie so she quickly let’s it go. “Well, I guess that makes sense.” Mina jumps up onto her feet, she’s ready to get a move on. “Alright, I think it’s obvious that we need a plan.”

Ochaco nearly snaps at her partner. _‘You don’t say?!’_

She is of course oblivious to Ochaco’s irritation. “So, since my plan didn’t work. I need you to come up with one!”

“I’ll…get right on that.” The brunette takes a moment to think, she peers at the ice encasing the room. There’s a light mist, and she can’t help but notice that the temperature has actually dropped since they moved upward. That’s when a lightbulb goes off in her head. “I got it!”

“Got what?”

Ochaco gives her teammate a reassuring and confident smile. “I got a plan.”

Mina holds her breath in anticipation with a stupid excited grin plastered on to her face as she waits for Ochaco to go into details.

Nearly a minute passes between the two of them as they both grin at each other.

“So, are you going to tell me?”

“Oh, right!”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Sero arrives at the sixth floor with Todoroki in toe. “Wow, I can’t believe she was hiding that kind of power. The girl can really pack a punch!”

“No kidding. Although…” Todoroki thinks back to the fifth floor hallway when they left to chase after the heroes, he noticed a splatter of blood on the ground. _‘She probably can’t control that power of hers. That’s why she didn’t use it during the Quirk Apprehension Test. Still though if she’s strong enough to break through my ice then I can’t afford to underestimate her again. I will defeat her and show that old man that I can be a hero with just my mother’s Quirk.’_

But they need to find Team J first and it’s not like they’re just going to walk right up to them looking for a fight more likely they’re going after the bomb.

“How’s it going boys?”

Then of course he could be wrong.

The two spin around to spot which one of the heroes has snuck up on them.

Sero gaps. “Ashido?!”

Mina leans against a nearby corner her hand on her hip and her tongue sticking out of the side of her smirk. “The one and only. Now, let’s dance!” She whips her hand out spraying a splash of Acid at Team B.

Todoroki makes an ice shield while Sero leaps back avoiding the acid.

Sero shakes his fist in anger. “Hey, watch it! You could really hurt someone with that!”

“Well if you're that upset about it.” Mina turns and winks before using her acid to skate her way across the jagged frozen floor, she goes back the way she came down the narrow-frozen hallway. “Then why not come and get me!”

Sero thwips out a strand of tape to pull himself over the iced floor. “Hey, get back here!” He continues to launch himself through the hallway using his tapes to reel himself in as he chases after the slippery Acid producing girl.

Todoroki follows on foot; he turns the corner just in time to watch as Mina rounds another corner with Sero hot on her heels.

“You won’t escape!”

“Then you better hurry and catch me!”

Todoroki runs a few paces before he slowly comes to a stop. His expression remaining indifferent as he slowly turns away from where Mina and Sero took off for. He can tell that something is up, and he will not fall for it. _‘Where are you, Uraraka?’_

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Come on, where is it?” Ochaco breaks her way through another ice wall having used her Zero-Gravity to weaken it before she slams her way through it.

She is currently on the eight floor and if her hunch is correct then the bomb should be here.

If logic serves, Todoroki essentially made a giant freezer and from what she’s seen he is all about making ice barriers for them to block their path. Now with all this ice he cannot constantly be regulating the temperature to keep the ice from melting. That means, Team B must have put the bomb where Todoroki wouldn’t have to keep an eye on it since he probably blocked it off with nothing but ice walls. But what does this all mean? It means that Team B must be keeping the bomb in the coldest part of the building: the center of the building where it’s the most insulated with the freezing cold temperatures.

So, her plan is a simple one: Mina distracts the boys with her feminine wiles (as Mina put it) while Ochaco goes after and captures the bomb. Simple.

She locates another ice wall this one is much larger, but she can almost make out the telltale signs of a doorway behind it. She presses her finger tips against the ice making it weightless. She then takes a few steps back, ice crunching under her feet, before she charges right through the ice wall like she just jumped through a window. Her landing is less than graceful as when she lands her foot slips and she ends up kissing the floor.

“Ow.” She groans, she lifts her head up and a loud pop sound is made as her face is peeled off the floor. Her cheeks are even redder either because of the embarrassment or the fact that the floor is super cold. “Not my finest moment.”

She rubs her cheeks as she kneels up and scans the new area. Her eyes become wide circles as she spots the very thing she’s been looking for. The bomb! It’s just sitting there unintended surrounded by pillars of ice and even a few small mounds of snow.

“I knew it!” Ochaco cheers in delight as she springs up into the air.

She jogs forward as fast she can, but the slippery icy floor is of no help.

A rumbling and the sound ice shards scraping against each other grows increasingly louder until a column of ice intercepts her path.

“Ahhh?!” Ochaco’s arms flail at her side as her foot slides across the ice until she eventually comes to a stop just before she hits the ice column.

“I knew you were up to something.” Todoroki steps forward blocking the direct path between Ochaco and the bomb. “It was very predictable on your part.”

“Shit.” Ochaco backs off her arms poised for a fight. _‘Looks like Mina’s distraction didn’t work.’_

“Before we begin, I think it’s fair to give you a chance to surrender.”

“Huh?”

Todoroki stares blankly at Ochaco like he doesn’t perceive her as a threat. “You’re not going to win against me. From what I’ve seen your Quirk mostly involves close quarters combat. Except for what you did earlier.” He gestures to Ochaco’s left fist. “But judging from your hand there’s some major whiplash for when you use that strange Quirk of yours. Am I right?”

It feels like a bolt of lightning has struck her. _‘He read me like a book.’_

“So, this is your last chance.” Todoroki holds a hand out as to represent her to accept his offer. “Surrender.”

_‘What do I?’_ Ochaco scowls. _‘He’s right realistically speaking he’s better than I am! He’s a recommended student, has a powerful and versatile Quirk, and he’s smart able to analyze his opponents, just like Deku.’_ But then again, she’s not exactly a push over either. _‘But…I’ve actually faced real villains before! I’ve worked hard to get this far! I am All Might’s successor! And I refuse to give up!’_ She peers at her hands the very source of her Quirks before she peers up at Todoroki. 

Just from her expression Todoroki pieces together her answer. “So, that is your choice?”

With a frown and new found resolve Ochaco nods refusing to look away from her opponent.

Todoroki sighs in annoyance. “Very well.” He raises his right arm readying to swing it forward at a moment's notice. “Don’t be too disappointed when you lose, alright?”

“I think you have it backwards, Todoroki.”

“Hm?”

“Because, I’m going to win this!!” With no hesitation Ochaco jumps over the column of ice and charges straight towards her enemy.

“You fool.” Todoroki swings his arm to the side and a cluster of ice rushes towards her, his plan is to freeze her legs in place.

But Ochaco isn’t as predictable as he thinks. Because just before the ice can reach her, she jumps into the air launching herself up and towards the ceiling having made herself weightless.

“Not so fast!” Todoroki slams his foot against the ground generating a large ice spear that rushes towards the gravity defying girl.

Reacting quickly Ochaco spins around and kicks herself off the ceiling and towards a pillar of ice effectively avoiding the giant icicle.

Todoroki follows it up with another icicle but she’s too quick in the air. She bounces herself off the ice pillar just in time to avoid being skewered. This goes on and on with Todoroki trying and failing to land a strike on his agile target and she’s only getting faster. She just keeps building more and more momentum until she’s practically buzzing about the pillared room like a ricocheting ball, she’s even using Todoroki’s icicles as jumping boards.

“Hold still dammit!” Todoroki launches another ice missile which only adds onto the already large amount of them in the wide room.

Ochaco practically runs on the ceiling easily evading the icicle. She jumps down launching herself over Todoroki and right at the faux bomb while also releasing her Quirk to let gravity pull her down. “Victory is mine!”

“I don’t think so!” The ice wielder fires off a large wave of ice, not towards Ochaco, but towards the bomb itself.

Ochaco gasps in horror as the bomb is completely buried in a wave of ice. The ice is like a glacier that formed itself around the bomb. Ochaco crashes hard into the side of the glacier before falling to the frozen floor below.

“I got you.”

There’s no time to think as Ochaco takes off towards the other side of the room just as a wave of ice crashes after her.

The crashing wave is on her heels, so much so that the cold frost forms at the ends of her hair. Acting fast and using the iced floor to her advantage Ochaco drops down sliding across the ice towards a pre-existing ice pillar. She grabs the end of the pillar, swinging herself around it for cover, and just in time too as the wave catches up to her. The ice crashes into the opposite side of the pillar as jagged icicles surrounded around her at all sides, but luckily none of them strike her.

Todoroki stomps his way around the glaciered bomb, he scans the area, but he doesn’t seem to spot Ochaco. He wasn’t really looking when he generated that wave of ice, he was just trying to make a wide ranged attack in the hopes of trapping her.

“You’ve done well so far, but that ends now. You still have no way of winning against me.”

Ochaco covers her mouth in order to muffle her heavy breathing. She’s really not in the best condition right now. She’s exhausted from all the jumping around, the cold certainly doesn’t help whatsoever, her hand is injured, and add in the fact that she’s starting to feel nauseous after using her Quirk so much she’s not doing too hot.

_‘It’s not over yet, Todoroki. I can still pull this off!’_ The gravity manipulator considers all of her options. _‘Zero-Gravity isn’t enough, I need to use One For All. It’s my only chance.’_ Only One For All has the power to get her past Todoroki but also the glacier surrounding the bomb. It’s way too thick for her to just use Zero-Gravity on it. _‘I need to go in fast while he’s still looking for me.’_

She stands up, still hidden behind the frozen pillar, she holds her arms at her side and to her fists out front, as she concentrates on summoning All Might’s Quirk. _‘It’s like Deku said I can’t force One For All out I need to let it flow freely. To open the gates and let it free.’_ She breathes in and out and before long her arms and legs glow pink as One For All flows through her limbs. _‘This is it!!’_

She can already feel the strain on her body, she needs to make this quick before it becomes too much.

She races out moving at an incredible rate trailing behind her are broken shards of ice and rubble as she sprints across the frozen floor. The power surging through her legs tears away at her boots shattering them to pieces, but that doesn’t matter as she charges forward.

Todoroki is completely taken by surprise, in less than a few seconds she’s already upon him her eyes leering at him as they glow with a pink hue.

Without thinking the snow-like material on the left side of his body seemingly crumbles away as an eruption of flames burst out in response to Ochaco’s attack.

In a blink of an eye, Ochaco leaps backward to avoid the flames, unfortunately the jump was a bit too strong and she ends up smashing into the ceiling before bouncing off of it and landing hard onto the melting floor. She’s in too much shock to register the pain. _‘Fire?! He can shoot out fire, too?! That would be so cool if it wasn’t so unfair!!’_ Not to mention those flames are really strong, they’ve already melting away must of the ice surrounding her dual-elemental classmate.

Todoroki’s heart is filled with instant regret as apparent shock adorns his features. _‘No…!!’_ He gazes in horror as his flames roar from his left side, his mind is so disturbed that he fails to cut it off.

Ochaco scrambles back onto her feet as the flames continue to dance across her path to victory. _‘I won’t let this stop me! I will win!!’_ Her entire body glows with a heavenly pink aura. “I’ll go beyond!” She clenches her fists and from within her grip her finger tips glow brighter and brighter as Zero-Gravity activates. “Plus Ultra!!”

She releases all that she has letting One For All flow through her, and that’s when something unexpected takes place. The pink aura begins to grow outward from her fists in large spheres, the spheres expand slowly before encompassing around Ochaco encasing her in a sphere of pink light. _‘What’s happening?! What’s going on?! Did…did One For All…combine with my Zero-Gravity?!’_

This may work out in her favor, so she lets One For All pour out like a crashing waterfall. The orb bursts outward; the entire room shakes and rumbles as the pink light rushes forward. As the light absorbs everything in its path, anything and everything that is swallowed up by it suddenly finds itself weightless; water droplets rise and dance in the air, rubble and shards of ice float upward, steam from the rising flames and ice seem to freeze in place, and yet there is an overwhelming pressure despite the weightlessness as if anything inside will and can be crushed in a moment’s notice.

And neither Todoroki nor his flames are immune to the effects of the strange expanding space.

His feet leave the ground making him lose his balance; it’s finally enough to snap him out of his daze and he releases his Quirk by swinging his arm. _‘What is this? Is she…manipulating the gravity around her?’_ The force of the swing makes his body rotate in midair until his back is towards the ceiling and he watches as he rises further into the air.

This is the moment she's been waiting for. “Now’s my chance!!” With a mighty kick she propels herself forward rocketing herself straight towards the bomb and thanks to the Zero-Gravity she breezes through the air as she rushes by ice shards and rubble are blown away as she zooms by. 

“I won’t let you!!” Todoroki shoves his hand forward and a giant icicle ejects itself outward directly into Ochaco’s path, the icicle crashes into the ground and with the combination of the force and the weightlessness Todoroki is pushed backwards his back slamming into the ceiling.

As for the giant ice spear, it doesn’t do anything to stop the charging gravity-wielder.

“That won’t stop me!!” Ochaco charges right through the icicle, obliterating it into a thousand pieces as Todoroki looks on in shock. Hero visor shatters and breaks as she crashes through it.

Now there’s only one obstacle left between her and her goal; the glacier that’s protecting the fake bomb.

She reels back her strained fist, she can feel pain surging through it especially as her sleeve is torn apart from all the power being released, and the nausea in her stomach is a clear sign that’s she’s pushed herself far beyond her limit. “Special move!!” But despite that she refuses to give in. She will win this match and show All Might just how far she’s willing to go!! “VENUS SMASH!!!”

Although her momentum stops right when her fist collides with the glacier, thanks to the Zero-Gravity Field, the power of her attack does not. The entire glacier discharges into shards of ice as a powerful gale force bursts out between Ochaco’s fist and the glacier’s side. The powerful whirlwind floods the entire space taking everything along with it; the walls are smashed apart as a barrage of ice shards and rubble rocket into them, Todoroki covers his body in ice in order to defend himself from oncoming debris, and the ice pillars are easily blown away as if made of paper mache.

“I…did it.” She sure did and with that she shuts down One For All.

The Zero-Gravity Field seemingly dissipates as it phases out of existence as it does everything returns to its normal hue before they collapse onto the ground. The floor shakes as the numerous amounts of ice and rubble crash down under their own weight, and that includes Todoroki who lands on the ground with a loud thud.

Ochaco’s breathing is shaky and her balance is faltering as she remains poised with her fist out in front of her. Her arm is completely exposed, colored red as it swells in pain, and her knuckle bleeds. Her bare feet are numb from the pain, good thing too because the cold id probably bitting at the bottom of her feet. She lets her right arm fall and not too soon because the very next second, she’s let’s out a lurching belch just before she barfs up a rainbow, literally.

Todoroki groans as he pushes his upper body off the ground, he winces but fights through the slight aching pain. _‘What the hell is she? How could someone like her…wield such power?’_

And more importantly, how could he have lost? There’s no way and worst of all. _‘She…made me use that bastard’s Quirk.’_ He stares at his left hand like it personally betrayed his trust. _‘It’s the first real day of hero training…and I already broke my promise.’_ His steely cold gaze leers up towards his opponent, who is struggling to keep herself on her feet. _‘What was that power of yours? It kind of…’_ His gaze falls as if he realizes something. ‘ _It’s kind of like All Might’s power.’_ Or at least what he’s seen on the news.

All Might’s voice calls out through their micro-transceivers. **“I HAVE THE RESULTS!”**

Todoroki’s eyes shoot upwards. _‘Is it really over already?’_

From her hunched over form, Ochaco raises her head unsure what All Might’s getting at. After all, she hasn’t captured the bomb yet. But…what if…? She hurriedly scans the room, her head swiveling from side to side as she tries to locate the bomb. It’s nowhere in sight!! It isn’t where the glacier used to be!

And then it hits her, she fully understands the predicament almost instantly.

**“IT’S A DRAW!!”**

Ochaco falls to her knees her eyes wide and full of defeat as she realizes the truth of the matter; she accidently destroyed the fake bomb with her last all-out attack.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“This is so not right!” Mina wines for all to hear. “I demand a rematch! There’s no way we can just call it a draw?!”

Herself and Team B are standing outside the melting ice castle as the rest of their classmates group up with them with their teacher in toe.

All Might practically sprints to the front of the group. **“HAVE HEART ASHIDO YOU EACH GAVE US A FINE SHOWING!”**

An irked Mina’s cheeks puff out. “Don’t patronize me.”

From the side Todoroki gaze drifts away, avoiding eye contact with any of his peers.

A robotic voice cuts through the crowd. “Bring to nurses’ office---” Proclaims a Mini Conveyor-Bot, latched behind it is a stretcher with an injured Ochaco laying on top of it and at the opposite end is a second Mini Conveyor-Bot.

“I know---” Responds the second Mini Conveyor-Bot. 

“Uraraka, are you alright?!” Mina runs up to her partner, the robots stop to allow her access, and Deku follows close behind the Acid girl with his notebook held close to his chest.

Ochaco peers up at them, grateful for their concern. “Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just…a little worse for wear.” If you call swollen limbs, bleeding knuckles, and a torn costume a little worse for wear.

Iida literally cuts himself into the conversation. “Uraraka! It is irresponsible to downplay your injuries!” His arms rapidly shake up and down in a robotic like manner, the display is so awkward-looking that Ochaco has to look away to prevent herself from laughing.

Mina’s horns twitch before she too looks away holding her gut as she tries to hold back her chuckles.

**“YOUNG URARAKA!”** Their attention is drawing to their larger than life sensei, his signature ever present as his cape bellows in the wind.

A brief jolt of nervousness courses through the new wielder of One For All as she lies there injured and helpless. She failed the exercise. Is he upset? Did she…disappoint him? And she was really giving it her all, too.

A big thumbs up is all she receives from her predecessor, but it’s enough to ease her worries. **“YOU DID VERY WELL! I CAN’T WAIT TO SEE WHAT YOU HAVE IN STORE FOR US IN THE FUTURE.”**

The message is clear: they have much more work to do, but there’s no doubt that he’s proud. Despite his towering form he somehow looks like he’s standing taller with his chest out as if in pride. But not pride in himself but pride in his student.

A light blush of gratitude rises on her cheeks. “T-thanks, All Might!”

**“HEY, NO SWEAT. NOW AWAY TO THE NURSES’ OFFICE WITH YOU!”** He swings his arm to the side as to emphasize the order.

Both bots respond simultaneously before they kart her away. “We know---” And with that they wheel away a light buzzing noise following them as they leave the arena.

Sero removes his helmet sticking it under his arm. “Who knew she had that kind of firepower.” He is of course referring to the attack she pulled when he and Todoroki first encountered her.

Jiro raises her hands behind her head. “It’s kinda scary.” Her mind thinks back on the strange pink field she had generated.

“It was so manly!!” Proclaims Kirishima, just watching her standup to the ice and fire master was more than enough to get his blood pumping!

Hagakure, presumably, tilts her head as she places a finger on her cheek. “Was that a compliment?”

A smiling Kaminari lets his own thoughts known. “She wasn’t the only one full of surprises, though.”

Mina’s not completely sure what he’s talking about. “What do you mean?”

Sero leans in, unsure what Kaminari is talking about as well.

Kaminari pauses for effect before giving his answer. “He can also generate fire!” He holds his hands out like it’s a big surprise.

Sero’s jaw drops. “Really?!” If that’s the case, then why didn’t he ever witness him using it?! Then again, he never really told him his full plan so guess it’s not that of a surprise.

Ojiro’s tail sways as he confirms Sero’s question. “Oh, yeah. It was really something.” He smiles sheepishly as a troubling thought crosses his mind. “Honestly, if it was anyone else, they probably wouldn’t have stood a chance against him.”

Oh, how right he really is.

Mina gushes in awe of the new information. “Wow! He’s handsome and has such an amazing Quirk too!” She swivels around before rushing up to the down casted Todoroki, whom at this point has been avoiding interacting with any of his classmates at this point not wanting to discuss those wretched flames. “You gotta show me!”

If he’s put off by Mina’s overbearing enthusiasm then he doesn’t show it, instead he keeps his calm and indifferent demeanor. “I’d…rather not.”

“Aw, but why?!”

And just like that Todoroki’s apathy is gone and replaced with a flash of an intense inner rage that threatens to spill outward like a violent storm.

Mina’s cheerful and excited smile vanishes as a look of concern appears on her face, she backs up holding her head down in shame, bowing her head apologetically.

Everyone else seems to notice Todoroki’s change but they don’t press the matter, chalking it up to the fact that he’s unsatisfied with the results of the battle trial.

Izuku watches on worried at his classmate’s reaction to being questioned. Silently he flips open his notebook searching for the page he set aside for one Shoto Todoroki. He locates the page it has a rough sketch of Todoroki’s overall appearance while in costume, a general height and weight estimates, and of course extensive notes on his Quirk, Half-Cold and, apparently, Half-Hot.

_‘His Quirk, Half-Cold Half-Hot, is definitely one of the most multifaceted powers here, other than my own.’_ His gaze rises up to the ice castle: chunks of ice shatter and fall as water pools around it as the frozen liquid melts away. _‘And it’s an impressive Quirk…a very impressive Quirk.’_ He did freeze an entire building and he was still able to use his Quirk effectively afterwards. _‘But those flames, his fire, now that was the real surprise.’_ He eyes the few notes he has on those flames. _‘I wonder why he didn’t use them sooner.’_

He decides not to ponder on it for too long before he flips through the pages until he comes across the page that’s dedicated to his friend, Ochaco Uraraka. This single page alone is already filled to the brim with notes, observations, and uses for her Quirk(s). He’s probably going to need to dedicate a new page or two so he can draw up her costume and of course jot down the amazing phenomena he had just witnessed.

He finds a clean page and begins writing away. _‘Just what was that pink sphere she made? And why did it expand the way it did? It had to be some sort of weird Zero-Gravity Field that makes anything inside of it weightless. But I thought Uraraka’s Quirk only worked when she makes physical contact with her hands. So, was that an effect of her second Quirk? Like they...combined or something?’_

Unknown to the analytical nerd the only pro hero in the room is having similar thoughts. **_‘JUST WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT?! DID…ONE FOR ALL BOOST HER ORIGINAL QUIRK?!’_** A part of him is admittedly a bit apprehensive about this. **_‘WE’LL DEFINITELY NEED TO DISCUSS THIS BUT FOR NOW I NEED TO CONTINUE WITH BEING A TEACHER.’_**

All Might raises his hand in the air. **“THAT’S ENOUGH TALK! LET’S DISCUSS THE RESULTS!”** He pulls his hand down looking at the students expectedly. **“NOW WHO CAN TELL ME WHICH ONE OF THESE FINE CLASSMATES YOURS WAS THE M.V.P.?!”**

Yaoyorozu doesn’t even wait to begin; by this point it’s almost expected of her to have the answer. “Looking at everything at face value I would say Todoroki was the most valuable player of the match.”

Most of the class have looks of agreement although they can’t help but feel that her deduction is not quite right.

And Yaoyorozu must feel the same way. “But that being said, Todoroki’s performance was far from efficient.”

The very teen in question eyes the other recommended student with a wary gaze, unsure by what she means.

“Although Todoroki’s Quirk is powerful as demonstrated by his defensive strategy to protect the target, he however clearly underestimated his opponents. And in doing so it allowed for them to gain a proper plan of attack; thanks to Uraraka’s efforts. That was further evident when he confronted Uraraka. During their confrontation he was surprised by her skill and capabilities and thus he lost his composure, using large scale attacks that are far too destructive for such an exercise. And even if it was declared a draw, he ultimately failed in protecting the bomb and was completely overwhelmed by Uraraka’s last attack.”

**“AS YOU’VE SHOWN US, YOU ARE RIGHT ON THE MONEY!! WELL, SAID YAOYOROZU!”** All Might turns to the rest of the class. **“DOES ANYONE ELSE HAVE ANYTHING TO ADD?”**

No one seems to be willing to speak up, but a shy timid voice nervously wiggles its way through.

Izuku shakily rotates his pen between his fingers trying to keep his composure. “D-during the match…both Ashido and Sero did their parts for their individual teams.” Izuku jolts in place for a second when he realizes that everyone's attention is on him, and that includes All Might’s. “B-both k-kept their composers and kept with their respective goals: to capture the other or the bomb. And as for Uraraka, she lacked a clear plan when they initially entered the building. And although she was able to deduce the location of the bomb, her powerful attack…admittedly much like my own. Caused far too much collateral damage. She was probably far too focused on defeating her opponent that she didn’t hold back and thus the bomb being destroyed was the end result.” He finally takes a moment to breath. “At least, that’s my take on it. Huh?”

He grimaces as his nerves return; everyone is staring at him like he’s grown a second pair of eyes; his muttering must have really thrown them off.

All Might tries to brush off the odd display by coughing. **“N-NICELY SAID, Y-YOUNG MIDORIYA. YOU’VE BROUGHT UP SOME EXCELLENT POINTS.”** The pro hero swings his arms in attempt to wash the feelings of discomfort away. **“AS MIDORIYA JUST EXPLAINED IT IS IMPORTANT TO WORK TOGETHER AND SUPPORT EACH OTHER ESPECIALLY AS YOU ALL GROW AND LEARN WITH EACH OTHER. NOT ONLY THAT IT IS IMPORTANT TO NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THOSE AROUND YOU BECAUSE THEY CAN BE HIDING ALL SORTS OF SURPRISES.”**

Izuku almost wants to laugh at that. _‘You have no idea.’_

**“WELL I THINK THAT’S ENOUGH FOR THE DAY. SO WELL DONE ON A HARD DAY’S WORK! HA!”** He stands tall and proud with his fists at his sides. **“WITH THE EXCEPTION OF TWO SERIOUS INJURIES YOU ALL DID EXTREMELY WELL FOR YOUR FIRST TRAINING EXERCISE!”**

Tsuyu smiles up at their teacher. “Coming after Mr. Aizawa’s class, it’s nice having such a straight-forward class.”

**“YOU’RE WELCOME! WE TEACHERS ARE FREE TO HOLD NO-NONSENSE CLASSES IF WE CHOOSE! NOW, I’M OFF TO GO CHECK ON OUR INJURED COMPANIONS!”** With a swoosh he spins around turning towards the exit. **“CHANGE OUT OF THOSE COSTUMES AND HEAD BACK TO THE CLASSROOM!”** He swings back his arms and his leg like he’s ready to take off in a mad sprint. **“NOW WATCH AS A HERO MAKES AN EXIT,”** He takes off like a race car jacked on rocket boosters. **“LIKE HE’S GOT SOMEWHERE TO BE!!”**

“He’s so fast!!” Shouts Mina.

Ojiro feels dejected. “There’s no way I can get to that speed.”

Kaminari’s smiling like an idiot. “So cool!”

Izuku watches on in fascination as his pen fidgets about in his notebook as he estimates All Might’s possible top speed.

Meanwhile, one dual-haired teen leers into the distance where All Might disappeared towards, there’s a dark almost suspicious look in his eye as if he’s in serious thought. _‘I underestimated her…and she made me use his Quirk.’_ He grips his left wrist like it’s a direct insult to his pride. _‘Even after I told myself that I would never use it…I go right ahead and break my own promise. At this rate I’ll never surpass him, and he’ll win.’_ He exhales a breath of cold frigid air. _‘I won’t let that happen again. And next time, I won’t underestimate my opponents.’_

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Recovery Girl waves as a fully recovered Bakugou trudges towards the infirmary’s exit.

Currently he’s all healed up, not a a scratch to be seen, the only thing out of place is his regular school uniform especially his baggy school pants.

“Enjoy the rest of your day dearie.”

He brushes her off as he approaches the door. “Whatever.”

Well someone is clearly in a bad mood. And why wouldn't he? He just got his ass handed to him by the very person he’s towered over for years. And it was in front of all those loser nobodies he has for classmates, how the hell is he supposed to show off his superiority if he lost to Deku? To fucking Deku?!

The nurses’ office door swings open.

“We have arrived at the nurses’ office---!”

“I know---!”

Bakugou reels back in surprise at the sudden appearance of the Mini Conveyor-Bots. “What the hell-Oof!!” He holds his gut after taking a direct hit from Recovery Girl’s cane.

“Watch your volume, young man. You need to be quiet when in the nurses’ office; think about the other patients.”

“Shut up!” Whether he snapped at her out of anger or pain is unclear.

Ochaco groans as she attempts to cover her ears, but her arms refuse to move. “So…loud.”

“Huh?” That when he finally notices that the Mini Conveyor-Bots are in fact carrying an injured Ochaco into the infirmary. He takes note of her shredded arm and pant sleeves and more importantly her swollen and red limbs. “What the hell happened to you? You get the crap beaten out of you?”

Despite the pain she can’t help but bite back at the jerkwad. “Like you’re one to talk?”

Bakugou winces a flash of anger courses through him. “T-that was just a fluke! The stupid nerd tricked me!”

“No…he didn’t.” Ochaco is not trying to be malicious, she’s just trying to speak the truth. “He beat the living shit out of you.” Okay, maybe she should have been a little more considerate about how she worded that.

Bakugou looks like he is ready to explode, but a quick look from Recovery Girl holds him back. “What…what’s it matter to you?”

“I’m…his friend. And I’ve seen the way you treat him. And it’s terrible.”

Now that throws Bakugou a bit for a loop. “You’re, his, friend? I thought that stupid nerd only had one friend, Uuichi.”

Ochaco eyes Bakugou warily unsure if he’s messing with her or not. “Uuichi? You mean you don’t know?” She probably shouldn’t be surprised all things considered; from what she’s seen he could care less about anything that concerns Deku. “They had a falling out. And I guess so did you.”

His glare softens, it’s not much of a difference though. “What are you getting at?”

“You’re strong Bakugou, you earned your top ranking in the Entrance Exam, but” She gives him the most deadpanned look that she can muster from laying on the stretcher. “your personality is crap.”

His entire body is shaking in silent rage in response, but he somehow bites back his tongue.

“Deku, is not helpless or useless. He’s brave and willing to do what’s right. And today he stood up to you. I don't know what you said to each other, but Deku doesn’t hate you, he’s too nice like that, but” The two lock eyes helping to assert the seriousness of what she has to say. “he’s more than what you give him credit for.”

Bakugou is honestly not sure how to respond to that. So he doesn’t instead he turns away brushing her off like she’s lost her goddamn mind. “Whatever, you’re clearly delusional from all the pain.” He stomps through the exit. “See ya later, Roundface!”

Ochaco gasps. “Roundface?!”

Meanwhile, Recovery Girl chuckles to herself at her reaction.

The Mini Conveyor-Bots finally move her to a bed and softly help her onto it. And after a quick reprimand from Recovery Girl about her lack of self-preservation she kisses her cheek and her limbs quickly begin to heal themselves.

As Recovery Girl does her magic Ochaco thinks back on what she’s observed from Bakugou so far. _‘His ego is so inflated, but who knows maybe this will calm him down a bit… Although the look on his face when he lost was oddly satisfying to witness.’_ She smiles smugly to herself as she reminisces in the memory of Bakugou taking on Deku’s last attack. 

Her recovery goes smoothly enough although the exhaustion hits her hard and she’s struggling to keep her eyes open and the bed is starting to feel very comfortable right about now. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to take a quick nap would it?

“I am here!”

Well, she’ll have to put that nap on hold.

“Quiet!!” Recovery Girl is quick to swing her syringe like cane into the Number One Hero’s frail stomach. 

“Gahh!!” Toshinori wheezes in pain, grabbing his gut as Recovery Girl fumes in annoyance.

“Al-All Might?!” That wakes her right up. Why is he here?! What’s going on?! Wait!! Oh, no. She shakily turns towards Recovery Girl who is busy reprimanding the injured All Might about being more considerate when in a place of healing. ‘Oh, no. I…I accidentally gave away his identity.’

Toshinori notices the worried look in her eyes, he smiles gently trying to put her at ease. “Oh, don’t worry, Recovery Girl knows all about me and…my power.”

Recovery Girl offers a friendly smile in confirmation. “It’s true, and might I add that I think All Might has chosen a fine young lady to be his successor.”

That makes her blush slightly more than she always does. “T-thank you, mam.” 

Recovery Girl nods before strolling off to sort through her medicine cabinet allowing Toshinori and Ochaco a moment to themselves.

Toshinori takes a seat in an open chair next to her bed. “Hey, kid. How you holding up?”

“I’ve been better.”

“Yeah, I guess it could have been worse.”

“Worse?!” Recovery Girl wheels around shaking her cane in a threatening manner. “Are you implying that this is the best-case scenario?!”

Toshinori hastily shakes his hands in denial. “No no no of course not. It’s just…” He turns back to his successor. “you did such a good job out there today.”

“But…I failed the exercise.”

“It was a draw and you gave it your all.” He pats her on the head gently. “And as a teacher, how can I fail a student who is so willing to go beyond?”

Ochaco smiles in gratitude as she takes in the praise from her mentor. Until she remembers something very important. “Oh, All Might! That thing! The strange light!!” She means the Zero-Gravity Field.

Toshinori understands what she’s talking about. “Ah, yes. We need to discuss that.”

There’s only one thing she can really ask. “What was it?”

“I think…One For All somehow boosted your Zero-Gravity Quirk.”

“But I was still able to use One For All while emitting that weird effect.”

“Hmmm, maybe you were able to somehow use both Quirks at once. That may explain why One For All boosted your Quirk in the first place. It’s definitely something we need to work on. It could be a huge asset for you in the future.”

Ochaco suddenly becomes very shy thanks to All Might’s praise. “You think so?”

Toshinori gives her a grin, it’s nothing like his signature smile but it’s just as strong in letting her know that everything is right with the world. “Without a doubt.”

Recovery Girl can’t help but let her opinion be known. “Then you best not come back here with anymore injuries!”

Both wielders of One For All cry out defensively. “Yes, mam!” 

Toshinori pushes himself off his seat. “Well, I best be off. I just wanted to check in on you before I do some paperwork.”

“Wait, All Might!” She just remembered something very important. “So, this is a quick change in topic but,” She fidgets in her bed trying to sit up, but her limbs won’t allow her that privilege. “do you remember what I asked you before school started?” She means, can she tell Deku about One For All?

Recovery Girl observes silently from the side curious about what Ochaco’s getting at but doesn’t initially pry into it.

“About that.” Toshinori rubs his neck. He's not that confident in how he should approach this “From what I’ve seen, Midoriya is a fine young man. With a good head and his shoulders and a heroic spirit.”

Recovery Girl watches on giggling to herself. _‘He sounds like a father assessing his daughter’s boyfriend.’_

Toshinori is oblivious to Recovery Girl’s comparison. “He’s smart, able to analyze his opponents and plan accordingly, and his Quirk certainly makes him a force to be reckoned with.”

Ochaco smiles with raising hope; she can finally tell Deku all about her and All Might. Oh, the look on his face is going to be amazing!

“But I think it’s best if you don't involve Midoriya with the knowledge of One For All.”

Well, another dream dies. “But why?!”

All Might inhales before delving into his explanation. “Allow me to explain a few things first.” He holds a hand towards his chest. “Number one all the staff here know about this true form and my injury. However, only you, Recovery Girl, and the Principal know about the true nature of my Quirk. And it is a secret to all others.” His eyes gaze pierces into Ochaco’s allowing the seriousness of the situation to take root. “And it must remain that way.”

The underlining seriousness of the statement instantly resonates within her. She looks up with worry and surprise hoping that he will continue to explain his reasoning.

“You must be aware of the responsibility that comes with this power. Should the world learn of our power, I have no doubt that all manner of scum would come and try to steal it away! This secret is all that prevents our society from falling into chaos. It’s also meant to protect you and those around you. Understand?”

She does. She now understands the full weight of the situation. If anyone, if villains, found out about One For All and what it can do then they would do anything in their power to get it. Even if that means threatening her life and those she loves: her parents, her friends, or anybody that she has any connection to. And if she shares that info with Deku then she essentially paints a giant target on his back, and she cannot willingly do that to him. He already has enough secrets to keep, there’s no reason to make him worry about anything else.

“I…understand.” There’s a hint of regret and sorrow in her voice. “All Might…”

“Yes.”

“I’m…I’m sorry.” 

He smiles down at her, a smile that reads that there is no need to worry about it. “It’s okay. I should have been clearer with you. And it’s admirable of you to want to include your friend, but for his sake and yours it’s best to leave him ignorant to it all.”

“I…yes, sir.”

He continues to smile as Ochaco’s eyes begin to droop.

She’s been doing her best to stave off the exhaustion from Recovery Girl’s Quirk, but it’s now a losing battle and she is ready to call it in. “Now…if you don’t mind…I’m gonna sleep now.”

Toshinori chuckles. “You do that.”

And with a soft thankful smile Ochaco allows herself to be overcome by the overwhelming need to rest.

A minute passes and already Ochaco is out like a light, her chest rising ever so slightly with each breath she takes.

When she thinks that the girl isn’t going to wake back up anytime soon, Recovery Girl swivels around in her rotating seat. “Tell me. Why don’t you want her to include her friend?” Toshinori doesn’t initially respond so she continues. “You have your own allies, why not allow her to choose her own?”

Toshinori takes a moment to think about his response before he delivers it. “It’s not that she can’t say anything, but it’s more if she should.”

Recovery Girl tilts her head to the side. “Hm?”

Toshinori sits back down, he slouches forward with something heavy weighing on his mind. “That Midoriya boy…I had a run in with him almost a year ago.”

“Oh?” Now that is a surprise.

“Yes.” His voice…it’s different rather than full of hope and joy it’s now sewn with sorrow and shame. “And I did something…that I am constantly regretting.” His blue eyes peer up at the older heroine, seeking comfort for his mistake. “I…I rejected his dream. I told him…that someone Quirkless couldn’t be a hero.”

“I don’t quite follow.” Her confusion is not unfounded after all that Midoriya boy does possess a Quirk, and an impressive Quirk at that.

“When I met him…he told me…he was Quirkless.”

Now that changes everything. If that’s true, then how could he have gained his powers? “Are you sure he wasn’t just lying?”

“I’m positive that it was the truth.” Toshinori turns away unable to look the heroine in the eye any longer. “The look in his eyes told me all that I needed to know.”

“What are you saying?”

“Before Midoriya came to U.A. he was in fact Quirkless and I denied him of his dream of becoming a hero. Yet here he is with a Quirk that miraculously grants him access to other…Quirks!” He slouches forward even more, his hands gripping his knees as he thinks about the horrible possibilities of what may have brought about the change in Midoriya’s current statues.

Recovery Girl pales at the mere thought as well. “Are you saying…he’s somehow connected to that…monster?”

Toshinori exhales. “That is unclear. I hope it isn’t the case and I’m just being a paranoid old man, but every fiber of my being is telling that something is amiss and that something is not right with that boy.” He sighs, mostly to himself. “Then again, it could be all my fault. Perhaps I was too harsh and as a result he sought help from others…perhaps he came into contact with…him. And he granted the boy a Quirk that’s on par with his own. But knowing how that devil operates he’s probably manipulating young Midoriya, making him a potential victim in all of this.”

“You can’t be serious?” She worried now, if that were true that that would mean that the monster is alive and still operating from the shadows.

“I’m afraid I am.”

“But…it’s crazy! He’s been gone for over a decade now. You defeated him yourself!”

“I am aware, but someone like him doesn’t seem like the type to stay away forever.”

Recovery Girl leans back in her chair trying to calm her old nerves. “Have you told anyone else this?”

“No. I don’t want to bring it up to anyone else; not until I have some standing evidence or proof. Like I said, if I’m wrong about this I would have liked to not have involved anyone else in worrying about it.”

“So…why tell me?” Why make her worry about all this then?

“You’re U.A.’s head nurse, meaning you have access to personal files and information on everybody at this school an-”

“Now hold it right there, All Might!” He better not be suggesting what she thinks he’s suggesting. “I cannot willingly just hand you personal information about my patients no matter who they are!”

“I know that!” He snaps defensively. “All I’m saying is that if you find anything…out of order for him that you’d let me know about it.”

Recovery Girl sits back thinking about what All Might has just proposed. It’s unethical, but it just might be necessary. “Very well, I will keep an eye on things, but you should know that I don’t agree with it not one bit!”

“I understand.”

“Hmpf!” She swings in her seat turning her back towards the Number One Hero and his successor. “What do you plan on doing in the meantime?”

“In the meantime I will continue to teach and guide these youths on the path of heroism. Especially for the two of them,” He looks at the sleeping Ochaco thinking about her and her…friend. “if young Midoriya is being manipulated by him then it’s my fault and my responsibility to make things right. I will keep an eye on him and guide him on the right path. I just hope that it’s not too late.”

“I hope you know what you're doing.”

Toshinori continues to watch his successor resting peacefully in a calm sleep, blissfully unaware of the possible turmoil and evil brewing in the shadows. “So, do I.”

He truly hopes that he’s wrong… But if he isn’t then it could spell catastrophic for all of U.A. and the world if that devil did survive the battle. Not only that he doesn’t think his young successor would be able to handle the possibility that her friend is a…villain and a traitor. It could potentially break her spirit if the one she trusts is the enemy… At times like this he can’t help but wonder how his old master would handle this situation. _‘Just who are you Midoriya? And what are you hiding?’_

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“What a day!” Ojiro leans back in his desk chair as his classmates prepare themselves for the end of the day.

Sato flops down into his seat. “I’m exhausted.”

“No kidding.” Agrees Sero. “ That battle trial was intense.”

Iida stands tall in between the rows of desks, his arm out in front of him. “Everyone’s efforts were exemplary!”

Kirishima groans in disappointment. “Speak for yourselves, I never got to do anything.”

Mina slaps his shoulder repeatedly in a friendly manner. “Cheer up, there will always be next time.”

Kaminari enters the room alongside Jiro both of them are carrying stacks of textbooks. “All Might was so cool! I still can’t believe we have him as a teacher!”

Jiro approaches the front desk and plops her stack on top of it. “Yeah, it’s pretty crazy to think about isn’t it?”

Izuku remains silent, listening from his desk behind his former friend who returned to the class not too long ago, but he’s refused to even acknowledge him since his return.

But Izuku isn’t that concerned with him right now, because his thoughts are somewhere else.

He’s still hung up on All Might being their newest teacher and he’s not sure if he should be excited or terrified because of it. Sure the Number One Hero will be overseeing their education as heroes, but what happens if All Might discovers the Omnitrix and aliens?! But then again, maybe he doesn’t have anything to worry about. It didn’t seem like All Might remembers him or what they discussed. And that makes sense, it was a while ago and he’s sure that All Might meets all sorts of fans every single day so there’s no way he’d remember him amongst all those faces. A part of him wishes that it wasn’t the case, thinking you’re just another forgettable face is not exactly comforting, especially considering how the pro hero practically stepped on his dream. And in all honestly it would have been nice to be able to show All Might how wrong he is, but there’s no point in bringing up that depressing moment now. So, he might as well let it go and move on…still hurts though. 

The school bell signaling the end of the day snaps him out of his thoughts as well as silence the rest of the class.

Almost immediately as soon as the bell finishes Bakugou pushes out of his seat and sulks over towards the exit where he makes his leave without so much as acknowledging anybody.

Sero sits atop a desk watching as Bakugou heads out for the day. “That guy really needed an attitude adjustment.”

Mineta nods his head. “No kidding.”

Izuku can’t help but feel a little guilty about that. When he thinks back on it, he really did have Bakugou have it. And it’s almost concerning how quiet he’s been since then, it’s just not like him.

Tokoyami places a textbook into his bag. “He’s a tormented soul one full of darkness and rage.”

Mina walks past overhearing the crow-headed classmate. “Yeah, but at least Midoriya was able to bring him down a peg or two.” She flashes said boy a big thumbs up.

Hagakure walks beside her. “More like a whole staircase.”

Okay if he was on the verge of feeling guilty then he definitely does now. Sure Bakugou is a jerk but his desire to become a hero was always so grand and inspiring to him. He doesn’t want Bakugou to lose his fiery passion, he just wanted to stop the torment that he constantly has to put him through.

Tsuyu remains seated as she fills out her day planner. “I don’t know, it seems like his loss is really eating away at him.”

Shoji overhears as he gets up from his seat. “I agree, but who knows maybe this will be good for him.”

Will it though? Maybe it will be, maybe he’ll tone it down a bit…but that’s not what he wants! Izuku grabs at his hair trying to sort through his thoughts and emotions. Sure Kacchan is a jerk, he’s crude, a pottymouth, and prone to violence and aggression, but…his ambitions are great! He’s not a terrible person and he knows that he can become one of the greats. And if he’s somehow responsible for making Bakugou feel insignificant then that can compromise his own dream! He can’t allow for that to happen; he has to make this right! Yes, Kacchan hasn’t exactly been the supportive type but he can and will become a hero. And Izuku will make sure of that!

Izuku leaps off his seat so fast that his chair falls backwards, it draws the attention of his classmates, but before they can voice their concerns, greenette takes off spring out of the classroom leaving his confused and concerned classmates behind.

Izuku runs as fast as he can. He has to get to Bakugou before he walks away, before his dream is compromised! He’s so focused on chasing after his former friend that Izuku fails to catch Iida shouting at him to stop running in the halls.

It doesn’t take him long to reach the front entrance and there he is, his back turned towards U.A. as he trudges his way to the main gates.

“Kacchan!!”

Bakugou freezes in place, he had thought that Deku was done calling him that; he turns his head ever so slightly towards the offending target. “What do you want?” His voice is soft but gruff just barely a whisper.

“I…want to talk.”

“Didn’t…you say enough already?”

Izuku’s eyes cast downwards. “Well, I did say what I wanted to say; there’s still some things I need to say…” He grips the Omnitrix, its smooth surface is a comfort letting him know that it’s still there. Like it would be anywhere else? “I can’t say much. But you should know this at the very least… I never lied to you about having a Quirk…” That’s…partially true, he did never outright tell Bakugou that he has a Quirk. “My…abilities didn’t reveal themselves to me… until nearly a year ago. I’m a late bloomer…” Well that’s mostly true he did only have the Omnitrix for less than a year now, but it still leaves a bad taste in his mouth but what else can he do. He can’t tell Kacchan about the true nature of his powers, who knows how he would take that information. Probably not that well. And hopefully with this explanation Kacchan won’t pry any further into the cause of his powers. Hopefully.

Bakugou’s eyes are shadowed over by his ash-blonde hair. Through the strands he eyes at Izuku assessing whether he’s telling the truth or bullshitting with him.

“And that’s not all…there’s something I need to show you.”

Bakugou shifts his body so he doesn’t have to crane his neck any longer.

Izuku pinches the ends of the Omnitrix, the face dial pops upward and he scans for the alien he wants to share with his former friend. Izuku finds it and peers back up at Bakugou making sure that he’s still there, he is. With a gulp Izuku presses the faceplate down and a flash of green envelops him.

Bakugou now expecting the green flash was ready he cast his eyes away so as to not be blinded. However, when he peers back up, he is in for a major surprise. His eyes widen as he silently gasps at the sight before him.

Feedback stands tall with his tendrils curled downward as he grips his left wrist.

Bakugou’s eyes say it all; he clearly recognizes the offending figure. _‘It was him?! He was…Deku was…the one that…saved me?!’_ All this time he had just assumed that the electrical fucker was a random unpopular hero that ended up losing his credit to someone else. 

Feedback doesn’t have to be a mind reader to tell what Bakugou is thinking. “Yes, I was the one that saved you from that Slime Villain all those months ago. In fact, that was the day I gained these powers.” Now that’s the truth, and it’s what resparked his own desire to become a hero.

Feedback raises his black-skinned hands taking a moment to observe the inhuman appendages. “This power of mine…it’s like nothing I’ve ever seen. I don’t fully understand it myself and ever since I gained it my entire life has completely transformed.” No pun intended, but it’s the truth. Sure he’s still technically Quirkless but he’s not useless or worthless. He is on his way to becoming a hero not just for humanity but for all beings on this planet. “And there’s even more things I need to learn about it all, but with this power I can finally be a hero! I am going to become a hero that saves everybody with a smile.”

Bakugou’s eyes gloss over with a burning frustrating rage, his teeth clenching as his hands clutch into themselves at his sides.

Feedback’s eye pops out like dinner plates after realizing how stupid he’s being. _‘Ah, shit! I came to tell him that I wasn’t tricking him, but I went on a tangent…’_

Bakugou wobbles into place adjusting himself so he’s directly facing the one he had always thought of as inferior. “What the hell…? You’re a late bloomer…? Bullshit… You expect me to buy that shit? You’re just trying to make a bigger fool out of me, right?! I mean, what the hell?!” He’s burning up on the inside, he just wants to lash out, but he holds himself back and instead let his emotions to burst out instead. “I…lost to you of all people, today!! I got my asses handed by you, the one I looked down on for so long!!” He grips his forehead, almost as if he’s trying to hold back tears.

It’s as if everything he's ever known has been thrown into question; Deku was only meant to be an insignificant pebble on his path to becoming a hero, he’s supposed to be Quirkless, he’s not supposed to even be here!! And yet he is. “But not only do I find out you have a badass Quirk, but you also saved my ass, too!!” His hands are shaking in furious rage like he’s trying to will out explosions, but something is holding them from igniting. “Dammit!! Dammit!! Dammit!!”

This is not how things were supposed to be! He was supposed to be number one here, the top hero candidate, he was supposed to be the very best...!! But who’s to say that he still can’t? Who has the right to tell him otherwise? Nobody can tell him that he isn't the best, it’s been true all his life, and he is not going to let that change any time soon!!

“FROM HERE ON IN!!! I’M GONNA…BEAT YOU ALL!!!”

Feedback flinches blinking in surprise, he was not expecting the sudden outcry from Kacchan. Bakugou reals around stomping away for home. “So, enjoy your win! It’ll never happen again!! Dammit!!”

Feedback’s eyebrows, nodding his head with a determined huff. If Bakugou is going to continue to push forward, then so will he.

Bakugou stops just before gate, he swings his head back, and proclaims out for the entire world to hear. “I’ll be a hero who surpasses even All Might!”

Feedback watches as Bakugou marches off. Sure that…talk could have gone better; he certainly could have handled it differently. But he can’t argue with the results… Perhaps now, they can move on and better themselves. Their fuses have been lit and now they no longer have to hold back. They will turn their dreams into a reality.

Unbeknownst to the transformed Izuku there is someone else watching in on the two of them. From above them within the U.A. building a white-haired chimera observes as Feedback makes his way back into the building to gather his things.

“Fascinating…very fascinating.” There’s an almost mischievous glint in his eyes as if they're plotting something maniacal. “I’m excited to see just what kind of heroes you will become.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

In a small rundown bar within the outskirts of Kamino the pale-skinned man with an appreciation for hand-based wear is skimming through the local newspaper; what has his attention is the main header: ALL MIGHT TO TEACH AT U.A.!!

He sets the newspaper down onto the bar counter allowing the black-misted bartender a look. “You see this? He’s officially a teacher now…” He rotates in his chair to have a better look at the two beings behind him.

One patron is big, really big, with bulging muscles, and a terrifying shark-toothed grin, but most of his features are shrouded by the shadows casted by the deadlights he had decided to take shelter under.

The other patron is someone that is a little more familiar. Henzu leans back against the cold wall inspecting his hand that’s been altered to have blue skin and his fingers have become slick black claws. He’s long foregone the torn student uniform instead he opted more for a ragged black shirt that had its sleeves torn off, dark brown cargo shorts, and large black combat boots. His signature lock dangles from his neck.

“Tell me.” The blue-grey haired man slouches forward in his seat eyeing Henzu with an almost irritated look. “What do you think would happen if villains…killed the Symbol of Peace?”

Henzu doesn’t reply; instead he looks up at a poster of said Symbol of Peace hanging on the wall. In a blink of an eye there’s three slashes across the hero’s image as shreds of paper drift downward.

In response the pale-skinned man smirks from under his hand-mask, the bartender continues to polish and clean the counter, and the muscular monstrosity stares blankly ahead as a low growl rumbles through its core.

Henzu’s hand turns back to normal, he grins maliciously at his hand like it holds the key to their success. “I think…it would be a lot of fun.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like I said at the beginning, I felt like this was not my strongest chapter for me, but maybe you all enjoyed it more than I thought. Please let me know, it would be greatly appreciated. And hopefully with the return of a normal schedule for me I can hopefully get Ch.14 out faster than it took for me to finish Ch.13 Cool Down. 
> 
> *I didn’t want to explain each individual battle trail word for word, so I hope it was fine when I just glossed over them.   
> *Ochaco’s special attack, Venus Smash, is when she uses her Zero-Gravity Field along with a punch that’s being boosted by One For All.   
> *Speaking of the Zero-Gravity Field it’s something I thought up a while back and it’s going to help lead into some new abilities for Ochaco to utilize later on. Essentially, it’s her own Zero-Gravity Quirk being boosted by One For All.   
> *How did you guys like Mina Ashido? Just a heads up I do have an idea on what I want to do with her character, in fact I already hinted to some things in this chapters.   
> *Izuku will begin to refer to Bakugou as his real name rather than Kacchan but every now and then he will have a slip up just like in the last scene between the two of them.


	14. Shocking Development

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Class 1-A decide on a Class President but several various groups are making their moves at the same time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, here’s Ch.14 I hope you enjoy it. I know it’s not when I usually post chapters, but this will have to do. Real quick this chapter is not meant to be taken so seriously so if somethings don’t add up or have lasting impacts then please don’t hold it against me. I just wanted a fun chapter before things really heat up.
> 
> Also make sure to stay safe and wash your hands, and not just for your own well-being but for those around you. I'm currently stuck at home, myself, right and even though I’m trying not to go out I still wash my hands frequently. So, please take care of yourselves and those that can’t.
> 
> *Important Author’s note at the end of the chapter!*
> 
> *Also I think I should restate this, but I will be keeping any and all descriptions of Izuku’s aliens as general as possible. Not out of laziness but because a lot of the Ben Ten aliens have different versions of themselves, I didn’t want to have you, the readers, be forced to imagine a version of the aliens that you don’t like. So if you imagine Four Arms as he was during the original series then that is how he is, but if you like the Omniverse version then that is what he is. I didn’t want to restrict you guys. Plus I like some versions over others like I love the Alien Force version of Big Chill, but I like the Omniverse version of Wildvine. So, I hope this clarifies a few things.

“Repairs among the ship are now up to 80 percent, master.” A worker drone reads off the latest status report to the commander of the battle cruiser.

The repairs have been slow, thanks to the lack of supplies and manpower to deal with the issues. Most of them were damaged or ejected into space when the ship undertook that last attack by their prey. So most of the parts have to be delivered to them from beyond this solar system since the inhabitants of Earth have not achieved space travel. The commander could have his minions go down to the planet and seek out the materials they need from the alien inhabitants but that could alert the Plumbers of their presence. Fortunately, the ship’s cloaking device and signal scrambler are intact and free of damage. It’s also why it’s taking so long for the supplies to reach them since most of the ships have to be small, alone, and remain undetected by the Plumbers.

This irks the commander greatly, he would love nothing more than to tear through those Plumbers, but those red spots are quick to retaliate when it comes to avenging their own. So for now he must show restraint.

Besides he is still healing himself but at least now he can speak without having to stop and take deep breaths. His arms have nearly finished healing, but they remain weak and frail, and his legs are just starting to form. There’s not much he can do thanks to his condition but just because his body is damaged does not mean his mind is.

For the past several months he’s been studying, watching, and observing everything and anything he could. He has holographic displays of newsreels, magazines, newspapers, tv interviews, and website articles and each one contains different content whether that be about a pro hero, villain attack, new support items, and any information he can gather about how the humans perceive alien life. All of this information, all of this data, is to answer one question: what opposition will he find on the planet, specifically Japan?

And what he’s found has been more than interesting. He’s read and observed the one known as the planet’s Symbol of Peace, All Might. Apparently, he is Earth’s mightiest champion, hell, the humans practically worship the lower life form as a god. Oh, how wrong they are.

But All Might is not his only concern. The place known as Japan is infested with so called heroes, warriors that defend the peace, and each one is unique with their own mutations, abilities, and fighting styles.

More than what his drones are capable of handling. Drones lack subtlety, intelligence, and the skills to adapt to their situations. Then perhaps he shouldn’t be using drones? Perhaps…he should look towards other means of retrieving his desired prize? 

A monitor drone warily approaches the regeneration tank. “Master.”

Its master shifts slightly away from his studies, eyeing his underling with vague annoyance.

“The Omnitrix has been activated again and it appears to be on the move.”

The ships’ commander turns back to his displays but he’s not paying attention to them. Instead his mind wanders in deep thoughts.

‘The heroes and the Plumbers are far too much of an annoyance. And the boy, the boy that has stolen my weapon, is far more adapting at keeping the Omnitrix out of my reach than I had thought. I need something…no, someone that is proficient in combat especially against beings with varying abilities, I need someone who can bypass and avoid the red spots, and I need someone who is merciless and will be willing to take back what is mine.’

The drone watches his master concernedly. “Master?”

The commander eyes his holograms specifically one of a newspaper article with the headline ALL MIGHT TO TEACH AT U.A.!!

“Prepare a transmission. There is an old ally whose assistance I…require.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Thirteen shoves open the large heavy doors of the worn-down factory, the morning light pours in shining down on the large amounts of dusty crates, heavy machinery, and broken conveyor belts.

While Thirteen steps inside with light steps as to not make noise, Ochaco, in her U.A. uniform, is a bit more casual and just strolls right in peering at the equipment curiously.

Feedback is close behind her yawning into his hand. It’s too early in the morning for Thirteen to just call them up and tell them to meet up half-way across town, and it’s another to lead them to a deserted part of town filled with rundown factories and worn out buildings.

But then again, Thirteen did say it was Plumber related or more accurately this is their first real assignment as future Plumbers. So, he doesn’t really have a reason to say no.

Apparently One-One received a call from one of the resident aliens earlier that morning. The resident was reporting a sighting of another alien that was apparently causing trouble inside this very factory.

Thirteen watches their Plumber’s badge carefully as it continues to blink red while a sonar-like display appears inside of it. “Midoriya, do you sense anything?”

Feedback gives his mentor a deadpanned leer that reads: are you serious?

Thirteen releases an exasperated sigh. “I mean…Feedback, do you sense anything?”

Feedback grins in approval as his antennas reach forward wiggling slightly like noses sniffing the air. “I am picking a small electrical field.” The tendrils curve slightly to his right. “Over there.” Feedback points a golden-tipped finger towards a stockpile of heavy machinery such as forklifts, trucks, and other machines.

Thirteen eyes the machinery warily for any signs of life. “Great, our foe is electrical based so your Conductoid form will be perfect for this job.” They then take a few cautious steps towards the large devices.

The two trainees follow close behind, although they are less than cautious about it.

Ochaco tilts her head to the side. “So, what exactly are we dealing with?”

Thirteen pauses, turning to look Ochaco dead in the eye while continuing to step towards the stockpile of the machines. “We are dealing with a highly vivacious and an extremely destructive being. Capable of sewing chaos into civilizations across the galaxies. They are a terror to all that they come across putting their victims through unspeakable agony and trauma.”

A chill runs down the teens’ spines. Is this being really all that powerful? Then why the hell are they here? Oh, right. Can’t exactly bring in normal pro heroes to take on an alien-life form.

Thirteen steps closer to an abandoned truck that’s sitting next to one of the large machines that operates the conveyor belts. “Prepare yourselves young ones. This just may be the biggest battle of your lives.”

Rather than allow fear to take over, Feedback and Ochaco ready themselves for battle. There’s no way they are going to let such a monster run loose on their planet.

Aware of their standing, Thirteen give them an approving and proud nod before turning away towards this monstrosity.

Sparks of light are flashing from just beyond the large machine like something is tampering with its innards. Feedback’s antennas raise forward so he can sense the electricity stored up just on the other side.

The trio edge closer and closer trying to get as close as possible before they spring into action. The Plumber takes one last look at their underlings giving them one last opportunity to back down. They don’t.

And with that this band of Earth’s defenders leap out to face their most terrifying foe yet.

“Nani bzzzzz?” A tiny little Megawatt stares up in confusion at the humans. It’s currently floating in the air while it holds onto several wires of the nearby machine.

…

Feedback and Ochaco fall flat on their faces while Thirteen aims his finger out like a gun towards the tiny alien.

“Stay calm you two. There’s no telling what it’s plotting.”

The Megawatt blinks at the Plumber, oblivious to the danger it’s really in, before deciding to continue his breakfast of electricity courtesy of the heavy machinery and generators. Electricity sparks out of the wires but the little being’s body glows yellow as it absorbs its favorite meal.

The Megawatt is a tiny alien, about a foot tall, that would be the perfect example of a battery that grew three-fingered arms, pointy legs, and a mouth. It has black skin with wide yellow lightning-shaped markings on its belly.

Feedback pushes himself off the ground, feeling very dejected and almost betrayed by Thirteen’s build up. “Thirteen…is that…the destructive being you were talking about?” Please say no.

With no indication of humor or sarcasm Thirteen delivers their response. “Yes.”

“Seriously…?” A good amount of skepticism courses through Feedback’s tone.

Now that is not what Thirteen wants to hear. “ARE YOU DOUBTING ME!?!”

Feedback has to bite his tongue before he says something, he knows that he will regret.

Thirteen holds a hand out towards the very thing they came here to capture. “THAT THING IS A MENACE TO SOCIETY!!! IT’S NOTHING BUT PURE EVIL!!!”

The Megawatt stops the flow of electricity to release a small burp.

“I doubt that very much.”

Thirteen is so enraged by Feedback’s lack of urgency that they’re actually shaking. “I can't believe this! We have a potential crisis on our hands, and you aren’t taking it seriously!”

Ochaco finally chimes in after observing the Megawatt feed itself. “No offense or anything, but aren’t you just blowing this all out of proportion?”

Thirteen dramatically jabs their finger right at Ochaco’s face. “YOU WOULD THINK SO WOULDN’T YOU!?!” They grab Ochaco by the shoulders before literally shaking some sense into her. “These things are the absolute worst!! They are foul tricksters that just love pulling the worst kinds of pranks, pranks that always result in destruction, chaos, and a HUGE AMOUNT OF PAPERWORK FOR ME!!!” Thirteen finally releases Ochaco from her torment as she’s shoved away before collapsing to the ground; her eyes spinning and her breakfast threatening to spill out. 

Feedback watches as the Megawatt releases the wires before turning to a nearby forklift where it demonstrates its surprising strength by prying open the hood to gain access to the battery inside.

“Thirteen, what kind of alien is it?”

Thirteen glares towards the Megawatt as it continues to feed. “That is a Nosedeenian, or better known as a Megawatt, they’re an electrical based species that feed off electricity. They can even inhabit electrical devices by becoming electricity. Not to mention they just love pulling pranks.” Those are also the main reason why they can be such a nuisance especially to cities and worlds that are so dependent on technology.

Part of that explanation explains a lot about the transformed Izuku. “Oh, so that’s why you wanted Feedback.” Feedback can sense the electrical field around the alien, and if it can become electricity then he should be able to track it with no sweat.

They watch on as the Megawatt pries out the forklift’s battery, it holds the large battery over its head before it loses its balance and falls over with the battery falling atop of it. It flails about underneath, struggling to break free.

Ochaco spit-takes as she struggles not to laugh at the poor little guy; it’s just so cute, how could anyone find it threatening?

Thirteen hears Ochaco’s gasp, turning to watch as the Megawatt finally breaks free from its prison. “I know…it's hideous.” Their eyes narrow at the sight of the Nosedeenian.

Ochaco scowls in disapproval, sure that little guy is a bit odd looking but that’s just part of its charm. Like a pug.

Feedback draws back Thirteen’s attention. “So, how exactly should we handle this?”

“Oh, right.” Thirteen pulls out a strange metallic device that kind of resembles a large narrow thermos with a cylindrical glass center as to peer inside the device, which is hollow. “This is a special containment device specifically designed to handle Megawatts.”

“Oh, cool.”

“Right, plus your Conductoid form should be more than enough to handle this terror. Since you can siphon off its own electricity.”

Feedback smiles, happy he could be of service. “Great, I can actually do some real Plumber work.”

“Yup, I thought this would be good for you two. You know, to get some experience.”

Feedback peers to the side noticing something out of place. “Speaking of the two of us…where’s Uraraka?”

“Nani?” Thirteen swivels their head; he’s right Uraraka’s gone!

They spin around and finally spot their missing student who is crouched down in front of the foot-tall alien with a friendly smile on her face.

Thirteen grabs at their head as they internally scream in pure horror at the sight before them. How could she be so stupid and naive?!

Feedback just stands back currently more concerned about Thirteen’s obvious mental breakdown.

Ochaco scoots a little closer to the wary alien. “Hey, little guy.”

The Megawatt eyes her suspiciously but it doesn't seem like it’s going to panic.

“Sorry for disturbing you during your breakfast but my friends and I need you to come with us.” She gestures towards herself and her compatriots, one of which gives the little alien the stink eye. “Apparently someone like you is capable of causing…messes and we would like to make sure that doesn’t happen. Is that alright with you?”

The Megawatt considers Ochaco’s words before coming to a decision. The little guy smiles and sticks his puny hand out in friendship.

Ochaco lights up. “Glad you agree.” She sends a smug smirk in Thirteen’s direction, proud that diplomacy and some rational thinking has won the day.

She reaches her hand out and claps it around the Nosedeenian’s tiny grip sealing the deal.

While Ochaco smiles away towards her friends, the Megawatt grins mischievously and with an electrical obnoxious laugh it releases a current of electricity up and through Ochaco’s hand.

“Ahhhh!!!” Ochaco screams out at the unexpected pain as she endures the alien’s zapping.

She manages to break her hand free of the little menace accidentally throwing herself back so hard that she collapses.

Feedback and Thirteen shout out in concern. “Uraraka!!”

“Hahahahaha bzzzzz!” The Megawatt’s body seemingly flashes away into electricity before it speeds away zipping over Thirteen and Feedback’s heads.

The two duck and cover as electricity crackles above them, but their main concern is Ochaco.

Thirteen helps prop Ochaco up; despite being electrocuted she appears to be fine other than her hair being a bit fizzled up. “Are you okay?”

Ochaco shakes her head trying to compose herself. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Good, now I don’t have to feel guilty about this.” Thirteen takes a deep breath before smugly leering at their students. “I WARNED YOU!!!”

Ochaco gives the professional hero a deadpanned look, but in all honesty, they did warn her about that alien. “Yeah, yeah. Hey where is that thing?”

“Hm?” Thirteen peers around and sure enough the Megawatt is nowhere in sight, it must have zipped away while they were tending to Ochaco. “Feedback, are you picking up on the little demon’s electrical field?”

Feedback’s antennas rise upward. “Give me a minute I think I-”

Unanticipatedly a runaway forklift crashes into Thirteen, zooming by, and taking the Plumber with it.

The teens call out in a panic. “Thirteen?!”

Thirteen groans as the forklift speeds away. The vehicle's engine roars as it’s lights glow brightly in a hue of yellow light as sparks of electricity dance across the forklift’s frame. Thirteen immediately understands the situation, that menace is possessing the vehicle.

Thirteen manages to hold on as the forklift swerves around and around the maze of machinery and conveyor belts. “You accursed demon, I shall defeat you!!” Thirteen’s gloved finger opens up as their Quirk, Blackhole, activates.

Blackhole immediately goes to work, sucking up the forklift like jello being sucked through a straw until there’s nothing left. Before the machine could be fully absorbed a small stream of electricity zips away escaping into the maze of machines and dusty crates.

As Thirteen finally comes to a stop, skidding across the hard floor, Feedback and Ochaco are quick to catch up.

Feedback sprints forward reaching the hero first. “Thirteen!”

“Are you alright?” bzzzzz

“I’m fine. Just really ticked off.” A tick mark appears on Thirteen’s forehead.

Ochaco peers upward trying to spot the Megawatt. “Where is it?”

Feedback’s antennas swiftly point upwards. “There!”

The group look upwards and to their surprise the Megawatt is sitting atop a large machine that operates a variety of conveyor belts. It’s sitting down, its legs hanging off the side, as it smirks down at the trio like they are a source of entertainment.

“It’s mine!” Feedback leaps up gripping the side of the machine before climbing upward like some sort of lizard.

Thirteen cups their hands around their mouth as the Conductoid continues to climb up. “Careful Feedback! Megawatts are a crafty bunch!”

Feedback arrives at a conveyor belt where he leaps up onto it. “I think I can handle a living battery.” He is a Conductoid after all, he can not only track down the Megawatt but use his electrical powers to drain its own energy. 

The Megawatt, suspiciously, acts like nothing is wrong allowing the much taller alien to climb closer and closer.

Feedback grips the sides of the conveyor belt as he cautiously steps forward. “Come here little guy.” He slowly reaches his hand out to snag the smaller creature who looks way to calm in this situation.

He’s nearly there just a few more inches and he’ll have it.

Too bad the little gremlin has a very different idea.

The Megawatt gives Feedback a wicked grin like that of a psycho forming a malicious plot. The Megawatt laughs mischievously as it reels a bolt of electricity right through the conveyor belt.

The impact is immediate especially to Feedback as the conveyor belt jolts backward before speeding him down the long track.

Feedback holds on for dear life his tendrils waving before his head as he’s rocketed backwards. And unfortunately for him his ride ends sooner than he would think, he quickly reaches the end where he’s launched backwards screaming in fear as he crashes into a crate smashing it to bits.

Ochaco and Thirteen watch on in horror as Feedback groans in pain, and possibly embarrassment.

“Hahahahaha bzzzzz!” The Megawatt laughs hysterically rolling across the machine, its legs kicking into the air as it goes through a laughing fit.

It’s moment of laughter is cut short when it feels like gravity itself begins to pull in a different direction. The Megawatt scowls at Thirteen as they try to swallow up the alien with their Quirk.

The Megawatt growls before it zips away leaving a trail of electricity behind it as it flies off and through a nearby window.

“It’s getting away!” Thirteen sprints off for the exit. “Come on!”

Ochaco follows but she can’t help but to look back to the downed Feedback. “What about Deku?!”

“He’ll catch up! Now let’s move it!”

Thirteen practically tackles their way through the exit door making sure to look upward for any sign of the Nosedeenian.

A trail of sparks flow through a nearby power cable that trails over a nearby back alley.

“There it goes!” The duo sprint after it making sure not to lose sight of the sparks as they run through the back alley.

Although they are able to keep pace for the most part the Megawatt just seems to be toying with them allowing them to keep up but just so it can have fun watching them struggle to do so.

Ochaco is actually starting to break into a sweat from the early morning workout. “It’s way too fast!”

“Not for me it isn’t!”

Ochaco and Thirteen turn their heads and they are delighted to see Feedback running across the powerlines after the escaping Megawatt.

Thanks to the electrical boosts provided by the powerlines Feedback is able to gain just enough speed to catch up to the Nosedeenian who upon being caught up to zaps itself out of the powerlines before trying to fly off to safety.

Feedback comes to a halt as his tendrils lash out whipping away at the tiny target who manages to evade the attacks though zigzagging motions.

Without warning it feels like a giant vacuum has been turned on as air begins to flow downward and begins to pull on the little alien.

The worried and upset Megawatt blows a raspberry at the pro hero, but it’s mocking is its mistake. As the Megawatt struggles to break free from the pull of the Blackhole Thirteen hands Ochaco the containment unit.

“Deku!” She throws the container as hard as she can upwards as it flies upward it begins to be veered off course by the Blackhole.

Acting quickly, Feedback’s tendril whips out latching on to the container before reeling it back in. The tall alien eyes the struggling Megawatt, which is now, firing off bolts of electricity down at the pro hero in one last ditch effort to escape.

Feedback eyes the distance between them because of its struggling it’s a bit too far out to just reach out and capture it. Looks like he’s going to have to jump. With the capture unit tightly secured in his grasp, Feedback leaps out towards the very upset and very surprised Megawatt who screams out in shock as Feedback opens the capture device.

Feedback expertly scoops up the Megawatt with the device before shutting it closed. “I got it!!”

Thirteen cuts off their Quirk as Ochaco smiles on with relief.

Unfortunately for the morphed Izuku, his part isn’t over yet as he remembers a very basic rule that governs this world: gravity.

With no support and way too far to grab onto something secure, Feedback begins to fall back down to Earth and even worse he’s too far for Ochaco to try and get to him in time.

The Omnitrix beeps red as Feedback falls and crashes into an open dumpster that with all the amount of trash inside it is able to break his fall. Garbage flies out as Feedback crashes into the dumpster and a flash of red spills out.

Izuku groans as he lays on his back on the mound of trash and garbage. He can smell the putrid stench that’s definitely going to linger for the rest of the day. He slowly lifts his head up and looks around for the capture device, it must have landed into the dumpster before he did so he, disgustingly, has to dig through the smelly garbage. The dumpster absolutely reeks of rotting food such as rotten eggs, spoiled milk, and bad fruit.

Thirteen and Ochaco jog up to him. “Did you get it?”

Izuku groans, brushing away chunks of rotting food, shivering in disgust as he does so. “Y-yeah, I think so…” His voice trails off as he finds the capture device, the glass in the center is broken and empty of any prisoners. “N-Nevermind.”

“You lost it?!” Snaps Thirteen.

“Hey, I-I t-tried my best.” Izuku can’t help but feel a bit offended, he practically just dove into garbage to help ensure that they capture the thing.

Ochaco holds her nose grimacing at the terrible smell. “Y-yeah, and that smell is proof.”

Izuku grumbles in response, not appreciating Ochaco rubbing the salt on the wound.

Thirteen sighs in irritation, they were really hoping to have this thing captured by now before it makes a mess of things; dammit this is going to be so much more paperwork. “Alright, you two best be off for school.”

Izuku climbs out of the dumpster as Ochaco eyes Thirteen. “What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to continue the search for that thing. Can’t have it running around on its own.” They eye the back alley warily as if the Megawatt is going to appear at any moment.

“Well, good luck.” Ochaco adjusts her backpack. “Sorry we couldn’t be of any help.”

“Na, you guys did plenty.” Despite sounding nonchalantly Thirteen’s eyes narrow glaring at the teens. “But next time you think I’m over exaggerating just know that I’m being dead serious for next time. Got it?”

Izuku and Ochaco stiffen. “Yes!”

“Good, now get going you don’t want to be late.”

“Right.” Ochaco turns and begins making her way to the main street. “Come on Deku.”

“C-coming!” Izuku speeds up making sure to catch up to his friend.

Thirteen waves them off until they round a corner and out of sight. “Now where did that fiend get off to?”

Meanwhile, Izuku and Ochaco hurriedly jog towards the station hoping to catch the next train that’ll get them to school. As they make a run for it small yellow-sparks flicker from Izuku’s pants pocket.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

During the entire train ride Ochaco fidgets around in her seat and not from the terrible odor emitted by her friend. Poor Izuku sat a seat away from her trying not to let the stench bother him, even worse he struggled to ignore the odd looks of disgust from the other passengers.

Thankfully it wasn’t that long of a train ride and the fresh morning air helped to alleviate the stench but it’s still very much present.

But that’s not important. What is important is that she needs to have a talk with Izuku… The sooner the better.

Ochaco, while continuing towards U.A., turns to Izuku. She bites her lip before deciding that she might as well rip away this bandage. “Hey, Deku.”

“Yeah?” He sounds really dejected probably because of the foul odor that he’s definitely going to be carrying around for the rest of the day.

“This may be a bad time, considering that we’re not exactly having the best morning, but it’s about my…Quirk.”

That makes him light up instantly, and almost like magic his notebook and his pen are in his hands. Will he finally be able to know the full truth about Ochaco’s powers?! This will be so great! There’s so much he wants to know! And he could even help her develop her powers!!

Ochaco’s heart aches knowing she’s about to crush the cinnamon bun’s hopes. “Yeah…” She comes to a halt bowing forward with her hands clapped together. “I’m sorry!!”

Izuku nearly stumbles forward, trying to stop himself from moving forward. “What for?”

Her eyes drift to the side in shame. “Well…”

She then explains to him as best as she can about the sensitivity of her new Quirk. She doesn’t outright mention or say All Might nor One For All, but she thinks she gets the message across, nonetheless. One thing she makes clear is that this is actually for his own good, that it’s for his safety, at least according to her “mentor”. Plus the less people know about it the better, they can’t risk having her power exposed for what it truly is it could cause some major chaos if villains were to find out about it.

When she’s finished with her explanation, she braces herself for the foreseeable outrage that inevitably will be targeted at her. There’s no doubt that Deku is going to feel a bit betrayed by the lack of trust, sure it’s not really her fault but she can’t stop herself from feeling responsible.

Izuku, although disappointed, can tell that this is extremely important to her, and it’s pretty obvious that she’s already feeling enough guilt over this. “I understand.”

 _‘Huh? Wow, he took that better than I had thought.’_ Ochaco feels a bit more at ease but still… “Again, I really am sorry.”

The greenette offers her a kind sympathetic smile. “It’s okay, Uraraka. I for one understand what it’s like to have such a sensitive secret.” He is a kid with an alien device permanently attached to his arm. “But that said, I am glad you decided to be honest with me. I really appreciate it.”

“Sure…” 

And with that the two continue their trek to school but at a much slower pace. Mainly because Ochaco trudges forward with her head cast downward.

 _‘Of course he’s not upset about it, Deku wouldn’t let something like this get to him…but it doesn’t make it right. I really wanted to share One For All with him and even show off that All Might is my mentor! I bet that would really make him jealous. He is a huge hero nerd after all.’_ The U.A. building is just ahead; they can see the upper half of the building lying just above the roofs of the houses. _‘I should try and make it up to him…maybe I should get him a gift or something. Something useful and meaningful…’_

As they get closer and closer to their destination Ochaco continues to mull over possible things to gift her friend and ally, but nothing really sticks out to her.

“Are you two part of the Hero Course?!”

Izuku and Ochaco jolt in surprise at the sudden outcry. Somehow they both failed to notice the large crowd of reporters swarming around U.A.’s main gates.

Before they know it a number of microphones are pushed into their faces as reporters and journalists demand answers.

“What’s it like learning from All Might?!”

“Tell us what the Symbol of Peace looks like in front of the class!!”

“Tell us about “All Might, the Teacher”!”

“Does All Might provide you with one on one lessons?”

“How is All Might’s approach to teaching?”

“What is that smell? Don’t you shower?”

That last one makes Izuku grimace in embarrassment which just adds onto his already shy and nervous demeanor. He shakes as he slowly pushes his way through the swarm of vultures hoping to reach sanctuary.

Ochaco seems to be faring better than he is all things considered although she looks to be a bit put off by how forward some of these reporters are. “P-pardon me, but…we’re trying to get to class on time and-”

A young female reporter with dark-hair wearing a blue business suit shoves her microphone against Ochaco’s cheek. “Then just give us a brief comment! How does All Might compose himself when teaching?”

Ochaco’s mind instantly snaps back to how All Might overplayed his entrance. “Enthusiastically.” She deadpans in a hushed tone.

“Huh?”

Izuku’s situation is even worse, these reporters must be able to sense a weak link when they smell one, and no it’s not the foul odor that gives it away. Izuku’s head spins in confusion as he’s assaulted by a barrage of inquiries and demands.

“That’s enough.” Cuts in a dryer-sleepless voice.

Izuku and Ochaco stare in awe of their savior, their homeroom teacher, Mr. Aizawa!

Shota Aizawa stands just in front of the gates looking like he didn’t get a wink of sleep at all last night. But somehow, he is not only able to stand but function like a normal human being.

The crowd parts for him allowing Aizawa a clear path towards his students.

The young report who was just hounding Ochaco is quick to push her aside. “You! You’re a teacher, right?!” She marches forward to get the pro hero on record. “Tell us what is All Might like as your newest coworker!”

“He’s off today. Now leave.” He waves his hand as if shewing away an insect. “You’re disturbing my students as is.”

Ochaco eyes dart between the reporter and her teacher before she actually approaches his side. No one peeps a word as Aizawa eyes each and every one of them like a hawk evaluating its next meal. When he's sure that none of them are going to pull anything he grabs Izuku by the back of his collar and drags him forward and through the gate with Ochaco in toe.

“Hey, wait!” The young reporter chases after them, fearing that she’s going to lose her chance at the next biggest scope. “At least get us an interview with him!!”

Her coworker shouts out from behind her. “No don’t!”

*BEEEP!!*

That’s the only warning as thick metallic walls rise up from below the ground all around U.A.’s campus.

The female reporter, understandably, freaks out after nearly getting crushed by the terrifying gate. “WAHHH, WHAT THE HELL!?!”

Her coworker as well as the other reports gap at the sudden display. “It’s the U.A. Barrier. This whole place locks down if someone without proper clearance approaches the gate.”

“The nerve! Shutting us out like this without a single comment!!”

“For real. I’ve been here for two whole days and we don’t even have a line to show for it.”

As the crowd of vultures continue to swarm around the school gates hoping in vain for All Might himself to show up an odd pair of characters watch on from the sidelines having just arrived a moment ago.

Henzu leans back, combing his hair to the side and away from his eyes. “So, that’s U.A.” It’s more impressive than he thought it would be.

Beside him stands a tall pale-skinned young man with dry skin and grey-blue hair. “Yeah…it’s a real shit show isn’t it?”

Henzu actually chuckles at the insult. “He, yeah.”

The man throws his head back in exasperation eyeing Henzu with malice and contempt. “Are you really up for this… if you screw up.” His glare hardens. “There’s nothing to stop me from killing you.”

“Oh, be quiet, Handjob.”

The now nicknamed Handjob tiks at the teenager’s insult.

Henzu eyes the gate as he adjusts his “borrowed” U.A. jacket. “This is going to be fun. So, just stand back and watch the show.”

“Whatever…”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

 _‘It’s too early to deal with this. How does All Might get anything done with those morons stepping on his cape?’_ Aizawa silently grumbles to himself as he leads both Izuku and Ochaco to their homeroom class.

The two students are more than grateful for their teacher’s intervention. _‘Thank you for saving us.’_

“Midroiya, Uraraka.”

They are startled before they calm down and respond in tandem. “Y-yes!”

Aizawa doesn’t look back at them while he continues his way to class. “Good work with yesterday’s battle training.”

Both of the teens’ eyes pop out in surprise not expecting the conversation to head towards that particular topic.

He continues. “I’ve looked over your grades and evaluations.” He shifts his head peering through his locks of black-hair towards Izuku. “Midoriya.”

A shiver runs down Izuku’s spin under his homeroom teacher’s piercing gaze.

“You can’t let personal grudges overshadow your true goals; I don’t want to see that happen again. Got it?”

“Y-yes, sir.”

He turns away. “Other than that, your plan was well executed, and your battle strategy was sound.”

Izuku’s heart warms up in pride.

“Well other than all the unnecessary damage you caused.”

And just like that his sense of pride is gone. Well you know what they say, easy come easy go.

Ochaco does not feel the least bit guilty about giggling at Izuku’s misery, covering her mouth with her hand as she does so.

“Uraraka.”

“Y-yes!” She jolts up just as Izuku had.

Speaking of, he sends a smug smirk right back at her enjoying his little piece of revenge.

Aizawa stops just in front of Class 1-A’s homeroom door. “It seems like you severely injured yourself again, yesterday.” He turns, this time facing the two students directly. “Stop it. You need to control that aspect of your Quirk, but seeing as you managed to properly summon it, I have to say a job well done.”

Ochaco finds the complaint very gratifying.

“You’re clearly making progress. Keep at it, Uraraka.”

“Right!”

“Good.”

Aizawa grips the door’s handle and is about to open it before he decides to mention one last thing. “Oh, Midoriya.”

“Hm?” Izuku blinks unsure what his teacher is going to say next.

“Try to do something about that smell.”

Izuku glowers in dejection as Aizawa casually slides open the door and steps inside.

Dammit, maybe he should have stopped by the locker room for a quick shower or something…

Iida shoots out of his seat as Aizawa steps towards the front desk. “Good morning, Mr. Aizawa!”

The drowsy hero responds with a mere grumble, probably something on the lines of how it is not a good morning, but he’s nice enough not to say it outloud.

Ochaco makes her way to her seat taking off her backpack and rotating it to her front so she can hold it.

Mina leans to the side offering a friendly wave to Ochaco. “Hey Uraraka!”

Ochaco smiles warmly. “Hi, Ashido. How are you this morning?”

“I’m doing swell!”

“That’s good.” Ochaco’s smile although just as cheerful wavers just a bit as her mind thinks back over the morning’s events. “A lot better than what I can say.”

“Why’s that?”

Tsuyu, who was listening in from behind Mina, presses a finger to her cheek. “Did you have a run in with the paparazzi, too?”

Ochaco aims two finger guns at the frog girl. “Yeah, we did.” She spins around looking for Izuku to back her claim. “Right, Deku?”

He doesn’t respond; instead he’s trying not to let the disgusted looks of his classmates get to him. They’re plugging their noses and groaning at his terrible stench as he passes them by.

Izuku smiles sheepishly at Ochaco in an attempt to seem like everything is normal. “Yeah…” He pulls back his seat and sits down.

So far it seems like only Bakugou is unaffected by his odor but that just may be because he’s outright ignoring him. Understandable after what happened yesterday.

Mineta pinches his nose and backs away in his seat. “Holy crap, dude. You stink!”

Izuku droops in his seat wondering how this could possibly get worse.

Iida shoots out from his seat, his arms waving up and down. “Midoriya, it’s bad form for a student of U.A. to not shower!”

Okay now that straight up offends the greenette. “B-b-but I-I-”

Shoji’s chair creeks as he turns in his seat. “No offense, but you reek.”

Izuku slouches in his seat in response.

Kaminari decides to chime in bringing up a good point. “Maybe if he transforms the smell will go away.”

Jiro props her head on her hand. “Maybe.”

“Yeah, that’s it!” Kirishima jumps up from his seat, having way too much energy for this early in the morning. “Hey, Midoriya, go ahead and transform so we don’t have to suffer!”

Izuku frowns at his way too chipper classmate. _‘You could have been a bit gentler about it!!’_

Aizawa slams his hands against the front desk drawing everyone’s attention. “Enough.”

A hushed silence falls over the entire room as every student suddenly finds themselves in their assigned seats.

“Now onto homeroom business.” Aizawa eyes the class as they gaze right back at him.

They’re tensing up readying themselves for a possible test of will with the result of failure ending in expulsion. _‘What is it?! Is it another brutal test?!’_

“You’ll pick a class president.”

The class cheer in exhilaration. “SUCH A NORMAL SCHOOL THING!!!”

And just like that everyone’s hands shoot upwards they beg for the position of Class President, everyone has their hands up from the boisterous Kirishima to the quiet and shy Koji Koda. 

“I wanna be President!! Lemme do it!!” Shouts Kirishima.

Jiro casually raises her hand. “I’d like to do it.”

“In my administration, girls will have to show 30 cm of thigh!!” Shouts the diminutive pervert.

“The position was made for me.” Proclaims the calm and ever glamorous Aoyama.

“I wanna be a leader!!” Declares Mina.

“Pick me god dammit!! I’m your only choice!!” Roars the explosive blonde, his shout makes Izuku jump in his seat.

Izuku internally smiles, glad that Bakugou is back to his old self…even if his old self is a bit too loud for his taste.

As for Izuku himself, he is one of the only few that doesn’t have his hand raised. _‘I’m sure being Class President will help boost future prospects for me, especially in hero work, but I feel like it would just be too much responsibility right now. I already have my responsibilities to help out Thirteen with their Plumber work and being Class president will just interfere with that.’_ So for now he’ll just sit back and let his classmates sort this all out; assuming that they’ll stop demanding the job and come up with some sort of system.

“Quiet down, everyone!!”

Everyone freezes in place, their arms raised and jaws open, as they turn to face their most strict classmate, Tenya Iida.

“Ambition does not equate to ability!!” He’s dead serious, his eye brows are furrowed, and his tone is low. “This sacred office demands the trust of its constituents! If this is to be a democracy, then I put forward the motion…that our true leader must be chosen by election!!” His hand shoots up into the air, shaking in worry like he’s silently begging for the position.

The Class responds in earnest. “This is just a classroom!! Not a congress!!”

Tsuyu turns in her seat. “But Iida, we haven’t known each other long enough to build trust.”

Her neighbor, Kirishima adds in his opinion. “And everyone'll just vote for themselves!”

Iida however has a response. “That’s precisely why anyone who manages to earn multiple votes will be the best-suited individual for the job!!”

He turns to their homeroom teacher who is currently squirming into his oversized sleeping bag. “Will you allow this?!”

“Go ahead, just make it quick.” And with that, Aizawa collapses to enjoy a quick nap. 

“Understood!”

And after a few minutes of getting sorted and counting votes here are the results:

**_Yuuga Aoyama = 0_ **

**_Mina Ashido = 0_ **

**_Tsuyu Asui = 1_ **

**_Tenya Iida = 2_ **

**_Ochaco Uraraka = 1_ **

**_Mashirao Ojiro = 1_ **

**_Denki Kaminari = 1_ **

**_Eijirou Kirishima = 1_ **

**_Kouji Koda = 1_ **

**_Rikidou Sato = 1_ **

**_Mezou Shoji = 0_ **

**_Kyouka Jiro = 1_ **

**_Hanta Sero = 1_ **

**_Fumikage Tokoyami = 1_ **

**_Shoto Todoroki = 0_ **

**_Tooru Hagakure = 1_ **

**_Katsuki Bakugou = 1_ **

**_Izuku Midoriya = 3_ **

**_Minoru Mineta = 1_ **

**_Momo Yaoyorozu = 2_ **

****

Izuku gaps in shock at the results. “I GOT THREE VOTES!?!” How is that possible?! Who in the world voted for him?! Not even he voted for himself!!

And it seems that Bakugou is sharing some similar thoughts. “Okay, losers!! Who the hell voted for him?!”

Hanta Sero gives the explosive blonde an odd look. “Did you think anyone was going to vote for you?”

Ochaco quietly whistles to herself in the background, deciding that she better keep her vote to herself.

She is curious about the one vote she did receive. _‘I wonder who voted for me.’_

Meanwhile, Iida is slouched forward on his desk as if he’s been wounded. “Two votes…perhaps I should have used my vote on myself.” Don’t get him wrong, he’s somewhat happy that two of his classmates deem him worthy of being Class President but the loss still hurts. 

Yaoyorozu overhears him. “So you voted for someone else…?” Although she is somewhat concerned with Iida’s distress, she herself is also a bit disappointed with the results. Just one more vote and she too could have been President.

Sato shakes his head in disapproval. “You’re the one who proposed an election. What exactly did you expect, Iida?” 

While Iida deals with his own feelings of self-worth, Izuku is having his own doubts. Is he really up for this?! Can he handle this?! He didn’t even want the job! Is it too late to decline?!

Kirishima pats Kaminari on the shoulder. “I think Midoriya’s got the right stuff to be President.”

Kirishima grins back at him but he’s definitely not as enthusiastic about the situation as Kirishima’s. “Maybe, although, I think I would have liked some with a bit more…confidence.”

Mina is quick to reprimand him. “Are you kidding, didn't you see him during the battle training? If he can stand off against Bakugou then I’m sure he can handle this.” 

Izuku can’t stop his face from turning a light shade of red. It’s kind of nice to actually be complimented by his classmates rather than ridiculed. U.A. truly is an amazing place… or perhaps this is all just a dream.

Aizawa crawls out of his comfy cocoon. “Looks like your President’s Midroiya however we cannot have a tie for Vice President you will all need a tie breaker later this afternoon.”

He finishes with his instructions just as the homeroom bell rings signifying the start of the school day.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

The morning classes eventually reach their end and so begins the much-anticipated moment of relief, lunch time.

Droves of students swarm and congregate in and around the cafeteria bustling about with their friend while trying to enjoy Lunch-Rush’s out of this world cooking.

Ochaco is especially enjoying the delicious, and affordable, food.

She continues to munch away along with Izuku, Iida, Shoji, and Mina. Izuku is sitting by himself opposite to the others, according to them it’s just how they ended up seated, but part of Izuku knows that they don’t want to endure his terrible smell.

But his hygiene isn’t what’s bothering him, instead he’s a bit too preoccupied to eat his lunch. “I’m just a little worried about whether or not I can really be Class President…”

Ochaco, her cheeks full of food, gives him a so-so answer. “You can.”

One of Shoji’s arms becomes a mouth as another pair of hands are scooping up and eating on his noodles. “I agree.”

“Midoriya.” Iida takes a bite of his curry before continuing on. “Your grit and decisiveness in a pinch makes you perfectly suited to lead us all. That’s why I voted for you, anyway.”

Although what he said was nice, Izuku’s mind only processed the very last part. _‘One of those votes was you!!’_

Shoji nods. “I agree. Everything Iida said was true. You’re quick on your feet and you don’t skip over the details, yet you’re straight to the point. The type of things we need in a leader.”

 _‘I’m starting to think you were my second vote…’_ Even so it’s nice to know that his friends have such high views of him.

Ochaco, as she chews on even more food, nods her head happily in agreement. “Hmhm!”

Mina leans forward to peer around Iida and towards Ochaco. “So, who did you vote for?”

The gravity wielder spit-takes wasting all of her tasty morsels.

Mina tilts her head, not bothered by her teammate’s reaction. “Well I voted for you and you only had one vote so that means you voted for someone else.”

 _‘You voted for me?!’_ Ochaco’s mouth drops down in surprise. She was wondering who had voted for her and she honestly had no clue who it could have been. Looks like she got her answer.

As for her answer to Mina’s question. “Um…” Her eyes drift over to Deku before she returns to eating her meal. “That doesn’t really matter.”

Mina eyes Ochaco suspiciously like she has a nice juicy secret to tell while the boys just watch on in silent curiosity.

Ochaco, sweating in response, decides that she needs to change the subject. “Hey Iida, didn’t you wanna be President too? You’ve got glasses and everything.” Okay so that probably wasn’t the best way to change topics but it will have to do.

Shoji eyes her oddly. _‘That doesn’t really justify anything…’_

A sweat drop forms on Izuku’s head. _‘She really just says whatever pops into her head, huh.’_

Iida doesn’t find the comment odd, instead he takes a sip of his drink before moving on. “Again ambition and suitability are different matters. I humbly made the choice I felt was correct.”

Ochaco, with a bit of rice on her cheek, grins excitedly at Iida. “The way you talk Iida, are you…a rich kid?!”

Izuku gaps at her directness. “So blunt!”

Everyone one of them stares at Iida who shyly looks away picking at his food in an attempt to ignore their inquiring gazes. “…I don’t like people to know, so I try to hide it but yes.” He puts his spoon as to speak clearly and proudly. “I’m part of a renowned hero family.”

Ochaco awes, who knew he was part of such a high-class family? “Whoa. Cool!!”

Mina is just as much amazement as Ochaco. “So rad!!”

Iida begins to smile a little bit glad about their reactions. “Do you know of the Turbo Hero, Ingenium?”

“Of course!!” Izuku practically springs out of his seat in nerdy excitement. “He employs 65 sidekicks at his office in Tokyo!!”

Shoji raises a grown mouth towards Izuku’s ear. “You didn’t need to go into detail…” 

Meanwhile, Mina gives Iida a curious look as her horns twitch. “Iida, are you-”

“Yes! He is my elder brother.” Iida shoots up in his seat, pushing his glasses upward, as he stands proudly with a missive grin on his face. 

“He’s so frank about it!!”

“Wow!!”

“Look at that smile!”

“He’s so proud.”

And why shouldn’t he be proud? Iida’s older brother is a true hero that leads those under him with unwavering adherence to the rules and regulations. Along with his cooperative and friendly personality he is truly a beloved hero.

“It’s my admiration for my brother that’s inspired my own desire to become a hero.” Iida’s grin softens as he remembers how he lost the most recent election. “Though I realize I’m not yet ready to lead anyone.” He gestures his hand towards Izuku, “As the superior candidate, it was right that the role should go to you, Midoriya.”

They all blink up at him in awe, amazed at his declaration.

“That’s really admiral of you.”

“That was beautiful.”

“Don’t worry Iida, you sure got our votes during the tiebreaker.”

Iida offers his friends a grateful smile. “Thank you.”

Izuku gets caught up in the kind atmosphere that he too pitches in. “That’s right Iida! After all you had my vote!”

Iida’s composure break, but only for a second. “Really?!”

“Woah, no way!” Mina points between Izuku and the gaping Iida. “You each voted for the other?!”

While Izuku tries to explain his own reasoning for voting for Iida, mostly because he just seems so responsible and reasonable, Ochaco quietly watches on with a soft smile. _‘He may be a bit strict but…it’s just because he’s inspired by his own personal hero, his brother. Just like Deku and I are both inspired by All Might.’_

Lunch continues as normal with the group of teens chatting about this ad that until Izuku’s phone rudely bursts alive ringing so loud that a few upper classmates leer at Izuku to keep it down.

“S-sorry!” Izuku scrambles to slip his phone out of pocket.

“Midoriya your phone should be silenced while at school!” Iida’s arms chop the air as he reprimands the embarrassed greenette.

Mina smirks tauntingly at the freckled boy. “Way to set an example Class President.”

Izuku laughs sheepishly in response as he tries to shut off his ringing phone. But it appears that his phone really doesn’t want to cooperate as it not only continues ringing but the screen seems to jump from app to app and from website to website. Izuku eyes the phone gingerly concerned if his phone’s been hacked or infected with some sort of virus.

Shoji notices Izuku’s distress. “Hey, Midoriya is everything okay?”

“Y-yeah, I t-think my phone is just-Ow!!!” His phone zapped him! It outright zapped him like a tazer!

He drops his phone; the screen lights up as yellow electricity sparks out from within the cellular device. The phone even jostles around on the table before a beam of electricity shoots upward, startling the group of students as the beam travels upward and into the fluorescent lights above. The fluorescent lights burst and shatter into pieces as the electricity courses through them; sparks and broken glass shower down on the students below immediately drawing the attention of everyone in the cafeteria. Amongst the screams and outcries there’s a faint sound of staticky laughter emitting from above.

No one picks up on the eerie laugh, except for Izuku who shoots up from his seat with fear in his eyes.

“Deku?!”

“Where are you going?!”

Izuku doesn’t hear the girls calling out to him as he takes off. His eyes trace upward, and he manages to spot the trail of bright yellow electricity traveling from fluorescent light to fluorescent light; the lights breaking into pieces helps with the search. Izuku follows underneath pushing past panicking and surprised students who scream out as they try to cover themselves from the rain of glass and sparks.

The trail of electricity reaches the end of the cafeteria, just above the kitchen, where it spins around a pipe and into the kitchen itself.

Izuku shoves himself towards the kitchen counter and just in time to witness the chaos released into Lunch-Rush's domain. The kitchen appliances seemingly come to life: the giant fridges’ doors slam themselves open and close, the electrical stoves fire up, burning away anything and everything atop of them, and any and every lightbulb shatters as electricity zips past them.

Lunch-Rush and his cooks are thrown into a panic and they try to shut down the rogue appliances.

And somehow amongst all the disorder and noise Izuku manages to spot it, the cause of all of this, the Megawatt! The very one that he and the others were hunting down that very morning.

“Hahaha bzzzzz!” The floating Megawatt laughs hysterically from the corner as one of the cooks gets burned by the malfunctioning stove.

Izuku glares at the Megawatt! “You!”

The Megawatt stops laughing, its beady eyes shift to Izuku. It seems to recognize him because after blinking curiously at him, it smirks, and shoots Izuku with a twin pistol pose before it transforms into lightning and enters a nearby outlet.

With the adrenaline washing away, dread takes its place. This is his fault… He failed to capture it and it must have snuck into his phone where it decided to hide out in there for a little while before it had gotten impatient. And because of his ignorance he just released a tiny lunatic into U.A., one that can travel undetected, and cause as much chaos as it likes. And worst of all…it could potentially expose itself to not only the students but the teachers!! To the professional heroes!! 

In the background Izuku vaguely witnesses how a floating Iida manages to calm the scared and startled U.A. students. “EVERYTHING’S FINE!!!” He shouts out above them all, from below Ochaco, Mina, and Shoji watch on. “It’s just a wiring malfunction! There’s no reason to panic. We’re fine! This is U.A.! Behave in a way befitting this great institution!”

The crowd immediately begin to calm down, most of the students find Iida’s reasoning to be sound, while others just don’t want to be shown up by a first year. Ochaco releases her Quirk and Iida plummets back down to Earth, but luckily Shoji is there to catch him, breaking his fall.

Mina cheers aloud as Shoji lets the Engine Quirked teen down. “Well done Iida!”

A pale Izuku shakily returns to his table, his arms sagged down, and his face crestfallen.

Ochaco notices him first. “Oh, hey Deku! What was all that?”

“Uraraka…I know what happened to that Megawatt this morning…”

“Really?”

Luckily for Izuku his friends are preoccupied by their other classmates who came by to thank Iida for stepping up. So, he nods and whispers what he thinks happened into her ear.

“What?!”

He’s quick to shush her clamping a hand over her mouth. “Shhhhh, Please keep it down!”

When he’s sure Ochaco’s not going to yell out he removes his hand.

She softy-cries out. “This is really bad!”

“I know.”

“What do we do?!”

Izuku thinks about it for a second before coming to a conclusion. “We go after it.”

Ochaco shakes her head, begrudgingly accepting the plan. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

And with that the two of them abandon their lunches and sneak their way to the exit hoping to catch up to the alien that’s now terrorizing the halls of U.A.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Izuku and Ochaco are jogging across an empty hallway; they're in a panic rushing to locate the little menace.

Ochaco’s eyes dart from one end of the hallway to the other. “We have to call Thirteen! They should be able to track it!”

They better hurry too because Thirteen’s probably still near the abandoned factory thinking the Nosedeenian is still there. 

“I can’t, my phone’s busted!” Izuku flashes her his phone, it refuses to turn on and a bit of smoke is leaking out of it. 

While running Ochaco flips open her personal phone, it’s a small flip-phone nothing like Izuku’s smart phone. “Alright I’ll call them.”

She dials in Thirteen’s personal number; she can hear the phone ringing and she waits for the hero to answer.

Eventually Thirteen picks up. “Hello?”

“Hey Thir-”

*ZAP!*

Seemingly out of nowhere a beam of electricity blasts Ochaco’s flip-phone making it spark out of control before falling apart in her hand.

“No, my phone!” Ochaco falls to her knees as she stares at what is left of the cheap item, she had to spend her entire allowance on it and now it’s just a collection of burned and broken parts.

Floating above their heads is their very target. “Hahaha bzzzzz!” It takes off down the hall leaving a trail of electricity behind it as it flies off.

“There it goes! Come on!” Izuku takes off after it before realizing that his partner isn’t following. “Uraraka!”

Ochaco gathers up the pieces she can before taking off. “Sorry.” Her eyes cast downward as they follow the alien.

“You alright?”

“Yeah…I just won’t be able to afford a new phone for a while.” Even if she got the cheapest thing out there, it goes out of her budget meant for groceries and other essentials.

Throughout their time together, Izuku has had a long time to find out about Ochaco’s…financial situation. So he understands why she’s so glum about her phone getting destroyed.

They continue chasing the little demon until it zips away into an empty classroom.

The space cadets come to a screeching halt just in front of the oversized door. They share a look of determination before Izuku quietly slides the door open.

The room is a normal classroom except it’s in a bit of a messy state. The Megawatt is zipping around the room throwing around papers, knocking over chairs, and zapping electricity at the walls and lights.

The Megawatt eventually discovers dry erase markers, especially how much fun it is to draw whatever it wants onto the board. With it distracted, doodling away whatever it wants to on to the board, Izuku and Ochaco crouch down and sneak into the classroom.

They need to capture this thing as soon as possible before anybody, either students or staff, discovers it.

Izuku gestures for Ochaco to sneak up from one end while he sneaks up from the other. Ochaco nods in understanding and they crawl through the aisles using the desks as cover to sneak up onto the Megawatt that’s now drawn a larger doodle of itself onto the board.

The teens are attempting a pincer maneuver by approaching the alien from both sides, in an attempt to cut off as many escape routes as possible.

The Megawatt smiles at its handy work before it catches something moving out of the corner of its eye. It wheels around spotting Ochaco who is frozen in place filling with dread of being spotted.

Knowing that they’re cover has been blown, Izuku pounces forward from behind. “You’re mine!”

The Megawatt, unfortunately, moves like lightning and in a flash, it zips away as Izuku flings forward and tumbles onto the floor landing at Ochaco’s feet. 

“Hahaha bzzzzz!”

They glare up at the alien as it mocks them before it decides to up the hilarity by showering them in bolts of electricity.

Izuku and Ochaco are forced to take cover under the nearby desks as the Megawatt zooms about as it attempts to zap them.

Sure Ochaco could just float the desk and use them as weapons but the point is to not leave any evidence that an alien broke into the school. Luckily, the very desk she’s hiding under has some items of interest such as a few textbooks, a backpack, and other school items.

So she begins to chuck whatever she can at the creep who easily evades everything: the books, the bag, pens, and even the erasers. All this accomplishes for them are a few short moments of relief where they’re not getting shot at. Nonetheless she keeps at it until she grabs a metal ruler from within the desk, with nothing else to lose she throws it as hard as she can at the Megawatt hoping this will at least knock the alien off balance.

The ruler chops through the air like helicopter blades as it flies right at the laughing Megawatt and like a blade the metal ruler cuts right through the alien cutting it right in half.

And just like that the teens forget all about capturing the alien and are more concerned about its well-being.

They gasp in trepidation. Holy shit what have they done?! They just killed an innocent, sort-of, creature! What do they do know?! Do they just gather up the floating halves of a Mega-WAIT!! it’s still floating… 

The two students are able to control their hyperventilation enough to witness something that’s both amazing and disturbing.

The two cut-halves of the Megawatt just sprout out the new halves of their own bodies, essentially creating two separate Megawatts.

The Megawatts appear just as confused, but only for a second, before they begin to laugh hysterically at the outcome.

Ochaco cries out in anguish. “What the hell?!”

“It can do that?!” Izuku’s reaction is just as panicked.

It looks like they should have kept their mouths shut however because the Megawatts finally remember that they’re there, grinning maniacally down at the helpless teens.

“Oh, no…”

And with that the two kids are at the mercy of the Megawatts. They end up running around the room as an individual Nosedeenian chases after them while zapping them from behind, laughing all the while they do it.

Thankfully the electrical fiends are not trying to lethally harm them but just give them enough of a shock to register pain.

In desperation Izuku grabs a nearby backpack from atop a desk and swings it around slamming it against the Megawatt that’s been chasing him.

The electric alien is knocked away and slams against the wall. It shakes its head and glares at Izuku for interrupting its fun, but something catches its eye instead.

In the upper corner of the classroom is a vent, a metallic vent with sharp thin grates. And the huge grin on its face is enough to tell that it’s plotting something maniacal.

The alien dog-whistles at his counterpart who stops chasing a terrified Ochaco. The first Megawatt points to the vent and says something that neither Izuku nor Ochaco can decipher because the only sounds emanating from its tiny mouth sound like static and electrical interference.

The other Nosedeenian grins wickedly along with its partner in crime before they shoot up and towards the vent. They ready themselves taking a running-like start before they both fly themselves right into the vent and through the grates cutting themselves up like cheese through a shredder.

Izuku and Ochaco watch on in horror as laughter echoes out from within the vent as yellow light

flashes from within. The laughter only seems to increase as several other Megawatts suddenly throw themselves through the vent again dividing themselves into even more pieces. Each piece sprouts into a newly formed Nosedeenian and each one is just as rambunctious as the last.

As for the teens they are far from a laughing mood as a swarm of twenty Nosedeenians levitate above them.

One of the Megawatts, presumably the leader, whistles gathering the others’ attention. It says something intelligible before they all salute at each other, but that’s the only hint of organization they have before each and every one of them takes off to who knows where.

Ochaco grasps at her hair, pulling at her hair. “Oh, no no no no no!!” This is absolutely terrible, that just goes without saying! But now they have an entire swarm of Megawatts to deal with and if one of them is enough to cause so much damage then she doesn’t want to imagine what twenty of them could do. “We need to find them!”

They can’t have the school up all in a panic over intruders: just seeing the U.A. students get riled up back at the lunchroom is enough to confirm this. They’ll all probably just panic and stampede out to the exits.

Izuku is in just as bad a state as her, and not just because of his lingering odor, his hair is even more frazzled from him grabbing at it and sweat beads down his face. “I know but what do we do?!”

“We need Thirteen!”

“That’s obvious! But they're probably still by the factory looking for the Megawatt!”

“Well the two of us aren’t enough to hunt them down!”

She’s right. She’s absolutely right. There’s literally no one else to turn to, not unless they want to expose alien life. Not the teachers, not their fellow classmates, they are literally on their own…

But maybe they're not as alone as they think.

A smile, a genuine smile, appears on Izuku’s face. “Then let’s get some help.”

Ochaco, still grabbing her head, gives Izuku a confused look.

He doesn’t bother to clarify as he grips the Omnitrix and slams down onto the faceplate.

Ochaco fails to shield her eyes in time, but when her eyesight returns, she has her answer. “Ditto?”

“Yup.” Ditto smile sup at the taller being. “The Megawatts aren’t the only ones-”

A second Ditto splits away from the original. “-that can multiply.”

Ochaco brushes her hair down with her fingers trying to wash away her nervousness. She cups her chin as she thinks about this strategy. “This could work.”

The original Ditto crosses his arms feeling confident with this plan. “I know.”

Its clone is quick to agree. “It’s our plan afterall.”

Even if it was technically himself that gave the compliment the first Ditto still smiles in appreciation. “Yeah. And like what could go wrong?”

Oh, the poor naive boy. He has no idea what he’s in for.

Starting with the sound of the school bell. Specifically the bell signifying the end of the lunch period.

The second Ditto glares at his original. “Seriously, dude?”

Ditto prime is greatly offended by the accusation. “Don’t blame me!” It’s not like he’s in charge when classes start.

These kids just can’t seem to catch a break. How in the hell are they supposed to go to class and hunt down little black and yellow aliens…? And if neither of them show up then they’re really going to get it from Mr. Aizawa later.

Ochaco is really in a pickle here. Looks like there’s only one thing they can do. “Come on!” She grabs one of the Dittos by the arm and drags it away.

“Wh-where are we going!!”

“To class!”

The second Ditto follows along as they exit the classroom. “But what about the Megawatts!!”

Ochaco stops and turns to face the morphed Izuku. “Your clones can go after them.” She’ll just have to trust Deku to handle this all on his own. She would like to be out here helping him in the search but looks like his clones will have to handle this all on their own. 

With that she pulls the original Ditto away leaving behind the other one.

The second Ditto flashes her a reassuring smile. “Don’t you worry! I’ll have all of this wrapped up in no time!”

The Ditto steps back as several Dittos morph out of him until twenty of them are standing at attention.

“Alright men now is not the time to falter or let fear take you down into the unforgiving abyss. Now is the time to step up and save our school!”

The squadron of Dittos let out a resounding cheer.

“Yeah!”

“We got this!”

“I have my reservations.”

Ignoring that last comment each of them take off for different parts of U.A. in search of the enemy that U.A. itself is unaware of.

One Ditto grins towards one of his counterparts as they make their way towards the second floor. “I have a good feeling about this.”

“Me too.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

The Ditto currently being towed along by Ochaco gulps. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

Ochaco releases the little alien as they reach Class 1-A’s door. “Quiet you. This will work.”

“But everyone is going to wonder why I’m Ditto.”

Ochaco grips the door handle. “Well you were the one that decided to transform so you’re going to have to deal with it.” She flings open the door silently hoping that they won’t find a Megawatt inside.

They don’t find a Megawatt instead they are greeted by the rest of their class who must have just arrived because some of them are not in their own seats yet.

Iida is of course the first one to notice the two of them. “There you two are.” He gives them a stern look for ditching them in the middle of lunch. “You shouldn’t run off!”

Mina looks just as upset about it as well. “Yeah! Why did you two run off on us?” She eyes Ochaco suspiciously as a sly smirk grows on her face. “Where were you getting up to?” She asks teasingly.

Ochaco jolts as she walks past Mina’s desk. “N-nothing?”

Mina’s horn twitches and the pink-skinned girl’s smirk widens. “Oh it was something.” 

While Ochaco tries to ignore Mina’s questioning, Ditto makes his way to his own seat. His other classmates look on with silent questions like if that really is Midoriya or if it’s someone else completely. Or at least they are curious about this new form that they’ve never seen.

Thankfully Shoji recognizes the Omnitrix symbol on the little guy’s form. “Why are you like that?”

Ditto sighs before continuing his way to his desk where his backpack and school supplies are waiting for him. “Um, my Quirk…was acting a bit funny so I’ll be like this for a little while.” He really hopes everyone buys that and doesn’t try to dig for any more details.

Bakugou, overhead his explanation, scoffs but doesn’t say a word after that. He just glares off to the side, keeping his mouth shut.

Ditto eyes him worriedly but not out of his own concern but for Bakugou’s. Usually he would be the first one to call him out but he’s not saying a word. Or even looking at him for that matter. He thinks about saying something, but he won’t get the chance because at that moment Aizawa appears at the entrance way and everyone immediately goes silent.

“Good, you’re all finally understanding how precious time is.” He eyes the class and his gaze falls on Ditto.

The Splixson nervously sinks into his seat hoping that his stern and somewhat scary teacher won’t decide to ask why he’s not currently human. 

Eventually Aizawa turns away, choosing to ignore Izuku’s current state. “You all still need to decide on which of these two” He gestures to Iida and Yaoyorozu respectively. “Will be your Vice President.”

While the rest of class nods in understanding, Ditto lays his head onto his desk as one worry is replaced with another. _‘Oh right. I forgot. I’m now the Class President.’_ Is there any way for him to get out of it? Maybe he should just ask or say he doesn’t want the job. May he should- “OW!!” He cries out in pain after a shocking sensation strikes his backside.

But he’s nowhere near Kaminari and there doesn’t appear to be any Megawatts running about.

Aizawa’s eye twitches in annoyance, not appreciating the interruption. “Midoriya?”

And he’s not the only one giving Ditto an odd look, the rest of the class are just as confused by his sudden outburst.

Kirishima, bless his soul, is the only one to outright ask the morphed Izuku what’s wrong. “You okay, man?”

Ditto takes a quick breath, calming himself from the shocking pain that keeps registering across his body. “Y-yes. I-I’m fine. It’s j-just a…cramp.” He internally prays that everyone buys that terrible excuse of a lie. It certainly doesn’t help that he’s clearly struggling to keep his composure despite the repeated jolts of pain.

From across the room Ochaco sends Ditto a very worried look. A look that Ditto returns with a shaky smile and a not so reassuring thumbs up. She knows that he’s lying and just doesn’t want her to worry, but she can’t help it. The poor guy is literally all on his own. And even though using a multiplying alien was a good idea at the time they had forgotten one small detail: Splixsons share a link meaning if one feels pain then so do the others.

That just leaves one question… WHAT THE HELL ARE THOSE DITTOS DOING!?!

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Meanwhile, somewhere else within the walls of U.A.

“My baby!!” A female’s voice screams out as the clanging sound of heavy metal stomps around within the Support Course classroom.

“Ahhh!!” Ditto screams out in terror as he fleas from the scene.

Less than a second later a robotic monstrosity smashes through the doorway, it’s a hulking mass of a juggernaut with white metallic armor and a black helmet structure similar to Thirteen’s. Yellow sparks and a faint maniacal laughter resonate around the charging robot.

The iron hulk takes a few swings at the fleeing Ditto who manages, for the most part to avoid being squashed by its giant hands. His luck runs out as the robot manages to grab him around his torso before tightening its grip making the little alien squeak like a squeaky toy.

At the same time, the original Ditto holds his gut while trying to stop himself from groaning out loud or else drawing more attention to himself to his class than he already has.

In the teachers’ lounge a duo of Dittos are getting tazed by a pair of Megawatts as they run around the couch table, and chairs. One Ditto takes cover under a chair but one of the Megawatts grins as it melds into a coffee machine. The coffee maker begins to levitate as sparks fly around it and it spews out piping hot coffee onto its unsuspecting victim.

Back in Class 1-A, Ditto prime’s entire body shakes as he bites his own lip trying not to scream out in agony.

A little later a single clone is chasing down one of the rogue Megawatts outside the school building specifically in the teachers’ parking lot. There the two aliens end up chasing each other between the vehicles. At times Ditto is the one doing the chasing but when the Nosedeenian has had enough it ends up firing bolts of lightning back at its pursuer. The Ditto takes cover under a a canary-yellow Nissan GT-R. The Megawatt raises its little arms and a ball of lightning begins to form and crackle just above its head before it throws its hands down and a ray of lightning strikes down on the poor Nissan. The car doesn’t stand a chance as it’s fried to a crisp turning the canary-yellow paint to black and dark brown, even the windows shatter under the large amounts of volts coursing through it.

The Megawatt, thinking its job is done, takes off zipping across the sky and back towards the school building. Unbeknownst to it, the Ditto underneath is actually fine, there isn’t a scratch on him. So there’s no excuse for him not to chase after the Nosedeenian leaving the smoking car behind.

A few seconds later a whistling Present Mic strolls up to his car, but what he finds is a crisped heap of metal that was once his car. He’s stunned at what he finds so much so that he screams out in misery.

In the meantime, while all of these events are playing out. A lone figure sits back in their oversized chair, sipping on some tea, as several monitors record and play out all of these events.

On one screen a pitching machine in one of U.A. sports rooms are firing away at a group of helpless Dittos who are really getting nailed by the flying baseballs.

On another screen there’s a large hulking robot that’s come to a standstill with a traumatized Ditto laying before its frozen form. A pink-haired girl stands nearby inspecting the robot, it seems she hasn’t even noticed the little alien laying on the floor.

Another screen displays the image of a Megawatt making faces at the hidden camera.

The lone figure brings the tea cup up to his lips before taking a sip like they don’t have a care in the world. “Fascinating.” 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Back in Class 1-A’s classroom, the original Ditto is noiselessly suffering in his seat. All this time he’s had to endure excruciating pain of shocks, beating, burns, and whatever other torment his clones are going through. And he’s had to bite his lip, drawing blood a few times, all to keep quiet and not draw too much attention.

That’s definitely easier said than done.

Aizawa counts up the last remaining votes. “Looks like it’s decided. Tenya Iida is your Vice President.”

A round of applause goes out to the Engine Quirked teen.

Iida smiles gratefully as he rises up from his seat. “Thank you everyone! I promise to do my very best as your Vice President!”

As the class give resounding comments of support, Yaoyorozu remains seated slouched forward in her seat in disappointment over the outcome.

Just a few seats ahead of her is Ditto, who is slowly building up his pain tolerance. ‘ _Well done Iida. I know I can rely on you.’_ Maybe he can get Iida to take on more responsibility and allow himself some more free time to dedicate to Plumber work.

The Omnitrix begins to beep and flash red. Good thing too because the transformed Izuku isn’t too sure if he can handle any more of this torture. But dread floods within him, sure his torment will be over, but what about the Megawatts? They are still out there and doing who knows what!!

But there isn’t much he can do as the alien watch continues to beep until his entire body is enveloped in glowing red light.

The rest of the class’ attention are turned away from Iida and instead are given the confused Splixson sitting in Izuku’s desk.

“What the?” Ditto confusedly stares at his hands and stubby legs. He’s not seeing things despite the Omnitrix timing out he is still Ditto.

Aizawa sighs, he’s clearly tired of this. “Midoriya these distractions are getting bothersome.”

“S-sorry sir.”

Shoji, one the few who understands Izuku’s Quirk, wheels around in his seat. “Hey, shouldn’t you have changed back by now?”

Ditto nervously sweats trying not to look too suspicious. “I-I s-should have, but I’m not sure why I haven’t.”

He peers to his right towards his fellow space cadet, who sends him a concerned look silently asking if everything is okay?

He shrugs his shoulders in response, not sure what exactly went wrong himself. Perhaps…he can’t turn back. Maybe…all of his clones have to be near each other for him to turn back.

Well at least they can continue capturing the Megawatts, but on the other hand, it looks like he’s going to have to endure even more torment until then.

And that’s how the next class period goes with Ditto fidgeting in his seat and every ten minutes or so the Omnitrix flashes red, but Ditto never turns back into human. It didn’t take long for his classmates and teacher to get annoyed by it, but all he’d say was that his Quirk has been acting up all morning.

Some point during the middle of the class the intercom turns on and Present Mic’s voice rings through, but it's noticeably not as lively as it usually is. “Ochaco Uraraka *sniff* please report to the Principal’s office *sniff*. I repeat *sniff* Uraraka please go to the Principal’s office *sniff* immediately.”

Ochaco gasps in surprise. _‘ME!?!’_

“Ooooo.” Mina teasingly smiles at her. “You’re in trouble.”

Aizawa watches the intercom curiously. _‘He sounds depressed. That’s supposed to be my thing.’_ Oh, well he’ll just have to ask Hizashi later. “Uraraka.”

“Y-yes?!”

“You’re excused, so head on out to the Principal’s office. It’s on the fourth floor.”

“Uh, right.” She gets up and leaves as her classmates watch on wondering why she’s been summoned by their principal of all people.

She looks back before she exits, specifically at Ditto who waves her off before wincing in pain.

With nothing else she can do she leaves for the fourth floor.

After a few minutes of wandering around she eventually finds herself in front of the doorways of the Principal’s office.

She’s honestly a bit worried, mainly because she has no idea why she was called here, but here she is. So, with a shaky breath she grips the door handle and slides the door open ready to face the Principal of U.A.

“Welcome!” Greets the Principal with a cheery grin and a friendly wave from his oversized leather desk chair.

_‘He’s a teddy bear?!’_

He sure is! The principal is a short man who appears to be a possible combination of several different animals such as a dog, a mouse and a bear, which would make him a chimera. He has the head of a mouse with circular black eyes, a large scar over the right one, relatively square-shaped ears with pale pink insides slanting outwards from the top of his head, and an elongated muzzle with a small round nose. His fur is white and has large, dog-like paws with pink pads and a thin tail like that of a cat.

He sports a white dress shirt, a dark red tie around his neck, a black double-breasted waistcoat and matching dress pants. He wears orange lace-up sneakers with incredibly thick soles which seem to be quite large on him. 

He puts his little paw down before placing it on his chest. “Allow me to introduce myself. I am the Principal of U.A., Nezu!” He looks so happy to declare his position of power, especially to a human. “It’s very nice to meet you, Ms. Uraraka, I've heard so much about you.”

“Y-you have?” She nervously steps forward, she sort of finds the little creature’s analytical gaze a bit uncomfortable.

“Why of course! It’s my job to know all that goes on in my school.” He leans forward in his seat, and despite the friendly smile, a dark aura emanates from his little form. “And I do mean everything.”

The gravity wielder gulps before speaking. “Such as?”

Principal Nezu smiles softly before leaning back and gesturing to the seat across from him. “Why don’t you take a seat. We have much to discuss.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

The class period finally ends, and Ditto is the first one out just as the Omnitrix flashes red once again for the humpthinth time, but of course he remains the same. He really can’t take this anymore, he just wants to scream out in pain, but he holds himself back. So instead he needs to wrangle up the electrical demons as soon as possible.

He takes off looking for any sign of his clones or the Megawatts. And it doesn’t take long to find at least one of them as he rounds a corner.

“Ow!”

“Ow!”

Both Dittos collide with each other so hard that they both fall backwards.

The other clone rubs his head. “Ow, watch where you’re going!”

“Me?! You watch where you’re going!” The original Ditto picks himself up. “What are you running from anyway?”

The clone’s eyes widen in fear before he scrambles onto his feet and takes off down the hall. “From them!”

“Huh?” He looks around the corner and what he sees instantly makes his heart plummet.

A group of five or so Megawatts are flying down the hall right at them, laughing the entire way as they approach their intended targets.

“Wait, for me!” He takes off after his clone as the Megawatts get closer and closer.

The Nosedeenians fire out bolt after bolt at the two Splixsons who avoid the attacks for the most part. The two clones run up the staircase to the second floor and once they’re through the doors there’s a lone trash can standing off to the side.

Acting on reflex the two clones merge into one and then the single Ditto dives right into the plastic can to take cover from the onslaught of invaders.

The Megawatts laugh and jeer at him as they circle above their victim’s hiding hole finding the whole situation rather amusing.

Ditto prays for them to make it quick, otherwise, this is going to be very painful.

By some miracle, something big and quick grabs two of the five Megawatts and swats them away.

“Get away from him!” Ochaco shouts as she lunges at the other aliens, on her hands are a pair of thick rubber gloves.

Knowing that she has the advantage the little menaces are quick to retreat down the hall and away from the odd duo.

Ochaco glares at their retreating forms before giving her attention to the one that needs it. “Are you alright?”

The trash can tips over as Ditto crawls out of it. “Uraraka!” He latches onto his savior’s leg as tears of relief leak out from his eyes. “I’m so glad to see you!” He was sure that she’d be stuck in the Principal’s office for way longer.

“Good, because we have a plan!”

Ditto sniffs, rubbing the tears and snot away. “We?”

“Yeah, we have to send word to your clones to lead the Megawatts down to U.A.’s basement.” She then begins to run off as to get started. 

Ditto, unsure about all of this, chases after her. “And then what?!”

“And then we win!”

And just like that, the duo are off to spread the message. They somehow manage to locate and find the other Dittos, although the original Ditto did end up making even more clones to help get the word out even faster. And like rumors that spread like wildfires in schools across the world, the plan of action gets around to every clone within the walls of U.A.

As the plan gets out, Ochaco positions herself at the basement entrance. The door is like that of any other door within U.A. the only difference is how it’s labeled.

A single Ditto sprints across the opposite end of the hall as a pair of Megawatts chase him.

Acting fast Ochaco catches the Megawatts in the air just as the Ditto sprints by. “I got you!”

The Megawatts glare and struggle in her grasp, but the rubber gloves are enough to insult their electricity from firing out at their capturer.

The Ditto huffs trying to catch his breath. “Is everything set?”

Ochaco shrugs. “I sure hope so.” After all the plan wasn’t really all that detailed out to her in the first place.

“What?” She hopes so? Wasn’t this her plan? She shouldn’t be hoping that it works, she should say that it will work.

She must understand how nonreassuring she sounds because she can only provide a sheepish smile in response.

Ditto doesn’t have the chance to ask for clarification as a roar of screams and shouts echo from down the hall. The two watch on in surprise as a squadron of Dittos are being chased by a very angry swarm of Megawatts, looks like these little guys are really sensitive to being insulted.

There’s nowhere for Ochaco or the original Ditto to go, there’s no way they can get out of the way of this stampede, so they desperately wave their arms about trying to get the other Dittos to stop.

The stampede doesn't even register their presence as they crash right into them and every single one of them are flung down the tall set of stairs. Many cries and shouts of pain ring out as they all tumble all the way down until they finally collapse at the bottom of the steps.

“Ow…”

“My leg!”

“Ew, you reek, dude.”

Ochaco’s head pops out from within the pile of groaning Dittos. “Is everyone okay?”

Almost every clone replies with the same answer. “No…”

Thankfully the Omnitrix times out once and again, but this time with all of them gathered together, Izuku finally turns back to normal. 

Izuku groans as he props himself up next to Ochaco. “Oh, finally.” He grabs at his face making sure it actually worked.

It appears his theory was correct that Ditto can’t transform back unless every clone is within a certain range.

“No time for that. We need to move!” Ochaco shoots off the ground, grabs his arm, and pulls him up before she takes off into the large dark space that is the basement of U.A.

It appears to be a large storage area filled with boxes, odd machines, and decorations for any and all occasions.

“Why are we running?!”

“Look!” Ochaco jabs a finger towards the top of the staircase where about twenty or so Megawatts are gathered.

The electrical fiends spot the two feeling teens and immediately fly down to give chase.

“Quick lead them to that thing!” Ochaco releases Izuku’s arm and points to a large object hidden behind a large dusty sheet standing from across the room.

The object looks very bulky as it stands at a height of about 12 feet. And that’s all Izuku is able to tell before he sprints right to it. It appears that the Megawatts must have recognized his signature watch and have assumed that he was the one that has been chasing them all day. Oh, how the tables have turned.

Izuku sprints as hard as he can away from the swarm, as just ahead of him Ochaco actually makes it to the device first. She stands beside it holding onto a nearby lever protruding out of the side of whatever it is underneath. “Quickly! Bring them this way!”

“I’m trying!” Izuku cries out as he makes a mad dash towards his fellow space cadet.

He is so close now; the object is just barely a few meters away now. But just like everything seems to be out for him today, he doesn’t make it.

A few of the Megawatts actually manage to stun him with high energy bolts that make his entire body freeze up as his muscles scream in pain, and he collapses just a few feet away. And like flies to garbage the Megawatts are on him in an instant, dog piling on him, as to shock and torture him even further. They bounce on him and grab at his hair, shocking him all the while. Their laughter rings out across the room. A few of them even grab at the Omnitrix trying to absorb the electricity from within it

As for Ochaco, she is not just going to stand by as her friend is assaulted by these little freaks, so with a mighty tug she pulls down the lever and the effect is almost immediate.

A loud engine roars to life and lights flash from behind the sheet as it begins to whip around from the wind being generated from the machine it’s covering.

The sheet is blown clean off and a large hulking machine stands tall above the surprised and confused Megawatts. The machine is huge with a circular outer frame all wrapped around a cylindrical pillar of wires, pipes, and cables. Embedded into the outer frame are individual cylindrical bulbs. And at the base of the machine is a large metal shaft that appears to lead into the machine.

The machine lights up as a powerful vacuum begins to suck everything into the large open shaft.

The Megawatts scream out in terror, knowing that this can’t be anything good for them, so they try to escape the powerful vacuum. Unfortunately, for them they are far too close to the machine and there is little hope for escape and each and every one of them are slowly sucked into the machine. A few noises of electricity being produced are heard, and the machine grows brighter with each alien that is captured. It appears after being transferred through the machine the Megawatts are spit out within the large cylindrical bulbs themselves, acting as makeshift prisons for the already diminutive beings.

It’s not long before every single Megawatt is sucked up and secured within an individual capsule.

Ochaco pushes up on the lever effectively shutting off the vacuum. “We did it!”

They really did it! Although she appears to be the only one happy about it as the Megawatts themselves glare at her through their glass prisons. Some of them are even bashing themselves against them to break free, but they have no chance of accomplishing this.

“You sure did.” Calls out a calm cheery voice.

Ochaco spins around towards the staircase. “Principal Nezu, glad you could join us.”

Principal Nezu calmly approaches the girl, his arms tucked behind his back. In any normal circumstances he would have taken more of a direct role in all of this, but he really wanted to see how these two potential Plumbers would overcome this trial

“Likewise. And might I say that it was absolutely splendid to see you pull this off.” He places a paw over his mouth as to whisper up to her ear. “All Might really has chosen a fine successor.”

That makes Ochaco smile. “Thank you.” She then jabs a thumb towards the machine. “But hey how’d you get this thing here so fast?”

“Hm? Oh, it was always here. We often use this space for abandoned or failed inventions made by the Support Course.” Nezu approaches the machine, gazing up at the alien inside as they make rather rude hand gestures at him. “This particular machine was meant to collect energy from electrical based Quirks. So, I knew it would be more than enough to handle these little rascals.”

“Oh. I see.” Ochaco blinks up at the machine, internally she thanks whomever it was that was smart enough to build it. She then peers around the basement at all the other leftover inventions and junk. At least until she notices that something or someone specific is missing. “Wait, where’s Deku?”

“Hm?”

Ochaco and Principal Nezu scan the room and sure enough it looks as if Izuku has up and disappeared.

“Where could he have gone?”

There’s really no sign of him. Not an article of clothing, a scrape of hair, or even the Omnitrix for that matter.

Nezu eventually gazes back up at the machine and he spots something rather unexpected. “Oh, my.”

“What is it?”

“I found him.” Nezu gestures upward towards the machine.

Ochaco curiously looks up and she too is in for a bewildering surprise.

Inside one of the capsules is a Megawatt, but it’s different from the others specifically it has the Omnitrix embedded into itself, also it appears to be desperately trying to communicate with them.

It doesn’t take long for Ochaco to assume who that is. “DEKU!?!”

After a few moments of hyperventilation courtesy of Ochaco, Nezu manages to release the single Megawatt from his containment.

The little creature stumbles out of his glass case glad to be freed from his imprisonment. “Phew, uh, thanks bzzz.”

Nezu is glad to lend a helping hand or paw in his case. “You’re welcome.”

“Ah, Principal Nezu!” The morphed Izuku has finally registered who else is with them.

He’s only ever read or seen Nezu in magazines and newspapers, and now here he is right in front of him. 

“The very one!”

“What are you doing here?!”

Ochaco shyly steps forward. “Well, I think I can explain.”

##########(Flashback)#########

Back when Ochaco was called up into Nezu’s office.

The Principal of U.A. sips a bit of his tea before speaking. “Would you like some?” He gestures to the pot of tea sitting atop his desk.

“No thank you.” Ochaco shifts in her seat. “So, what did you want to see me about?”

Nezu takes another sip of his tea before putting it down onto his desk. “There’s just a few things that have gained my attention. And I’d like to get to know them better.”

“Such as?”

“Such as, what is All Might’s successor like?”

Good thing she hadn’t taken that tea because she definitely would have spat it out. “A-Al-All M-M-Might’s s-s-s-successor?!” She’s breaking into a cold sweat now, as she hurriedly tries to fix the situation. “I’m not sure what you mean?”

“Hahaha! Not to worry dear child. I know all about One For All!”

“You do?!” Why didn’t All Might tell her? That would have been nice to know! 

“Why, yes. But I’m sure your mentor didn’t want to bring it up just in case you ended up feeling like your being unnecessarily evaluated.”

“That…makes sense.” She wouldn't want to feel like she’s getting unfair treatment, but then again maybe she already is, she is here after all. 

“But there’s another reason I called you here.”

“Really?”

“Yes, in fact I would have liked to call up one other student here today. But it seems he’s a bit too preoccupied right now.”

“Really? Who is it?”

“Why it’s Izuku Midoriya of course.” He states rather bluntly. “He’s really having a hard time gathering up those Nosedeenians.”

…

“What?” Ochaco is completely dumbfounded, her brain unable to fully process what Nezu’s just implied.

“Oh, did Thirteen not tell you either?” He stands atop his chair holding his paw out proudly to declare the following. “You see, young lady I am not only the Principal of U.A. but I’m also…” 

########(End Flashback)#######

“The Magister of the Plumber Japan Branch bzzzzz?!” Shouts the Megawatt version of Izuku.

Nezu nods in confirmation. “Yup! Isn’t that wonderful? Hahahaha!”

Ochaco’s glad that it’s all cleared up now. Although she did leave out the parts involving All Might and One For All.

And yeah, it was a bit of a shock for her as well when she found out. But apparently Nezu is in fact the head honcho of both U.A. and the Plumbers here in Japan. Another way to look at it is that he is Thirteen’s boss for two different jobs! And now it appears he is also in charge of them both at school and when it comes to Plumber work.

Thankfully being the principal and a Plumber comes with benefits such as having access to alien technology or gadgets created here on Earth to help combat alien life such as the makeshift Megawatt catcher.

Speaking of Megawatts. “Hey, Deku.”

“Yes bzzz?”

“Why are you?” She gestures to his tiny form.

“Oh, I’m not sure.” He looks down and examines the new alien form. “When those Megawatts attacked me, I just sort of panicked and reached for the Omnitrix and the next thing I know I’m trapped inside this tiny little body.”

“But I thought you could only transform into nine aliens.”

“So, did I.” This new alien is really a surprise, he never even considered this a possibility. Although maybe it’s the universe’s way of giving him a break after making him go through all that pain and suffering today.

Nezu cups his chin as he too examines Izuku’s newest transformation. “Fascinating. Simply fascinating.”

The Nosedeenian Izuku moans, he really doesn’t want to deal with any of this right now. “Uh, I’ve had too long of a day to deal with this.” Maybe they can address this later, after he’s showered, and his aches and pains go away. “Quick question bzzz. Aren’t your responsibilities too much for you bzzz? I mean shouldn't someone else be helping you out bzzz?”

Nezu shakes his head, not at all offended by the question. “Well I wouldn’t say my responsibilities are all that different from each other.” Makes sense when you think about it. He’s only in charge of a few staff members for each position and his position as the head of U.A. allows him access and certain pull with certain individuals making it easier for him to cover up alien activity in Japan. “And besides I’m more than capable of handling all the responsibilities of both tasks.”

Ochaco blinks in awe of the chimera. “Wow, that’s impressive.”

“Indeed it is bzzz!” The transformed Izuku peers around noticing that someone else isn’t there. “By the way, where is Thirteen bzzz?”

Nezu claps his paws together. “Oh, I gave them a call already to notify them about the situation. But they got called away, apparently One-One detected a transmission, but they weren’t able to identify the source. So, they’re both looking into it.” Hopefully it’s nothing serious. “But that is nothing for either of you to be concerned about. Instead you two should return to class. I may be a Plumber but I’m still a Principal.”

“Yes, sir!” The space cadets salute before heading off for the exit.

Ochaco walks off at a normal pace while the Megawatt Izuku has to jog to keep up, his legs tapping away underneath him at a fast pace.

Nezu waves them off with an encouraging smile. “And don’t you worry about this lot. I’ll handle things from here.”

He watches as the two climb the steps and exit through the doorway, they give him one last wave before they disappear from sight. ‘I can’t wait to see what the future holds for the two of you.’ One will grow to be the successor that surpasses All Might, that much is certain. As for the other…his future is a bit more uncertain but one thing's for certain. “He’s just like you.” Nezu whispers this to himself thinking of an old ally that he hasn’t had the pleasure of seeing in a long time now. 

In the meantime, Ochaco and a jogging Megawatt are approaching their homeroom class.

“What a day bzzz.” It really has been for the transformed Izuku.

He’s been zapped, burned, and attacked as well as dumpster dived twice now, meaning he still smells like a walking dump, and to add on to the humiliation he knows for a fact that everyone’s been weirded out by his constant fidgeting while enduring the pain as Ditto.

Ochaco sighs. “I know right. At least the worst is over.”

“Easy for you to say bzzz. You’re not the one with tiny legs bzzz!”

Ochaco blinks down at the little alien as it tries to keep pace with her, she probably should have just picked him up by now. “Can’t you fly?”

The small alien stops in his tracks, thinking about her suggestion.

He grins, much like the other Megawatts. “Oh, yeah bzzz!” He tucks his arms in and concentrates trying to allow his natural powers to reveal themselves.

Electricity builds around him before his entire body seems to transform into an electrical beam that snakes its way into the air, but something’s definitely off. The electrical beam swivels and zigzags in the air before it rockets away down the hall. Ochaco watches on, her eyes popping out of her head as Izuku zips around until the electricity stream phases right through the Class 1-A door.

The moment the entire beam of electricity enters there is an explosion of noise.

*ZAP!!*

“WHAT THE HELL!?!”

“What is that?!”

“Gah, that smell!”

*ZAP!!*

“Ow!!”

*ZAP!!*

“Kaminari!!”

“It’s not me!!”

“Watch out!!”

*ZAP!!*

As the gravity wielder approaches the door in a frenzy, the noise dies down a bit inside, but she doesn’t even register the change as she flings the door aside.

The entire classroom is in disarray with things scattered all across the floor, a few desks and chairs are turned over, scorch marks line the floor and walls, and many of the students are out of their seats some of them are even laying on the ground as if they had taken cover.

“What hap-Oh my gosh!!” She cuts herself off when her eyes trail towards the front of the class where a very pissed Aizawa is.

His eyes are glowing red as his hair floats upward, he holds his scarf while attached to the end is a small bundle floating in the air. A pair of small nonhuman eyes peer out and cower under Mr. Aizawa’s gaze.

Ochaco gulps.

Aizawa examines the little being in his capture weapon and he notices the Omnitrix embedded into its body. “Midoriya?” It barely comes out as a whisper, and more like a soft-spoken threat.

The Megawatt manages to free his mouth from the binding. “Y-yes…” 

Aizawa’s gaze hardens and his eyes glow an even brighter crimson making him even more imposing and menacing as he glares down at his victim, who screams out in terror.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

It’s finally the end of the school day, or at least it is for most of the student body. Unfortunately, one of them has to stay behind and serve detention for the next week or so.

“What did I do to deserve this?” Izuku plops his mop down onto the floor, part of his detention is that he has to clean the school and all without his powers. It’s Aizawa’s orders.

Apparently despite his best efforts some students reported spotting little battery-like beings causing mayhem across the school, and since Izuku’s new Megawatt form fit the bill…well you can assume what occurred. He got blamed for the messes and destruction they caused from the Support Course robot going haywire to the frying of Present Mic’s car. The pro hero literally yelled his ear off for that one and now there’s a constant ringing in his ears. Thankfully the only reason he got off so lightly was that thanks to a quick intervention from Nezu himself. They lied and explained that his powers went haywire, probably as a side effect for gaining a new transformation. By some miracle Mr. Aizawa bought it probably from the quick display that he witnessed it did seem like Izuku couldn’t control his new form’s flight path.

But that doesn’t mean he was outright forgiven, Mr. Aizawa also made him hand over his Class President position. So in the end Iida ended up as Class President and Yaoyorozu, as the follow up, got the Vice President position. Both were more than happy to have the jobs, but they did feel a little sour about how it was achieved. But hey Izuku’s just glad he has one less responsibility to deal with, so he’ll take this as a win.

All in all, he did do his job, despite his own personal outcome. No one suspects a thing and alien life remains a secret to the students and staff of U.A. Also he learned quite a bit today, like who would have guessed that Nezu was a Magister for the Plumbers?! But maybe that’s the point, after all who would expect a school principal of taking part in covert operations.

“I’m very disappointed in you.”

Izuku stops moping and looks up and is greeted by the sight of a frowning Iida. He must be so ashamed to see someone he had seen as worthy of the position to cause such a mess across this prestigious school.

Izuku sighs, not bothering to argue and just accepts the reprimand. “I know.”

His other classmates pass by either with looks of amusement or dismissal.

“Can you believe him?”

“I thought he was so well behaved.”

“I think he’s the official problem child of our class.”

“I heard he vandalized Present Mic’s car.”

“I even heard that he snuck into the teacher’s lounge.”

“I wonder if he went into the girl’s locker room.”

“There’s something wrong with you.”

Izuku keeps his mouth shut as they all head home for the day. Then again, they did just step on his newly cleaned floor so that irks him a bit, but he’s too good nature to say anything. So, he sucks it up and continues with his punishment. And all in the name of keeping an intergalactic secret.

“Hey.”

With his gaze turned down to the floor a pair of thin brown dress shoes appear just in front of him. He peers up and standing before him is Ochaco holding a mop in her hands.

“Shouldn’t you be heading home?”

“I would but…” Ochaco dunks her mop into the bucket. “you already had to deal with the Megawatts alone and it just seems wrong to let go through this all by yourself too.”

Izuku gives her a grateful smile. “Thanks.”

She returns the smile and then they both get to work, moping their way across the school floors.

They go at it for a few minutes and Ochaco’s mind begins to wander. Or more accurately her mind lingers on the feeling of guilt that’s built up all throughout the day. Specifically how she had to let Deku take on most of the work already, now this too. Life really is unfair at times. And not only that but she couldn’t even tell him about One For All. That really puts a sour taste in her mouth.

Maybe there’s something she can do for him other than help him clean…maybe she should get him a gift or something. Yeah, that would do. Well, it may not make up for everything, but it’ll be a start.

How about a watch? No, no watch could compare to what he already has. An All Might poster? He definitely would love that, but she might not be able to afford it. Hmmm. Maybe a jacket or a hoodie would do…? 

While mopping away a funny thought crosses Izuku’s mind. “You know I guess Thirteen was right.”

Ochaco dunks her mop into the bucket. “About what?”   
“Megawatts really are the worst, aren’t they?”

Ochaco thinks back to how Thirteen was acting earlier that morning, specifically how over dramatic they were acting, but it seems like they knew what they were talking about all along.

Ochaco chuckles at the joke. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Megawatts really are the worst.”

“I TOLD YOU SO!!!” Thirteen leaps out from a nearby classroom yelling at the top of their lungs.

Ochaco nearly tumbles backwards in surprise. “Thirteen?!”

Izuku is just as surprised. “What are you doing here?!”

The U.A. teacher blinks. “…I work here.”

“Oh, I mean…” Izuku sighs, deciding not to pursue an argument, it’s already been too long of a day for this. “Nevermind.”

Ochaco however does pursue a conversation. “What brings you here?”

“Oh, I just wanted to see how you two were holding up. And also,” The Plumber places gentle hands onto their heads ruffling up their hair with affectionate rubs. “I wanted to say good job today. You really stepped up when we needed you.”

The two smile in appreciation. “Thanks.”

Thirteen releases them and Izuku decides to bring up something important. “Oh, Thirteen did you hear?”

“Hear what?”

“I got a new transformation today!”

“Really?” The Plumber is genuinely surprised, they didn’t think the Omnitrix had more transformations for the boy, but it looks like they were wrong. But what alien did he gain access to? “What is it?”

Decided to show rather than tell, Izuku activates his alien watch and in a flash of green light his new Megawatt waves up at the taller hero. 

Thirteen doesn’t allow a second to go by before they’re in a complete panic. “Ahhhh!! It’s a Megawatt!!”

Ochaco tries to refute them. “No, it’s-”

“Quick get it!” Thirteen jabs their finger out and immediately activates their Quirk.

“Ahhhh bzzzzz!!” The aliened Izuku screams out in horror as he tries to escape the suction of Thirteen’s Blackhole, while Ochaco grips Thirteen’s arm trying to aim their Quirk away from her friend.

Maybe outright displaying his new form to Thirteen wasn’t the best idea. A part of Izuku and Ochaco wonder what could have caused such a deep hatred for the species but maybe it would be best to leave that topic alone. What matters now is not being sucked up and turned into dusk thanks to an endless void that is Blackhole.

Hopefully things will start looking up for them, especially Izuku, but only time will tell whether or not that is the case.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Amongst the back alleys of Kamino Ward a hidden bar is serving a small number of patrons.

One of the patrons is scrolling through his laptop, specifically he’s scanning through U.A. itinerary. “The game is all set.”

Looks like that Henzu punk really pulled it off for them. Then again Giran was able to get a hold of a U.A. uniform so he wouldn’t stick out while walking the halls. And with his combination of speed and intelligence Quirks he was able to hack and sneak his way into the school.

The bartender turns towards the small television sitting atop a thin table at the corner of the room. “Master, have all the preparations been made?”

**_“Yes.”_ **

“Good.” The pale-skinned man with a hand for a mask swivels in his seat, turning away from his laptop. “You did well, perhaps you’re not complete trash.”

Henzu is seated at the opposite end of the counter. “Glad I could make you happy, Handjob.” His voice is dripping with sarcasm.

But in all honestly, he was actually thrilled to have snuck into one of the most secure places in the country. He kind of wishes he was spotted so that way he could take credit, but after what these guys have planned it would upstage his own efforts.

The young man scratches at his dry-skinned neck, growling in response to Henzu’s tone.

Henzu only smirks in response, finding the hostility somewhat entertaining. “Whatever it is you have planned…I bet it’s going to be a real riot.”

From nearby a hulking muscular mass growls to itself in anticipation for what’s to come.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Within the interior of the spacecruiser one of the robotic drones bows at his master’s form.

“Master!”

The commander shifts away from his studies of news articles. “What is it?”

“The one you called for has arrived.”

In that moment, the metallic gates open wide and a large figure steps forward. Their feet stomps echo across the cold metal floor as they approach the ship commander’s healing tank.

The arrival gazes up at the commander awaiting their order. 

The commander takes a breath through his breathing apparatus before he goes into any details. “I have a new task for you.”

The commander’s eyes shift towards the holographic images, specifically to one of them. It’s an image of Izuku gripping the Omnitrix as he prepares to face off against one of the commander’s assault drones from months ago.

The commander would be smiling if it weren’t for his breathing apparatus. Soon, very soon, he will have what rightfully belongs to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
> 
> And that was Ch.14 Shocking Development. So, what did you all think? In all honestly this chapter was way too long, 73 pages, sheesh!! I really need to figure out how to make these chapters smaller, mainly so I could update this story sooner. For the next parts they will be split up into at least 2-3 chapters so just a heads up. And yes, we are finally going to begin the U.S.J. Arc!! Hooray!! I think you’re all really going to enjoy it. Also please read the important Author’s Note down below.
> 
> *(Important Author’s Note)* I have been getting a lot of questions and comments about this, so I think I need to address it. Do you guys want ships in this fanfic? Seriously, I need an answer. I wasn't honestly going to include them unless I felt like it was needed or it would be interesting, but because of all the inquiries I wanted to get everyone’s opinion. So, please let me know if you would like ships to be included into this fanfic. Also feel free to tell me what your favorite ships are, keep in mind I plan on writing this story out for a while so if there are certain ships you want played out then please let me know what you want to see. And depending how this poll goes I may include them. So, please the more responses the better. Thanks.
> 
> *As I said in the beginning please don’t take some of these parts as critically like the Megawatts. Most of this chapter was admittedly just filler and I just really wanted to include them and give Izuku Buzzshock as an alien. So, if you thought certain things were going to be addressed or fleshed out then I’m sorry. But hopefully the next coming chapters will make up for it. This chapter was meant to help set up a few things in the coming arc.
> 
> *Speaking of Buzzshock I hope none of you are too upset that he’s Izuku’s newest alien. If it makes you feel better Izuku will be gaining some new aliens in the coming future and I think you are all really going to enjoy them. Just wait and see.
> 
> *I was going to give Henzu a few more scenes but I didn’t get to write them, because this chapter is already so long. So, if you have questions about how he stole the information then please feel free to ask.


	15. It’s Hero Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Class 1-A are off for the Rescue Training but what awaits them at their destination.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Isn’t this great I was able to upload earlier this time! Wow! Well any way I have an announcement about the poll. An overwhelming majority of you are for ships (relationships) to appear in this story. So, I will try my best to include them. HOWEVER, the ships are not my priority and I don’t just want to throw them in without any real effort. So I will introduce the ships gradually and when I feel like that the time is right then I may make them official. Honestly, I may set up another poll later on to vote on which ships should occur, but that’s for another time. Anyway let us begin the U.S.J. Arc!  
> Also, I need to point this out. But in the last chapter when Izuku’s classmates were being “mean” to him. That was meant to be a temporary joke and it will not have lasting effects. So, Sorry if that caused some unnecessary worry. 
> 
> *This story is also on Fanfiction.net. It’s under the same name and author. 
> 
> *EXTREMELY Important Author’s note at the end of the chapter!*

Early Wednesday morning Izuku and Inko are at their dining room table enjoying a quick breakfast.

Inko swallows a bit of her Miso Shiru before she continues their conversation. “So, how’s detention?”

“Uh…” Izuku’s mind naturally thinks back to the past few days, how he’s had to spend them staying behind and cleaning the school after hours. He’s scrubbed enough floors and toilets to last a lifetime and he rather not have to think about it. “It’s going well.”

“Really?” Inko doesn’t sound convinced, but she doesn’t push him. Instead she just shakes her head before going back to her food. “You worry me sometimes.”

Izuku actually looks ashamed, but that’s more because he doesn’t like to disappoint his mother period. Even if in this case it wasn’t totally his own fault. “Sorry Mom, but it’s not my fault.” That’s sort of the truth. “My Quirk just went haywire on me.” Okay now that part’s a clear lie. But what else can he say? Oh, hey Mom I got detention today but don’t worry I didn’t do anything wrong. I just have to do this to cover up a government conspiracy that aliens are here and roaming among us. Yeah, that will go over really well.

Inko sighs. “Even so I’m still worried. I don’t want you to get hurt, sweetie.”

She really does care, but she knows that her son has the habit to try and wave off her worries when it comes to his well-being.

“I know, Mom.” He knows that she cares and it’s not like he is actively seeking danger… Okay, he is but it’s not like he wants to cause her any real worry. Even so he’s come so far, and he has so much further to go, but he will try his best not to worry her too much. “But I’m working hard, and…I think I’m making friends.” That should alleviate her worries somewhat.

And he’s sort of right, because his mom cracks a smile until she also bursts into tears. “My baby’s growing up so fast!” Her tears gush out in buckets.

“Mom! Please calm down! Think about the carpet!”

Inko sniffs away her tears. “Sorry.” She can be so darn emotional, and so can Izuku for that matter. “You know me, I’ve always been prone to crying.”

“Hehe, yeah I know. I’m the same way after all.”

Inko out right chuckles at his little joke before they continue with their morning meal.

“Alright, I better be heading out.” Izuku grabs his tray before dropping it off into the sink.

“Alright, you take care.”

“Thanks Mom.” Izuku opens the door and takes off for another exciting adventure. “Love you!”

“Love you, too.”

Inko watches from the kitchen table as her son waves back to her as the door shuts closed. She sighs, content with the situation hoping that he’ll return home without any incidents. Izuku has always been rather reserved and sensitive much like her, but he has a tendency to find trouble…much like his father. Always rushing in head first into any situation and not thinking about the consequences. Always working hard toward his goals. They really are so similar.

As Inko thinks on and compares how similar her loved ones are the television in the living room is currently televising a hostage situation in downtown Musutafu.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

In the middle of Musutafu, a huge crowd of morning commuters watch on in horror and slight fascination as heroes square off against a large ugly villain.

“See this lucky little family? Come after me and I’ll snap their necks!!” The hulking villain flicks off the pro heroes as a family of three struggle to breathe in his muscular arm. “Got that?! Stay back, heroes!!”

This guy is an enormous, muscular humanoid villain with an unusual extension from his shoulders that grows up and over his head, which gives it a hood-like appearance. His face is largely concealed within this hood, only showing round, white eyes and a large mouth. He’s wearing an armored half-vest with a chain over his right shoulder and cargo pants with additional plating.

A slightly scuffed up Mt. Lady glares at the villain in front of her. “Serial robber and murderer, Trapezius Headgear!!”

Mt. Lady is a voluptuous young woman with purple eyes and long, voluminous, creamy blonde hair. Her hero costume is composed of a purple and pale tan-colored skintight bodysuit. With purple colored gloves and boots. The suit also has three peculiar orange diamond-shaped dots on the purple top that are located under her chest, and she also wears a purple domino mask with horn-like protrusions on the sides. 

Meanwhile, laying on his back after being smack backwards is Kamui Woods. “Not only strong…but a quick strategist!”

Kamui Woods is adorning a dark blue bodysuit that includes a wooden belt, wooden knee pads, wooden shoes, and a small rose veil hangs from the left side of his belt.

The family cries out in anguish from within the huge villain’s crushing grip. “Save us, heroes!!”

Trapezius Headgear bursts into laughter, he just can’t believe how useless these heroes are right now. And now with his incredible agility he can easily make his escape. And nothing, absolutely nothing, can stop him now!

**“FEAR NOT, GOOD CITIZENS.”**

Before anyone can comprehend what’s happening, All Might, the Number One Hero himself, charges in like a missile from seemingly out of nowhere.

 **“MISSOURI SMASH!”** The Symbol of Peace karate chops the huge villain from behind while also snagging the family right out of his grasp. **“WHY, YOU ASK?”** All Might turns flashing his inspiring grin for the world to see as Trapezius Headgear collapses to the ground. **“BECAUSE I’M ON MY MORNING COMMUTE!”**

The crowd of spectators cheer in response. “YEAH!!!”

“All Might!!”

“You’re amazing!!”

But not everyone is exactly thrilled to see him.

Mt. Lady’s face shades over, she smiles but it’s clearly forced. “We appreciate it, but…”

“He’ll put us out of business…” Finishes Kamui Woods as he remains laying on the ground with his legs upward like a splattered bug.

It’s really no surprise that they feel like their victory was stolen right from under them. For starters, their own success depends on the number of crimes and villains that they defeat. It helps to grow their own popularity and as a result gets them a higher paycheck. Or in some cases, resources to help them in future hero work or endeavors.

All Might lets the thankful family down before saluting at the officers who have arrived to haul the villain away. **“HAPPY TO HELP!”**

Before he can continue on his commute, his ear twitches as it picks up a faraway cry for help. 

“Kyahh, a hit-and-run!!”

 **“HMM, I MUSTN'T BE LATE…”** But he can’t ignore a plea for help. So, the pro hero squats down, tensing up as he prepares himself to spring into the air. **“HOWEVER.”** With a mighty leap he launches himself into the air like a mini rocket ship.

While falling through the air with style All Might can’t help but notice how much his speed has actually dropped. Although it isn’t a lot, he can tell that something is different. In truth he’s been weakening ever since he passed his power onto young Uraraka. Not only that but his maximum duration has shortened as well.

But his own capabilities as a hero are not the only things weighing on his mind, but his capabilities as a mentor. **_‘I NEED A WAY TO HELP YOUNG URARAKA CONTROL ONE FOR ALL WITHOUT DAMAGING HER BODY.’_** Unfortunately, he can’t fully understand why or how to do that. Probably because he always had a knack when it came to controlling his power. But then there’s something else to consider. **_‘I ALSO NEED TO FIGURE OUT HOW AND WHY ONE FOR ALL IS BOOSTING HER ZERO-GRAVITY. IF I DON’T PREPARE HER, SHE MAY END UP CAUSING MORE DAMAGE TO NOT ONLY HERSELF BUT TO THOSE AROUND HER.’_** Speaking of those around her. **_‘I NEED TO KEEP AN EYE ON THAT MIDORIYA BOY. IT SEEMS HE’S GOTTEN CLOSE TO YOUNG URARAKA…AND IF MY SUSPICIONS OF HIM ARE TRUE THEN…I FEAR FOR WHAT IT MAY MEAN FOR THE TWO OF THEM. AND IF I MAKE A MISTAKE AND THE WORST COMES TO PAST THEN URARAKA MAYBE IN MORE DANGER THAN I HAD PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT.’_**

All Might lands just in front of the runaway vehicle, and without so much as trying he stops the speeding car with a single hand. **_'SUITABLE SUCCESSOR OR NOT, SHE’S STILL JUST A 15-YEAR-OLD KID. THERE IS STILL SO MUCH FOR HER TO LEARN.’_**

“I heard there’s a hostage crisis in the next town over!”

 **“HMMM!!”** Looks like duty calls, hopefully he’ll still make it to today’s lesson on time. 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

The school bell rings signaling the start of the students’ next class.

Aizawa stands before his students looking as lethargic as ever. “Now for today’s Basic Hero Training. This time, All Might, myself, and one other will supervise.”

Izuku instantly picks up on Aizawa’s wording. _‘This time? So, it’s a special class.’_

His neighbor, Hanta Sero, raises his arm with a question. “Um, what’re we doing, exactly?!”

“Preparing you for disaster relief, from fires to floods.” To help his point their homeroom teacher holds up a large white-card with **_RESCUE_** inscribed on it.

The class excitedly finishes for him. “It’s Rescue Training!!”

Kaminari smirks at the idea. “Rescue, huh. Sounds like another rough day.”

Mina grins back at him. “Right!”

Kirishima rebuts the two of them. “Come on, this is what being a hero’s all about!! I’m pumped!!”

“You’re always pumped!!”

“You know it!”

Meanwhile, Tsuyu thinks aloud to herself. “I’ll be right at home in a flood, kero.”

Aizawa glares at the rambunctious kids “I’m not done.”

They immediately go rigid in fear allowing their teacher to continue with his explanation. He explains that it’s each of their own choice whether or not they want to wear their hero costumes. But they need to consider that some of their gear are not suited to this particular activity. He also adds in that the training site for this course is a bit remote. So, they will need to travel by bus to get there. “That’s all. Get ready.”

The class respectively replies. “Yes, sir.”

As the rest of the class get up to grab their individual costumes Izuku is trying his best to contain his excitement. _‘Rescue Training…!!’_ He’s seriously hyped up for this! Rescuing people is literally the main role of being a hero. Saving those that can’t save themselves from all sorts of threats. _‘This’ll help me become the greatest hero I know I can be! I’ll do my best!’_

While Izuku quietly contains his enthusiasm, Ochaco giggles at the sight of his overly excited expression.

She holds a large brown shopping bag in her hands as she waits for her classmates to clear out and head to the locker rooms. She’s been meaning to give Deku this all morning but she sort of overslept and was nearly late so she never had the chance. But it looks like she’ll have her chance right now. “Hey Deku.”

Despite his excitement he doesn’t yell out excitedly. Instead he greets his friend with a happy smile. “What’s up, Uraraka?”

Ochaco nervously rubs her arm, as she grips the bag and to an extent Deku’s gift a little tighter. “I had something I wanted to give you.”

“Hmm?”

“Yeah, w-well, y-you see. I sort of feel…bad.” Her head droops down. “You’ve been so kind and supportive to me from the start and it’s sort of unfair for me not to be able to be completely honest with you.” She is referring to how she’s not allowed to explain One For All to him, or even tell him about her connection to All Might. “And so I wanted to make it up to you. Even if it’s in a small way.”

“Uh, okay?”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

 _‘Wow! It feels like I was always meant to wear this thing!’_ Izuku admires how comfortable Ochaco’s gift really is.

Apparently, she got him a brand-new hoodie, but there’s a little more to it than that. The hoodie is black in color with dark-green trims around the ends, pockets, and zipper. Two pairs of dark-green lines encircle around the arms. But what makes this hoodie a bit more personal is the hand-sewn logo of the Omnitrix on the left chest.

“This is so great! Thanks Uraraka!” He rubs his hands across the material. “I don’t know what it’s made of. It’s so warm but it breathes.” 

And as a bonus it’ll make for the perfect temporary costume for the day.

Apparently, his real costume is still undergoing repairs and so he’s left without one. But thanks to Uraraka’s timely gift he can somewhat match his fellow classmates in style.

As of now, his current attire includes his new hoodie that he’s forgone zipping up allowing his black undershirt to be on display. He is, however, wearing the standard gym pants, but he also salvaged his hero costume’s gloves, respirator mask, and red utility belt.

Uraraka smiles cheerfully. “Hehe, I’m glad you liked it.”

Which is good because it took her several days to sew on the Omnitrix symbol. She wanted it to be just right if not perfect. Plus that hoodie wasn’t exactly cheap, so she’s glad that it was well worth the effort…and money.

Maybe she should have splurged a little for herself as well, because she too can’t wear her costume. Thanks to One For All her costume was torn apart and heavily damaged. The only real item that survived her power was her own pink belt, which really doesn’t go well with the U.A. gym uniform.

But it’ll have to do for today.

*Tweet! Tweet! Tweet!* Tenya Iida tweets away into his new shiny whistle, it’s the newest tool he deemed as necessary to help wrangle in his classmates. “Line up according to your I.D. numbers. Fill those seats in an orderly fashion.”

*Tweet!* *Tweet! Tweet!*

He’s a little too loud with that thing that some of them have to cover their ears in irritation. While Iida continues to whistle away and direct everyone aboard with his waving arms.

Izuku, however, just finds the scene odd. “Looks like Iida’s going full throttle…!”

Ochaco nods in agreement, finding the scene just as odd. “Yup…”

Soon they’re all packed into the bus with Aizawa at the wheel. With everyone ready to go they’re off to their next big adventure with feelings of excitement and good cheer all around.

At least for the most part. 

“Darn. It was this type of bus!” Iida slouches over in his seat, holding his head down in disappointment.

His entire seating arrangement has been thrown off because the bus doesn’t have the standard seat arrangement. Making his plan a waste of time and effort. Instead the bus has an open arrangement in the front portion while the back of the bus is your standard bus seating arrangement. Currently only Kirishima, Tsuyu, Izuku, Sato, Kaminari, Aoyama, Mina, and Iida are sitting in the front half while the others sit in the back.

Mina, sitting beside Iida, decides to confirm all of this, finding Iida’s dejection amusing. “All that for nothing.”

Everyone else remains silent not wanting to comment on the subject.

Tsuyu Asui for one is ready to change the subject.

She turns to face Izuku who’s sitting beside her. “Pardon me Midoriya. But you should know. I generally say what’s on my mind’

Izuku accidently flinches, surprised that she wants to talk to him of all people. And from out of nowhere it seems. “Oh? Is that so? Then what is it you’d like to say, Asui?”

“Call me Tsuyu.” She deadpans, although her facial expression doesn’t change that much as she makes her statement. “Anyway your Quirk is really amazing.”

“Huh, thank you…”

“But it’s broken.” As in, it's way too powerful for its own good.

“Whaa?!”

From Izuku’s other side, Rikido Sato adds in his thoughts. “You know I’ve been thinking the exact same thing.”

Denki Kaminari eyes Izuku questionly. “For real, man, I mean what kind of monster are you?”

Izuku jolts up in his seat. “Monster?!”

From her seat in the back, Ochaco looks on in worry hoping Izuku can handle this on his own. Not that she wouldn’t help him, but she may just make things worse if she just butts in.

From behind Ochaco, Mezo Shoji speaks out as well. “To be honest I don’t fully understand your Quirk all too well either.” Even though it was somewhat explained to him before he would still like to know more.

Iida cups his chin in thought, he thinks about the forms he’s seen Izuku use before such as Terraspin, XLR8, Water Hazard, and his newest form from a few days ago. “I feel the same way. I would also like to know more about your Quirk myself.”

“You too, huh?” Izuku droops down in his seat, not appreciating his classmates’ attention being on him. Literally everyone seems to be asking him the same questions as they observe him curiously, even the reserved and usually distant Todoroki. The only one that seems uninterested is Bakugou who’s too busy glaring out the window.

Izuku scans the bus and sure enough they’re all nodding or giving him looks that silently ask him to explain his enigma of a Quirk.

Well, he might as well and give the people what they want. “I guess I can explain.”

Some of his classmates lean forward in their seats in anticipation. As for Ochaco she stiffens in her seat next to Momo Yaoyorozu, she really hopes that Izuku knows what he’s doing.

“Well, I guess I should start off with what my Quirk is called.” Or at least the alibi that both Thirteen and him came up with months ago. Now it’s really time to put their alibi to the test. “It’s called One Man Army.”

Kyouka Jiro’s head tilts to the side as she gives the greenette a questionable look. “One Man Army?”

“Yes, you see my Quirk allows me to transform into different forms and each form has its own unique powers and abilities.”

Eijirou Kirishima pats his fist into his open hand in realization. “Oh, so that’s why it’s called One Man Army. It’s because you literally are a one-man army.” He raises his balled-up fist as a tear escapes his eye in admiration. “That’s so cool.”

“Ha, uh, yeah.”

Tsuyu cuts herself in between the two. “But that’s not all there is to it is it, kero?” She’s very observant, isn’t she?

Izuku nods. “You’re right. There is a bit more to it.”

“Seriously?!” Kaminari falls back into his seat in defeat. “That’s so not fair!”

“Not exactly.”

“Huh?”

“As of now I only have ten transformations or so.”

Shoji is not sure if he heard Izuku right. “Ten? I thought you had nine?” At least that’s what Izuku told him near the beginning of the school year.

Oh, yeah. Izuku forgot about the fact that he can apparently get new forms. “W-well I did have nine, but I just got a new one not too long ago.”

Mina thinks about it before she comes to a conclusion. “Oh, right. There was that little battery form you had. You know when you crashed into the classroom.”

“Y-yeah…” His eyes light up as he remembers something that he thinks is interesting. “Oh, I decided to call that form Buzzshock by the way.”

…

Everyone stares at Izuku like he’s grown a second head, even Ochaco has to fight the urge to facepalm herself.

Like the blunt one she is, Tsuyu decides to ask the question on everyone’s mind. “You…name your transformations?”

“Yup.” Izuku puffs out his chest a bit, he’s admittedly proud about his naming schemes. It’s a lot of fun and they’re really creative, if he does say so himself.

“That’s dumb.”

Goodbye pride, Izuku hardly knew you. “A-Anyway. Even with these forms I can only stay in a single form for ten minutes before I need to recharge for another ten minutes.”

Sato scratches the side of his head. “Huh, that is a pretty big drawback.” 

Iida decides to summarize that piece of info. “Basically, you can only use your Quirk for ten minutes at a time.”

Izuku gives him a thumbs up. “That’s correct.”

Iida cups his chin. “Interesting.”

Mashirao Ojiro pipes up from the back of the bus. “And the watch?”

“Huh?”

“Your watch. I noticed that before you transform that you seem to do something with it.”

Oh he means the Omnitrix. Luckily Thirteen and him were ready for this. “Oh, that. Well I can’t exactly will my Quirk to work on its own. I need this watch to help activate my transformations, it also acts as a timer letting me know whenever I’m ready to transform.” Izuku offers a friendly smile hoping to show them that he’s really not all that. “So, you see. Despite my versatile powers I still have my drawbacks.”

Mina pouts from her seat. “It’s still unfair though.”

Izuku immediately sinks into his seat feeling dejected as he grumbles to himself.

Everyone chuckles at the sight of him being embarrassed and exasperated, thankfully Kirishima seems to notice Izuku’s discomfort and helps to change the item of interest. “If you want to talk about unfair Quirks,” he looks towards the back half of the bus. “then there’s Bakugou, Todoroki, and Uraraka to consider.”

Neither Bakugou nor Todoroki acknowledge Kirishima’s praise, but Ochaco for one lights up glad that people see her as strong and capable.

“That’s true,” Confirms Iida. “but it seems that Uraraka’s Quirk has some major backlash as well. So much so that it injures her.”

Ochaco’s head falls to the side as her sense of self-worth takes a hit.

Tsuyu decides to add something to the conversation. “And Bakugou’s too unhinged. He’d never be that popular.”

Throughout this entire discussion the ash-blonde was quiet and minding his business. But calling him out is a one-way ticket to being cursed at. “What’d you say, Frog-face?!”

“See.” She’s not even affected by his shouting.

“Don’t ignore-” Bakugou catches something out from the corner of his eye.

Looking over he notices Ochaco’s piercing glare as if she’s mentally trying to tell him to sit down and be quiet. Normally, he’d curse her out for trying to order him around, but instead he remembers what she had to tell him the other day in the nurses’ office. Deciding that shouting at his classmates isn’t worth his time, he plops back down in his seat with a huff.

While they’re classmates continue to converse, Izuku is busy as he has an internal meltdown. He’s holding his head as to stabilize himself in this upside-down world. _‘Bakugou’s getting teased?! Who’d have thought?! Guess that’s U.A. for ya…’_

Aizawa’s stern voice makes itself known to them all. “We’re here. Look sharp.”

“Okay!!” Responds Class 1-A.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“WHOAAAAA!!!” Almost every member of Class 1-A cry out in delightful surprise at the sight before them. “IS THIS UNIVERSAL STUDIOS JAPAN!?!”

The facility before them consists of a dome-shaped building composed of eight main sections, with six of them emulating a particular disaster scenario: the Central Plaza, the Ruins Zone, the Landslide Zone, the Mountain Zone, the Conflagration Zone, the Flood Zone, and the Downpour Zone.

“Every disaster and accident you can imagine.” A very familiar voice calls out to the students as they admire their surroundings. “I built this facility myself. I call it…The Unforeseen Simulation Joint! Or U.S.J.!!” Thirteen proclaims proudly for them all to hear.

Most of the class share the same thought. _‘Just like Universal Studios Japan…’_

Izuku and Ochaco are excited to see their mentor (and superior) here! But they shouldn’t be so surprised they knew they were a teacher here, and Thirteen’s known by the normal Japan community to be a topnotch rescue hero.

Mina gushes at the sight of the pro hero. “Woah, it’s the space hero, Thirteen!”

Tooru Hagakure awes. “So, cool!”

Ochaco and Izuku bite back their tongues so as to not call out to their mentor. The reason being is something that Thirteen brought up a while back: that they should act like they’ve all never met each other. Sure, that was nearly a year ago when the mutant monsters attacked but they’re sure that they should keep up the act at least for today.

So, that’s what they’ll do. Act like they never met the space hero before.

“Hi, Midoriya! Hi, Uraraka!” Thirteen openly waves towards them excitedly, glad to finally have them here at the U.S.J.

Izuku and Ochaco nearly collapse onto the ground because of the blatant disregard for subtlety.

Mina stares at the two teens with jealous awe. “You two know them?”

“Uh…”

“Yup!” Thirteen buts in. “I saved these two nearly a year ago and we’ve had a few run-ins with each other afterwards. So it’s nice to see them here.” He flashes a thumbs up to his proteges as if to say that they’ve got this covered.

The two teens grumble but return the gesture.

Aizawa approaches his colleague as he scans the U.S.J. looking for someone particular. “Thirteen. Where’s All Might? I thought he was meeting us here.”

“About that.” Thirteen raises up three fingers as they whisper their response. “It seems he just reached his limit during his morning commute. He’s currently resting in the break room, back at U.A..”

All Might sounded really apologetic over the phone when he called to notify Thirteen about the situation.

“The height of irrationality.” Aizawa states with a hint of irritation. “So be it. Let’s get started.”

Thirteen turns to the crowd of teenagers. “Before we do, I have one or two things to say…or three…or four…or-”

“We get it.” The class deadpans.

“As I’m sure you are aware, my Quirk is called Blackhole. It can suck in and tear apart anything that gets sucked into it.”

Izuku is happy to confirm this. “And you’ve used it to save people in all sorts of disasters.

Ochaco rapidly nods her head next to him.

“Indeed. However my power could easily kill.”

A harsh coldness washes over the class, they were not expecting Thirteen to go into the topic of death.

“I’ve no doubt there are some among you with similar abilities. In our super-powered society, the use of Quirks is heavily restricted and monitored. It may seem that this system is a stable one, but we must never forget that it only takes one wrong move with an uncontrollable Quirk for people to Die.”

Thirteen pauses before continuing on.

“During Aizawa’s Quirk Apprehension Test you came to learn of your own hidden potential. And through All Might’s Battle Training you experienced first-hand the danger that your respective Quirks can pose to others. This class will show you a new perspective! You will learn how to utilize your Quirks to save lives.”

The students slowly begin to smile, ready to get started as Thirteen encourages them forward.

“Your powers are not meant to inflict harm. I hope you leave today with the understanding that you’re meant to help people.” The pro hero takes a dramatic bow bringing their speech to an end. “That is all. I thank you for listening.”

A few of the students are kind enough to applaud the teacher.

“Way to go Thirteen!” Cheers Izuku. 

“Awesome job!” Ochaco praises them for a job well done.

“Bravo!! Braaavo!!” Iida is probably the most enthusiastic, his hands clapping together rapidly.

Aizawa leans against the railing of the entrance area that overlooks the Central Plaza. “Great. first off…” His voice trails off as a feeling of trepidation washes over him as if a ghost just passed right through him and now, he’s left feeling cold and fearful. It’s like after years of being a pro hero has given him a sixth sense for danger.

He’s not the only one to sense that something’s off, Thirteen gets the same exact feeling, and Minas horn twitch making her brace herself as a feeling of hatred and malice emanates from somewhere nearby.

That’s when Aizawa notices something at the base of the staircase in the Central Plaza; it’s a small black swirl. The swirling black mist gradually becomes bigger and a human hand begins to claw its way out. Until the face of their doom reveals itself their piercing red eyes piercing up at them.

A young man with dry-pale skin, messy gray-blue hair, and a hand for a mask steps out of the ever-growing black mist. His attire is just as foreboding and it’s because of his black shirt and pants but the fourteen embalmed hands in total and all positioned so they’re holding onto him from his head to his arms.

There is no time to waste, as Aizawa immediately understands the gravity of the situation. “Everyone! Huddle up and don’t move!”

Iida, and the rest of the class, are rightfully confused. “Huh?”

“Thirteen!! Protect the Students!” Aizawa’s in a panic now, this much worse than he had first thought.

Especially as even a flood of unsavory characters appear out from within the mist after their apparent leader. Amongst them are all sorts of crooks, criminals, and murders.

Kirishima peers down at the Central Plaza, completely oblivious to the full weight of the predicament. “What the heck’s that? More battle robots? Like during the Entrance Exam?”

Aizawa pulls up a pair of yellow goggles from within his capture weapon. “Don’t Move. Those Are Villains!!”

And that is enough to get the students to understand that they are in real danger. That this is not part of the course. This is real.

Even more villains pour out from within the mist as a young man wearing a black shirt, brown cargo pants while a grey bandana is wrapped around their head with the number 11 written onto the side with marker.

Another villain that looks more like a monster with an extremely muscular build claws its way out behind the young man.

The black swirling mist seems to almost conjure into a shadowy misty form with glowing yellow eyes observing the students and the teachers above. “Thirteen and Eraserhead, is it? According to the staff schedule we received the other day All Might is supposed to be here.”

Aizawa eyes the mist villain with anger. He can only assume that he is the one responsible for teleporting all these villains into the U.S.J.

The leader of this hoard throws his head back with mild frustration. “Where is he…? We’ve come all this way and brought so many friends. All Might…the Symbol of Peace…is he here?” His piercing red eyes gaze up to the terrified students. “I wonder if he’ll show up if we kill some kids? What do you think…[Nue](https://www.rightpronunciation.com/languages/japanese/nue-12878.asp?id1=15&page=31)?”

From the leader’s side, the young man now identified as Nue chuckles from behind his bandana. He’s so been looking forward to this.

Back up near the entrance, Yaoyorozu calls to Thirteen for answers. “Thirteen, aren’t there intruder sensors?”

The rescue hero nods. “Yes, of course there are!”

Shoto Todoroki steps forward as to gaze down at the intruders. Noticeably he’s without the icy-material of his costume today.

He doesn’t seem too worried, but he definitely doesn’t appreciate the villains being here. “Are they only here, or also at the main building? Either way if the sensors aren’t working then it has to be one of their Quirks that’s doing it.” And that’s not the only thing he points out. “This place is far from campus, and they picked a time when there’d be few people here. So maybe they’re not as dumb as they seem. They must have an objective. Because this is a well-coordinated sneak attack.”

His explanation makes sense, and somehow it only helps the fear sink in even further into their hearts.

Aizawa grips his capture weapon. “Thirteen! Begin the Evacuation! And try calling the school!” He theorizes that one of these villains must be jamming the signal, but they need to be sure. “Kaminari try using your Quirk to signal for help.”

“G-got it!” Kaminari tries to use his little headset but nothing is getting through to the main campus. 

Aizawa steps forward towards the steps preparing himself mentally for an all-out brawl.

Izuku hastily calls out to his homeroom teacher, he really doesn’t see how this can go well for the pro hero. “But Mr. Aizawa you can’t fight them all alone!! Against that many…even you can’t nullify all their Quirks!!” He’s really scared and worried, if these really are villains then…their teacher can really get hurt or worse. “As Eraserhead, your fighting style involves Erasure and a quick binding capture. A head-on battle isn’t your forte!”

Aizawa, no Eraserhead, looks back at Izuku and with the utmost confidence he says the following. “No good hero is a one-trick pony.”

Izuku blinks but he remains silent, he had already said his piece and you should put more faith into the pro hero.

Eraserhead has one last thing to say and this time to his colleague. “Thirteen. Take care of them.”

Thirteen nods. “Right.” 

And with that, Eraserhead leaps into action. Literally he leaps right over the staircase, like a falcon swooping down towards its prey.

Both Izuku and Ochaco, who have the most combat experience of the class, nearly jump in after him, but a quick look from Thirteen makes them stop in their tracks. It looks like Eraserhead truly is on his own.

Eraserhead expertly and efficiently begins to take down the villains. He cancels out three villains’ Quirk all at once before he uses his unique capture scarf to tie them up and knock them out by pulling and bashing their heads together. Some villains are somehow able to recognize the pro hero and even think that they have an advantage. Oh, how stupid they are because Eraserhead almost effortlessly takes them out one by one. While totally looking like a complete badass so much so that the villains are actually hesitant to engage in battle with him.

Nue watches on from the sidelines along with his boss. “That’s a pro hero for ya. They’re always ready to show off.” He sounds more amused than annoyed.

The villains’ leader scratches at his neck. “I hate pro heroes. Ordinary villains don’t stand a chance against them.”

Back at the entrance, both Izuku and Ochaco are completely absorbed in their teacher’s display of badassery. “Wow! He really is a pro.”

His friend can’t help but agree. “Yeah, even when out-numbered!”

As the rest of the class is trying to evacuate, Iida, the Class President, notices the two stragglers. “This is no time for analysis! Hurry up and evacuate!”

Suddenly the black misty villain that warped the villains into the U.S.J. looms over them blocking their escape route. “I won’t allow that.”

Everyone is taken by surprise not expecting a villain to make their way up here so quickly.

Eraserhead seems to have noticed that the wrapping villain is no longer in the Central Plaza. _‘Dammit! In a blink of an eye the most dangerous one got away!’_ He turns to make his way back up the steps, but more villains block his path.

The swirling mist leers down over the students and the pro hero. “Greetings. We are the League of Villains. Forgive our audacity but today, we’ve come here to U.A. High School-this bastion of heroism to end the life…of All Might, the Symbol of Peace.”

Some of the students, mostly Ochaco and Izuku, tense up as their stomachs drop and righteous panic surges forth.

“We were under the impression that All Might would be here today, but it seems his schedule was revised?” The villain’s misty body begins to expand crawling along around them. “Well no matter.”

Thirteen, knowing that the villain is going to pull something, readies their Quirk to attack.

“My role remains unchanged.”

Before either the villain or the hero can pull anything two figures rush in without a second thought. Bakugou releases a booming explosion as Kirishima chops his hardened arm through the villain’s smoky form.

Bakugou lands on his feet with a scowl. “Not if we end you first!”

“Betcha didn’t see that coming!!” Shouts Kirishima. 

The two of them stand tall, proud of their initiative, but they’ve indirectly landed in Thirteen’s path.

Unfortunately, it seems their attacks did little to nothing but slow down the villain's attack. “That was close. Yes, students though you may be, you are the best of the best.”

Thirteen shouts out, dreading what’s to come. “No, get back! Both of you!” Thirteen needs a clear window to use their Quirk otherwise they can accidently kill both of the boys.

But it’s too late. “BEGONE!!!” The villain’s mist explodes outward like a wave that consumes everything in its path.

Nearly every student, despite their efforts to get away, are swallowed up by the mysterious mist and warped away to their impending doom.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

It’s dark, it’s cold, and it’s so unnatural as if he’s being flown through the afterlife until, finally, light pierces through the never-ending void.

“Wahh?!” Izuku yelps out as he finds himself falling from midair.

As he falls, he only has a second to take in his surroundings, he’s in the Flood Zone, and his plunge into the cold water only confirms this.

Being thrown into the water did not provide Izuku enough time to catch his breath, thankfully he reacts fast enough to transform before he runs out of oxygen.

“Ripjaws!” The Piscciss Volann takes a few deep breaths. “Phew.” Man, he is so glad the Omnitrix gave him the alien he needed. Now with his breathing under control he can take in what he knows of the situation. _‘He teleported us! Must be his Quirk. And not only that but they wanna kill All Might? Just…what the hell is going on here?’_

Something big slams into him from behind sending the muttering Ripjaws down further into the depths of the water.

Ripjaws manages to control his descent. _‘Was that a villain ?! No matter, I'll take them on!’_ He spins around ready to confront his foe. “I’ll fight-GAHH!!!” Ripjaws freezes in place, somehow his face even turns pale, as he takes in his…opponent. “Monster!!” Ripjaws cries out in fear as he backs away quickly.

It’s no villain staring down at him but a huge monster fish. The monster almost resembles a koi fish but much more monstrous. The fish is as big as a killer whale. Its scales are sharp and stick out as if they had no organization when they grew out. Its fins are long and look like shredded cloaks that dance in the water. There are two separate pairs of glowing red eyes glaring back at him, and it has a large mouth that’s filled to capacity with long saber-like teeth that stick out in all directions, like an angler fish.

The monster fish lunges forward trying to take a chunk out of Ripjaws’ tailfin. “Hey, watch it! I ain’t fish food you know.”

Acting fast, Ripjaws swims along the side of the monster as it swims by, hopefully by the time it turns around he will be far enough away to make an escape.

Unfortunately, something just as large crashes into him from the side. The fishman flips himself around, not letting the pain sink in, as a giant figure is circling around him. No, not one figure but two large figures are circling him; it’s two other monster koi fish. The third, or rather the first, monster fish joins his school as they circle around their prey.

The morphed Izuku is having a very hard time trying not to let the fear sink in. “What the hell?! What are these things?! Where did they come from?!” He takes a quick moment to think. “They were probably warped here by that mist villain.”

Well, it doesn’t matter how they got here. What matters is that he needs to get out of here.

The monster fish continue to circle around him, proving him a moment to scan his surroundings. There isn’t much to see but a large expansion of water, and he’s too far away to the shore. But there’s something, something not too far from where he is. There’s some kind of commotion, it looks as if a group of actual villains, of humans, are trying to attack something at the surface of the water.

“It must be one of my classmates!” He needs to get over there, he can’t just leave them to take on the villains alone.

One of the monster fish decides to leave the circling school and charges the Piscciss Volann. This is his opportunity, Ripjaws with his superior agility in water easily evades the abomination and makes his way towards the weakened death circle. The other two monster fish give chase essentiality breaking apart their trap. Ripjaws expertly flips and circles around them until he is free of them. Thanks to the fishes' long bodies they are not flexible or agile enough to turn around instead they have to circle their way around in order to give chase, and this is exactly what Ripjaws needs as he takes off towards the villains and their potential victim.

The villains don’t notice his approach. They are too preoccupied with their current quarry, Iida. Iida’s near the surface of the water and with the power of his engine legs he’s able to inflict swift kicks to keep the aquatic villains at bay.

“Get him!” Shouts one of the villains, that resembles that of a shark wearing scuba gear.

One of the villains snaps back as they try to grab Iida’s leg. “I’m try-AHHH!!”

Ripjaws slams right into the villain pushing him away from Iida.

Iida doesn’t notice the newcomer instead he’s trying to get to the surface before he drowns.

One of the villains notices his escape attempt but Ripjaws intercept the villain snapping his terrifying jaws at the criminal who yelps in fear and backs away in fright.

Ripjaws turns to check on Iida when something long and pink wraps around his torso just as he reaches the surface and reels him away.

Initially, fearing the worst, Ripjaws notices that the Iida is being pulled onto what seems to be a nearby yacht. Hoping this is a good sign, Ripjaws evades the other villains as they attempt to strike at him, but it looks like the Piscciss Volann is too fast for them.

One of them shouts in anger as they swim after him. “Get back here!”

“Yeah, no.” Ripjaws dives down before launching himself upward, building enough momentum to launch himself out of the water.

His lower-half becomes a pair of legs just before he lands atop the large boat. “Phew, made it.”

Iida’s coughing voice shouts out in alarm. “A villain!”

“Where?!” Ripjaws’ head swivels from side to side looking for the villain that’s waiting for them.

Well according to Iida, he’s mistakenly thinks he’s villain because with no hesitation he lands a strong kick right into Ripjaws’ gut. “Ooww, that hurt.” Ripjaws falls to his knees as he holds his gut, trying in vain to keep his breakfast down.

“Kero? Iida, I think that’s Midoriya.”

Oh, so Tsuyu’s here too. Guess she was the one that rescued Iida and pulled him aboard. And she must have recognized the Omnitrix symbol on Ripjaws’ person.

Ripjaws groans but manages to nod his head. “Y-yeah, it’s me.”

Iida gasps feeling absolutely terrible and disappointed with his actions. He didn’t mean to attack his classmate! How was he supposed to recognize him in this form? He just assumed he was a villain chasing after both Tsuyu and himself. “My apologies, Midoriya!” He bows repeatedly and so fast that water splashes off of him. “I thought you were one of the villains.”

Ripjaws stands back up rubbing his abdomen. “It’s alright, this kind of thing happens quite a bit when I’m Ripjaws.”

Heck, the first time he showed this form to Ochaco she freaked out and ran away. He was really offended by that but forgave her. It’s understandable why people assume Ripjaws is a monster he's way too scary.

Tsuyu looks up at the fishman curiously. “Ripjaws?”

“Oh, I like to name my transformation.” Ripjaws smiles down at her, but it probably comes off creepier than he intended.

“Like I said, that’s dumb.”

Ripjaws frowns unhappy that Tsuyu doesn’t appreciate his creativity.

But enough about that, they have more pressing matters. It looks like the villains are opting to stay in the water, thankfully as are the monster fish.

Ripjaws backs away from the side of the boat just in case any of them decide to pull something. “It’s like Todoroki said. They've been waiting for this chance, and they prepared well for it.”

Iida doesn’t quite understand, especially what the villains are hoping to achieve. “But there’s no conceivable way that they can actually kill All Might is there?”

Tsuyu responds with a logical answer. “They must’ve figured out a way to kill him. Otherwise, why come here just to get beaten?’

“Fair point…”

One of the villains is really getting antsy while waiting in the water. “Come down here you brats!!”

The trio look over the side and what they find is more than troubling. The boat is completely surrounded by maybe 20 villains or so and that’s not including the three monster koi fish swimming about like sharks.

“There’s a whole school of them!” Ripjaws, despite shouting in fear, couldn’t resist a good pun. 

“Is this really the time for a pun, kero?”

Ripjaws responds defensively as he glares at his froggy classmate. “There is always time for a pun!”

Sheesh, she not only dislikes his naming schemes but also his puns! There’s just no pleasing her is there?!

Ripjaws breathes in, before coughing. Oh, yeah, he forgot; he’s going to need water soon otherwise he may suffocate up here. “This is bad. Really really bad. Asui’s right though, they must have figured out a way to beat All Might… Probability, that must be it. It doesn’t make sense otherwise! But why kill him? Because he’s the Symbol of Peace? Because he stands against villains? Against evil? There’s got to be some specific reason…” He gasps. ‘ _Do…do they know? DO they know about his weakened state?’_ He tries not to think about it, after all it’s not exactly a comforting thing to think that the Symbol of Peace can only do his job for a limited amount of time.

Ripjaws shakes his head, cutting off his own muttering. “No the reason doesn’t matter. What does matter is that we need to survive and get out of here.”

They all need to make it out of this, for themselves, for each other, and for their loved ones.

Tsuyu and Iida wait for the morphed Izuku to continue. They were a little creeped out by the fishman’s muttering but when he cut himself off, they couldn’t help but worry.

“If they…if there's even a chance that they have a way to beat All Might…” Ripjaws stands up straight and looks his classmates in the eye. “Then we have a fight to win!!” As for the others he can only hope that they too have come to the same conclusion. There is no retreating from this, if any of them want to make it out then they need to make their stand here and now. “It’s hero time!!”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Meanwhile, someone appears atop the Landslide Zone; they approach a nearby ledge as to look over the entirety of the U.S.J. The figure peers down at the tracker that was provided to them to make sure that this is where their target is located. It is, so that means that they will soon have the Omnitrix in their grasp.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woah!! And the U.S.J. Arc has officially begun!! How was it?! I know it was a lot (may be too much) like the anime/manga but it just worked out that way. I still hope you enjoyed it, and most of this chapter was to help set up for what’s to come during this arc. So, get ready because things are going to get crazy. 
> 
> *(Important Author’s Note)* 
> 
> My story has been stolen!! What I mean is that someone else has been blatantly plagiarizing my entire story!! 
> 
> The story is called "Deku's Omnitrix" by "TheJStar6" and like I said before it's clearly a plagiarized version of my own story, and by plagiarized, I mean that the entire story from characters, words, and elements are exactly the same. Like the guy didn't even try to hide or change things up to disguise it!! I mean most of the story is exactly the same, copy and pasted, and word for word the same. 
> 
> For example, how Henzu/Kevin is introduced is the exact same way that I did it. Also the scene where I have Thirteen decide to take on Izuku as a student is exactly the same, instead Thirteen is replaced by Nezu but what he says is straight up the same exact dialogue that I have. Hell, even the organization of the chapters, and even the Author's Notes, are the exact same way that I organized it!! If you don't believe me go ahead and read "Deku's Omnitrix" and try to tell me that TheJStar6 isn't stealing from me!  
> Now don't get me wrong. I love the fact that I was able to inspire someone to write a story, especially an MHA and Ben Ten crossover, but what really ticks me off is it hurts that I spent a lot of time and effort on my story. And I mean months just to prepare my story before I even began to write it! Only for SOMEONE to up and try to take the credit by not trying at all is EXTREMELY FRUSTRATING!!! 
> 
> I know that some of you reading this are also writers and I hope that you can all understand my frustration. And if you're one of my loyal readers then I greatly appreciate all the support you've given me up till this point. Don't worry I'm not going to stop writing, heck, I'm actually making great progress, but this news really hurts. 
> 
> So, please if there's a way to report him please help me to boycott this “author’s” story. Report it. Let his readers know the truth, etc. But, please, no (death) threats to them or those they care about, that is totally unnecessary and unethical. And although I am upset about this, I don't want to stop someone from writing, I just want them to stop stealing.  
> Also, TheJStar6 if you're reading this then please, I am willing to talk and figure this out with you. I have actually tried to reach out to you, but you haven’t responded. But you have to understand that what you did is extremely wrong. If you want advice or even someone to help you to make your own unique story, then I am more than willing to help. But you need to make things right first. 
> 
> Thank you for hearing me out, and I hope you understand my feelings.


	16. It's Hero Time Part II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woah!! Let us continue the U.S.J. Arc with this second installment!! Hope you like.
> 
> Also be sure to take care of yourselves, true believers!! With everything going on, now is the time to make smart and safe decisions for everyone’s wellbeing.
> 
> *This story is also on Fanfiction.net. It’s under the same name and author.

Toshinori, in his weakened state, takes a load off in the U.A. break room in his hand he holds his cellphone after just making a few calls. “Hm, I can’t contact Thirteen or Aizawa.” He sighs in his seat, hopefully they’ll be willing to forgive him for missing out. “Good reason or not, I put my hero work ahead of my teaching, that was quite foolish. What do I tell them when I show up at the end? Maybe say something flashy and encouraging? Anyway, I should be fine in another twenty minutes or so…”

His muscles puff out as straights up in his seat. **“NO, I’M GOING!!”** A bit of blood spurts out of his grin. 

Someone slides open the door. “Hold your horses.”

 **“OH!”** All Might looks up in mild surprise. **“HELLO NEZU, SIR!”**

Sure enough the strange little chimera is at the door looking as chipper as ever. “That’s right! The one who could be a mouse, a dog, or a bear, though the only important thing is…I’m the Principal!” He looks so happy to be able to say that.

All Might scoots forward onto the floor. **“YOUR COAT IS LOOKING EXTRA SHINY TODAY SIR.”**

Nezu approaches the crouching hero. “My secret is keratin, but I don’t think humans can produce such luster. Enough of that, though. Look!” He holds up his tablet and shows All Might articles about his most recent excursions that same morning. “Shall I read it to you? It says you resolved three incidents in just one hour!”

All Might winces not wanting to think about where this discussion is going.

Nezu sighs in exasperation before he places his tablet down onto the nearby coffee table. “The ne’er-do-wells in this city haven’t let up despite you being here, but you also have to learn not to react every time you hear of an incident. You haven’t changed at all these years. You’ve always been proactive. Only now your heroism must be limited due to your injury.” He then strolls his way towards the couch as to take a seat. “Plus you have the added work of training One For All’s successor. You insist on remaining the Symbol of Peace and the only way you can justify staying out of the spotlight is by teaching.”

At this point All Might’s body begins to steam, a clear sign that he’s already reaching his limit.

“That’s why I gave you this job.” He turns around in time to notice the steam escaping All Might’s form. “Oh, dear you’re smoking that can’t be good.”

Toshinori doesn’t show any form of response as his muscular body deflates itself.

Nezu doesn’t react to Toshinori’s transformation, rather he continues to smile as he climbs atop the oversized couch. “It looks like you need to stay here in the lounge a little while longer.” Nezu continues to speak as he climbs atop the oversized couch. “The other teachers will understand. They’re more than capable.” he should know he hired them after all. “But now that you are a teacher here, All Might, I really do wish you’d prioritize your students over your hero work. They deserve it.” Especially since they will all someday become heroes of their own and ones trained by All Might could potentially benefit society in the long run, especially for two of those students. “This city has enough hero agencies to deal with common criminals.”

The ashamed pro hero continues to sit on the floor. “You’re absolutely right. So, I was gonna head over to the U.S.J. now, actually, if you don’t mind.”

Nezu begins to pour tea into the tea set that was left on the coffee table. “Even if you went now, you’d have to return almost right away. So, you might as well stick around and listen to some of my teaching philosophies.”

 _‘Great.’_ Even in his own mind, Toshinori sounds exasperated. _‘This is turning into a lecture.’_ He groans.

Nezu pushes a cup of tea across the table. “Here drink up.”

As Nezu takes a sip out of his own cup, Toshinori can’t help but wonder how long-winded Nezu gets when lecturing while sipping tea.

“First, on the inevitable stresses and burdens when walking the line between hero and educator.”

“You haven’t changed all that much all these years either, sir…” 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Ahhh!! We’re all going to die!!” Minoru Mineta is balling his eyes out in pure unadulterated terror. “This creep’s already killed the others!! We need to get the hell out of here!!”

“No, everyone else is still alive.” Mezo Shoji stands nearby, and his many limbs are at attention with eyes and ears growing out at the ends. “They’ve been scattered across the facility. But our classmates are still here, and they are most definitely alive.”

Everyone else sighs in relief. Both of these teens are some of the few that somehow weren’t warped away by the misty warp villain. The others include Mina Ashido, Yuga Aoyama, Tooru Hagakure, Rikido Sato, Hanta Sero, and of course the pro hero Thirteen.

Sero stands near the back of the group as the black-mist villain looms just ahead of them. “Physical attacks are no good. He just warps away! This guy’s Quirk is too tough to handle!” 

Thirteen considers their options. They need to get a message out to the other heroes at U.A. but if the alarms nor the phones are working then there's only one other option. They need to go and get help. But how? Ashido could use her acid to slip and slide her way back to campus. But there’s also Sero who can use his tape to swing and reel himself back for help. He’ll have to do. Too, bad that Iida kid isn’t here. This job was made for him, but beggars can’t be choosers. 

“Sero.”

“Y-yeah?”

“Your job will be to escape and run back to the school and report what’s happening. You going back is our best option!”

“W-what? Are you sure?” Sero is understandably unsure about the plan.

Shoji steps forward ready to defend his ally. “It’s a good idea. As for the rest of us…”

Sato joins his side, his fists at the ready. “We’ll hold off this freak.”

Mineta does not share their sense of fortitude. “You’re all crazy!!” The little guy is literally quivering in his boots.

As is Aoyama, even though he is trying to keep his usual calm composure. 

Mina leaps forward her arms outstretched. “Shape up you two! This is serious!”

“We can do this!” Shouts Hagakure who tries to sound encouraging, but a hint of fear is heard within her voice.

Thirteen without removing their eyes from the villain calls out to Sero. “Use your Quirk to save us all!!”

Not wanting to disappoint those around him, especially after most of them are willing to step up to the plate. How can he just ignore their resolve? “You got it!”

Too bad the villain doesn’t seem to enjoy their sense of duty. “Aside from the fact that you have no hope, what sort of fool discusses their plan in front of your enemy?”

If Thirteen was smiling, then no one could tell from their dark helmet. “It won’t matter if you know what we’re planning or not when I’m done with you!” They stick their hand out and their Quirk immediately gets to work sucking in the black mist surrounding their foe. “Blackhole!”

Blackhole does what a blackhole does and begins to pull in the villain, but it doesn’t seem like he’s all too concerned about it. “Ah, Blackhole, the Quirk that sucks up matter and turns it to dust. Such an astounding power.”

Thirteen really doesn’t like how calm this guy is, despite his life being sucked away from him.

“However, you’re a rescue hero, Thirteen, skilled at saving people from disasters.” A warp portal begins to emerge from within the villain’s large misty mass. “ Consequently, that means you have little fighting experience or battlefield awareness.”

Blackhole immediately passes through the warp gate until disaster strikes, a second warp gate forms right behind Thirteen and with it comes the pull of the pro hero’s own Blackhole.

The students watch on in horror as their teacher’s suit begins to slowly disintegrate and get pulled into the warp gate.

The villain must sense victory because he begins monologuing, shutting his eyes in the process to savor it. “It’s over for you. You shall be turned to dust by your own Quirk!!”

“You would think so, wouldn't you?” Asks Thirteen in a calm, and somewhat amused tone.

“Huh?”

If he was paying attention then he would have noticed Thirteen cutting off their Quirk in time, but then the pro hero jumped backwards through the warp gate that was right behind them. And now they're positioned right in front of the villain with their Quirk at the ready.

The villain panics and makes a hasty retreat backward as Thirteen releases their Quirk again, but the villain gets far enough away that it doesn’t really get a chance to do anything. As for Thirteen they were in midair when they activated their Quirk, so they shut it off as they rolled backwards on the ground before skidding across the ground on their knee and coming to a halt at their students’ feet.

The students gap in awe at what they’ve just seen as Thirteen gets back up and glares daggers at their opponent.

Noticeably the back of Thirteen’s costume is not as damaged as they thought, that said, the first layer of their costume is completely gone but a second protective layer just barely seen has a few tears in it.

The villain just can’t believe his eyes. “How is this possible?!” How is this hero still in one piece, and how were they able to pull off such an attack?!

Unbeknownst to anybody but two other people in this entire building, Thirteen is a Plumber!! Their hero costume’s design is not an accident, it’s actually meant to allow the hero to survive in the vacuum of space itself!! Of course it would be able withstand Blackhole’s pull, at least for a time.

And not only that, it’s like the villain said, Thirteen is known as a rescue hero and thus not known for taking part in combat. At least to the human population of Japan.

Thirteen’s eyes sparkle as if glad they get to show off their combat skills a little. “Surprised, are we? There’s more to me than just a friendly face, you know!”

That’s for sure. Thanks to their position as a Plumber, Nezu sends them out to take on any and all sorts of missions. And sometimes, although rarely, an alien or two isn’t willing to cooperate. So, other means of…negotiation are sometimes needed.

But this is no alien, this is a human being and a murderous one at that.

Thirteen doesn’t take their eyes off the villain. “Sero, you need to leave.”

The student flinches as he snaps out of his daze. “R-right.” He quickly sprints off for the exit, his fellow classmates following behind as to cover him.

Not wanting to fail his mission, the villain lunges forward. “Oh, no you don’t!”

“Hey, I’m your opponent!” Thirteen charges moving rather quickly for such a short stature. 

The villain flings a warp gate at Thirteen trying to send the troublesome hero away. But Thirteen is quick on their feet and they easily skip to the side before charging in close and delivers a hail-Mary of a swift chop into the villain’s midsection.

As the villain reels back and groans, Thirteen jumps back keeping their distance just in case this villain has a surprise up their sleeve. “How’d you like that?”

The black-mist leers back at the nuisance. He severely underestimated this pro hero, guess U.A. has higher standards than he had originally thought. Perhaps, it’s time to take things seriously. “I admit you certainly have caught me off guard… But I’m full of surprises myself.” The black-mist begins to expand outward as two warp gates appear at their sides. 

Thirteen stands at the ready, they don’t ready their Quirk in case the villain tries to pull the same trick again. _‘What’s he trying to pull?’_

Something’s moving from within each of the warp gates, slithering about as if unsure whether to step out from the dark abyss. Without warning the two figures breeze past Thirteen in a blink of an eye not giving the hero any time to react. All they witness are black-lengthy figures zipping past them.

The two figures intercept Sero’s path, snaking past the other students as they go by.

“What the hell?!” Sero comes to a panicked halt as does the rest of his classmates.

“Hisssss.”

Standing before them, blocking their path to freedom, are two mutant snakes.

The snakes are coiled up making them as tall as a man, but when outstretched they are twenty feet long. The serpents’ heads look as if their skulls grew outward giving them a spooky like appearance along with the wispy black feathers that coat their backs and their black undersides. Their red eyes glow from within their enlarged and outgrow skulls, their fangs are sharp and dripping with acid that drips down melting parts of the floor. Their long tongues hiss and whip towards the students as if taunting them.

Tears gush out of Mineta’s eyes. “Ah, monsters!!” He cowers away behind Shoji’s much larger form.

One of the monster serpents snaps at Sero who leaps back just in the nick of time. “Woah!!”

“Hisssss.” The serpent almost sounds as if it’s glad it missed, now it has the opportunity to really play with its food.

The looming villain is amused by his victims’ reactions. “Do you like my pets? Would you believe that they were a gift?”

Two more monster snakes slither out from the warp gates. 

Thirteen takes a step back not liking the situation at all. “Some gift.”

The villain chuckles in response.

Thirteen tries to make a break for it, they need to get to the students, but they’re too far away.

The serpents are too quick, and the new additions swiftly intercept Thirteen’s path, their bodies crossing each other as they block the way.

Mineta is a complete mess if he wasn’t before. “W-we’re all going to die!!”

Mina, although scared as well, stands at the ready in case the serpents try to pull something. “Get up! This is no time for that!”

The others gather around each other, ready to defend themselves as the monster serpents circle around them waiting for an opening.

“HOW CAN YOU ALL BE SO CALM!?!”

Sato is nervously sweating, but he keeps his fists up. “Calm down, man.”

Sero keeps his grin despite the terrible situation, but he’s probably keeping it out of nervousness. “Yeah, your screaming isn’t helping one bit.”

“Hisssss!”

“Ahhhh!!” Cries Mineta.

Hagakure begins to remove her gloves. “I’ll escape and get help.” Soon her boots are off as well, and the rest of the students can only assume she’s quietly making her way to the exit.

Suddenly one of the monster serpents spins around before spitting acid towards the path that leads to the entrance.

Hagakure screams out as she flails backwards. She quickly scrambles back towards the group.

“Are you okay?!” Mina cries out in worry.

“It-it can see me?!”

Kurogiri overhears the student’s panic. “More like it can sense your presence.” After all snakes have an excellent sense of smell and can see things in the thermal spectrum, so invisibility is useless against them.

The villain’s black-misty body begins to swirl expanding upward as he towers over them all. “Are you ready young heroes? Here is where you will all meet your demise.”

Thirteen scowls from behind their helmet, this is not how things were supposed to go. They were hoping to at least get one student out to warn the heroes and bring back up. But now…now it looks like they’re all trapped inside the arena with a hoard of villains and monsters. Each student is going to have to survive on their own or perish.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Thankfully, some of the students have already come to this conclusion themselves. Such as the trio of students stuck on the yacht in the Flood Zone.

Tenya Iida has started breaking into a cold sweat, although that could just be water dripping from his face. “Midoriya, I advise against this! We cannot possibly take on all those villains and…monster fish on our own. And I hate to admit it, but you’re contradicting yourself. How could we possibly fight them when they potentially have the capability to defeat All Might himself?”

Ripjaws rubs the back of his neck in thought. “Hm, that’s…a good point. But that’s what we need to figure out.” He peers over the ledge to take a quick peek at the villains below. “All of those guys are clearly suited to aquatic combat.”

Tsuyu Asui adds to this point. “So, they were recruited because their team knew about the U.S.J.’s different environments.”

That’s a valid point, these villains must have at some point gotten intel on not only their schedule but also the facility’s schematics.

Iida then comes to the realization, a mistake on the villains’ part. “Wait, then if they knew ahead time then… Why did they send Asui here?”

“Kero?” She’s not sure how she’s supposed to mean that.

It takes a moment but Ripjaws gasps in pleasant surprise as genius strikes. “That’s it!!”

Tsuyu gazes up at the tall fishman, hoping he explains further. “What’s it?”

“They don’t know about our Quirks!”

Iida’s eyes light up in response. “You’re right.”

Tsuyu thinks on it before looking over to the Conflagration Zone located across the giant indoor lake. “If they knew about me having frog powers then they would have dumped me into that fiery area.”

And that’s the point Ripjaws is trying to get at. “And that’s because they don’t know about our Quirks. So, their strategy was to scatter us and overwhelm us with numbers.” And to prove his point he gestures towards the edge of the boat. “Look.”

The other two look over the edge and all they see is that the villains are still wading around in the water.

“They’re not trying to get on board. That supports my theory.” Ripjaws takes a deep breath after saying this, unbeknownst to the others, he’s starting to run out of oxygen. 

The frog girl looks to the others for a plan. “So, what do we do?”

“First thing’s first.” Ripjaws squats down so they can discuss quietly. “Let’s explain our Quirks this way we can have a full understanding of what we can do.”

Tsuyu nods signaling that she will go first. “I can jump really high and stick to walls. My tongue can stretch to about twenty meters and I secret a poisonous fluid, I say poisonous, but it really just stings a bit. Oh, I can also spit up my stomach to clean it…”

“Weird flex but okay.” Comments Ripjaws in all seriousness before moving on. “Anyway, my current form is essentially a walking and talking fishman. I’m super agile in the water and my powerful large jaws are my main selling point. Oh, my claws are also great at tearing anything apart.”

And now it’s Iida’s turn. “My Quirk, Engine, is a Mutation Type Quirk that grants me the ability to reach high speeds when running.” He looks worried and a bit ashamed to admit this next part. “But I don’t quite know how I can benefit us in this situation.”

During the entire explanation, Ripjaws has been huffing louder and louder as he gasps for oxygen. It’s at this point that the others take notice of his predicament.

Tsuyu however takes notice. “Are…are you okay, kero?”

Ripjaws replies between gasps for breath. “N-no, I…I need…water.”

Iida raises an eyebrow. “Huh?”

“Wh…when I…transform I gain…weaknesses…too.” He’s grabbing his throat now like he’s choking.

Instantly, Tsuyu and Iida understand the dilemma but before they can do anything about it a strong water blast smashes into the side of the yacht making it lurch while also breaking apart part of the haul.

The villains shout out to them. “I’m getting bored over here!”

“Yeah, Let’s finish this already!”

“Come on we’ll make it quirk. Promise.”

The trio of students brace themselves as water showers down onto them.

Thankfully, it’s actually what Ripjaws needed. “Ah, I can breathe! Woah!!”

The boat rocks even more as the monster fish have decided to join in and ram themselves against the bottom of the boat damaging the haul even further and causing even more water to flood inside.

While the teens hang on for dear life, the villains are also dealing with their own issues. Some of them are quick to back off and put as much distance between themselves and the monster fish, even after they’ve dived back down to the depths.

“Ahh, watch it!”

“Those things are real monsters.”

“I am not ready to be chum.”

The analytical Izuku even in a different form instantly picks up on the villains’ apparent discomfort. _‘They’re…they’re scared of the monsters?!’_

Speaking of, Ripjaws can’t help but feel like there is some kind of familiarity when it comes to those monster koi fish. But he just can’t seem to figure out why. Until the realization hits him like a truck, those monsters are actually mutants. They’re just regular koi fish that must have been mutated by the lunatic that attacked the mall a year ago or so, Dr. Animo. Ripjaws recalls how Dr. Animo was reported missing after being arrested. Guess he’s been busy since his escape.

Although this information isn’t exactly useful, at least now Ripjaws has something to go off.

Dr. Animo’s mutants always seemed to be prone to anger, they’re easily provoked, and will attack anything in front of them…he wonders if that holds true. 

Tsuyu is visibly starting to look worried as the boat continues to sink. “Isn’t there something else we can try?”

“…No.”

Neither Tsuyu nor Iida expected such a response, especially from their usually hopeful classmate.

Ripjaws delves into his reasoning. “We…are no longer in class. We don't get to fail and try again with a different plan. We only got one shot at this.”

This is the hard truth; this is not some homework assignment or a class exercise. They can’t just try and fail only to try again, no they got only one chance to pull something off. They can’t afford to fail.

Ripjaws points at the Omnitrix. “And we need to hurry.”

Iida recalls what Izuku said about his Quirk, One Man Army, when they were still on the bus. “Y-your transformation. You can only be in it for ten minutes.”

“Yeah, and we already lost five of those minutes.”

Okay, so not only do they have to face off against a school of villains and monsters but they are also on a time limit.

Ripjaws stands back up hoping that he can inspire his classmates to take action. “The moment when the enemy thinks they’ve won represents your best chance.” He looks around and spots a nearby sheet of fiberglass that was torn off the boat when the villain attacked. “All Might once said that during a documentary interview.” He grabs the fiberglass before turning to his teammates. “This is the only way we can win!!”

Tsuyu and Iida share a look, making sure that the other agrees, they do and they confirm this with a determined nod.

Ripjaws doesn’t smile, smiling will come later after they’ve won, instead he tears his sharp claw right through the fiberglass in order to begin his plan.

While Ripjaws explains his thrown-together plan the villains are really getting antsy down below.

“I bet they’re pissing themselves up there. What a bunch of babies.”

“Careful. Remember what Shigaraki said to not get careless. We can’t judge them on their age, but on their Quirks.” The same villain eyes the boat in excitement. “Then again, our Quirks have the advantage in the water. So, I’m not exactly worried for us. If anything, only that fish-punk has a chance but we clearly outnumber the freak.”

There are chuckles from the others, they too just can’t wait to play their parts.

Almost too soon their good time is interrupted when Iida uses one of their heads as a landing platform.

The villains cry out in surprise. “What the hell?!”

Currently Iida is not only standing on a submerged villain head but also a makeshift board made of fiberglass.

And despite being scared out of his mind, he glares down at the pathetic excuses for people. “You will not succeed you villains!”

His Engines rev up roaring to life before Iida launches forward skating across the water as if he was on a jet ski.

The villains are quick to go after the fleeing brat. “Get him!!”

“What about the others?!”

“Leave them. They’re fish food.” As in the monster fish are still circling down below the water waiting for the boat to sink beneath the waves.

With the other brats’ fates practically sealed, the school of villains swim after Iida.

Even with his head start, the villains still manage to catch up to Iida. They are literally on his heels, but with some quick maneuvers he’s able to avoid their attempts at grabbing him. _‘I won’t let them stop me. I’ll carry out your plan, Midoriya. You’ve always excelled at planning ahead. I saw as much during the Battle Training. It’s why I picked you to be the Class President.’_

“Hold still, dammit!!” One of the aquatic villains’ lunges at Iida but he ducks down allowing the criminal to fly over his head.

Water splashes up into Iida’s eyes but there’s nothing that will distract him from his role. _‘Even if I was given the role by default. I will not fail you or our classmates. I will…we will succeed!!’_

His Engines roar as jetblue flames stream out of his exhausts and suddenly he’s racing even faster across the surface of the water.

Meanwhile, Iida’s teammates watch on from the yacht as he leads the villains away. He makes a few u-turns and swivels to keep the villains distracted.

“He did it. Kero.”

“Now it’s my turn.” Ripjaws pushes himself off the ledge of the boat and dives into the water.

As Ripjaws plunges into the cold waters, Tsuyu watches on with her ever indifferent expression, but unbeknownst to most she really has to admire Izuku’s drive and determination in the face of adversity. “You really are the problem child of Class 1-A, aren’t you? Midoriya.” He’s at least going to be a problem for the villains, that is.

Ripjaws doesn’t have to swim down far to find what he’s looking for, Animo’s mutated koi fish.

The monster fish are circling around below him, they seem to be distracted by a few large pieces of the boat that have already broken off and sunken below.

Working to his advantage, Ripjaws swims down to them as their attention is drawn elsewhere. He moves quickly through the water, really showing how well adapted Piscciss Volanns really are. But that’s not the only thing that Piscciss Volanns are known for. When he finally gets close enough to the monster fish, Ripjaws does what he does best.

With his lower jaw unhinging, he takes a bite out of one of the abominations, ripping away a huge chunk of the fish’s flesh. The monster fish releases a bloodcurdling screech of agony that reverberates through the water.

All three monster fish turn, their red eyes glare daggers at the Omnitrix wielder who spits out the chunk of mutated flesh in disgust. “Come and get me!”

They are more than willing to oblige. They frantically pounce at the young hero, but thanks to his smaller and more agile size he’s able to evade their attempts at turning him into lunch.

But neither side is done, Ripjaws takes off leaving a stream of bubbles behind him as he takes off for the surface like a torpedo. The monster fish take some time to circle before they swim up after him towards the surface. The Piscciss Volann breaches the surface of the water, but it’s no time to slow down, and he knows it. He continues to swim across the surface of the water as the three orca-sized fish shadow him from just below the water’s surface only their backfins end up breaching the water. Ripjaws snakes side to side to avoid being chomped up by the mutated predators. Looking over Ripjaws takes note of Iida’s position, as well as how far they are from the yacht, and then he makes his way towards Iida and his unsavory followers.

Iida spots Ripjaws heading towards him from across the manmade lake. He makes a sharp turn, avoiding a wave generated by one the villain’s Quirks, before making a beeline to his teammate. They need to time this just right, if not, then this will be the end for both of them.

One of the villains notices the speedster’s path, especially taking note of the monster fish quickly approaching them from the front. “This is our chance!”

The school of murderers pick up their pace, thinking that these kids are too stupid to make a proper escape plan.

Unfortunately for them, that’s what these two kids were hoping for. None of the villains are remotely suspicious how quickly both Iida and Ripjaws are racing towards each other like their lives depend on it. The Omnitrix begins to countdown, flashing red, making the morphed Izuku to pick up his pace.

Finally, when the two students are only a few meters away from colliding head on they both leap into the air. “TSUYU!!”

They collide in midair, grabbing onto each other, as the Omnitrix flashes red blinding the villains and the monster fish. Just as the red-light fades, Tsuyu leaps off the boat and above their heads while her long tongue lashes out and wraps around their torsos. Before pulling them away and out of the path of the impending collision.

As for the villains, in response to being blinded one of the villains sends a powerful wave forward in an attempt to strike the annoying brats. He hits something, but it’s the last thing he wanted to upset.

The villains’ eyesight returns too little too late. Because they are greeted by the sight of growling angler-toothed monsters glaring at them for daring to attack them and interrupt their hunt. The monster fish lurch forward, deciding that the villains themselves will make just as good a meal as the kids.

Tsuyu watches from midair as the villains flee in terror, completely forgetting about the hero students. “That takes care of them. Not too shabby.”

Iida and Izuku could care less about the awkward position instead they too can’t help but admire their efforts.

“You guys are amazing. Both of you.”

They truly did pull it off, and now hopefully they are one step closer to ending this nightmare.

“Looks like we passed the Flood Zone.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Divide and conquer, huh?” Todoroki’s breath can be seen as he exhales. “Forgive me for saying so, but…” A cold breeze shifts across the frozen Landslide zone. “it’s hard to see you guys as any more than thugs with Quirks you can’t even handle.”

The entirety of the Landslide Zone is frozen in thick layers of ice and that includes every single villain that were awaiting his arrival.

The villains shiver in place within their ice cocoons, but it’s unclear whether they’re shaking out of fear or from the cold.

Ochaco sheepishly pops out to the side behind Todoroki. “Yo-You’re really s-scary.” Yeah, she’s here too and oh boy was it a surprise to be warped away here of all places, and with Todoroki to boot.

Todoroki ignores her, he’d rather keep his mind on task. “They want to kill All Might. At first, it seemed like they were elite. They’d use their numbers to overwhelm him.”

“Don’t ignore me…” She grumbles mostly to herself with a small pout.

“Taking a closer look, the pawns are just here for us. Nothing but a gang of low-level cannon fodder.”

Ochaco thinks about it. “Yeah, as far as I can tell only a few of them seem to be dangerous.” Specifically, that creepy guy with all the disembodied hands on his body and the warping villain made of purple mist.

“But they wouldn’t have come without a plan.” Todoroki decides to walk over to one of his frozen victims.

 _‘Oh, so now he addresses me.’_ Ochaco thinks as she begrudgingly decides to follow him.

She passes by a few frozen pieces of debris until she passes by something so unexpected that she yelps in surprise.

Frozen in place is a monstrous creature that somewhat resembles a hamster that was grossly mutated into existence.

Despite being frozen in place the monster rodent let’s out a stuttering growl as if it can still try and be intimidating.

Ochaco backs away cautiously. “I’ve seen you before…but from where?” She tries to figure out where she could have possibly seen this thing…

She can't seem to remember, so for now she’ll just follow her classmate and hope that they don’t run into anything.

Todoroki approaches one of the frozen villains. “Hey.”

The shivering villain’s eyes snap up at the dual-haired teen. “At this rate, your skin will rot away from frostbite.”

Ochaco squawks. “That’s so cold!!”

He ignores her and continues on with his interrogation. “But I’m trying to become a hero, and heroes don't do such horrible things. So tell me.” His right hand reaches up towards the villain’s exposed face.

Tears are beginning to leak out of the villain’s eyes, as a look of terror adorns their face.

“How do you plan to kill All Might?” Todoroki’s cold piercing gaze stares directly into the villain’s own fearful and teary eyes. “Tell me.”

“T-tthe p-plan…the p-plan, t-the p-pla-”

“Get on with it.” 

“Ah! W-w-we…we b-br-brought a monster.”

“Hm?” Both Todoroki and Ochaco give the cowering villain a deadpan expression.

Ochaco points back to the frozen mutant hamster just behind them. “You mean like that thing?”

The villain moves his head as if to shake it in denial. “N-no, this thing. It’s different, a-ap-apparently it’s sole purpose is to kill All Might.”

Ochaco doesn’t like how her stomach drops because of that. Just what does they mean? How could one guy take down the Symbol of Peace, the Number One Hero that is All Might? Yet…these villains wouldn’t be here if there wasn’t some kind of truth behind this bold statement. Could it be that…that they know about All Might’s injury? His time limit? Just how much do they know and just what exactly are they planning?

While Ochaco is internally worrying, Todoroki goes ahead and begins to heat up the Landslide Zone. It’s not much, all it really does is melt away the first layer of ice so that the villains won’t get frostbite, but they’ll remain secured for a while.

Ochaco tentatively walks up to Todoroki. “So, now what?”

The heterochromia teen eyes Ochaco, his expression doesn’t display any real emotions, before he turns away and begins to walk down the icy slope.

Ochaco is a bit surprised by being ignored. “D-don’t leave me!” She wails as she flails after him, trying not to slip on the ice.

She catches up to him, following behind him like a shadow.

He isn’t necessarily moving quickly, but he’s definitely moving with purpose. “We need to hurry, Mr. Aizawa can’t possibly take on those villains all by himself.”

“And we need to help our classmates.”

Todoroki doesn’t respond for a few sluggish seconds, only the sound of their feet trekking on the ground accompanies them as they leave the frozen villains and mutant hamsters behind.

Ochaco becomes way too uncomfortable with his lack of response. “Say something!” Does he not care or something?!

Her eyes close as she sighs, not wanting his distant personality to get to her. Closing her eyes was a mistake because she bumps into his still form from behind.

She grabs her forehead, as she wonders why Todoroki suddenly came to a stop. “S-sorry. But why’d we sto-” She cuts herself off as she peers over his shoulder.

It looks like one villain managed to avoid Todoroki’s initial freezing attack, and as of now that same villain is standing in their way.

The villain has a large bulky build standing tall at about eight feet. They have a normal humanoid build that’s completely encased in a shiny grey and black suit, a large utility belt, and thick black shoulder pads with green triangle insignias on them. The most standout part of their attire is the rectangular black helmet shrouding the villain’s entire head with only a small triangular visor to see through.

The villain doesn’t initially even notice them instead they seem a bit distracted by the device in their large gloved hand. The villain peers upward and notices the hero students.

Ochaco warily joins Todoroki’s side. “Guess you missed one.”

Todoroki’s gaze hardens as he begins to lean forward. “Not for long.”

A sheet of ice floods across the ground until it reaches the villain’s feet and then the ice rises up and encases the intruder in their own cocoon of ice.

With the villain securely immobilized, Ochaco visibly relaxes as Todoroki prepares to keep moving forward.

The sound of cracking ice snaps them both out of their moment of relief.

They watch on in shock as the villain breaks out of the ice simply by flexing. He brushes off the few shards of ice away completely unbothered by the cold. “This is irritating, but impressive for such a young being to have so much power.”

Todoroki actually looks a bit annoyed, looks like they're going to have to fight. Ochaco senses it too, so she raises her hands out in front ready to use Zero-Gravity at a moment's notice.

The intruder shifts to face the teens, it’s hard to tell what he's thinking thanks to his helmet. “Tell me.”

The students tense up in response.

“Where is the Omnitrix?”

And just like that, Ochaco goes cold and not because of Todoroki’s freezing Quirk. _‘How…? How…? How do they know about the Omnitrix?!’_

Todoroki tenses up as he leers down at the villain. “I don’t know what you’re after, but if you’re here then you’re clearly a villain.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.” Todoroki sends an ice pillar crashing into the villain, the ice completely engulfs him bursting outward as it comes to a sudden halt. “That should stop him.”

“Didn’t you learn anything?” The villain steps out to the side from the frozen burst of ice, somehow, he managed to block the ice before it could reach him. “It’s going to take more than that to stop me.”

Todoroki scowls in irritation.

“I’d rather not have to take out children, but I have a job to do. Now tell me, where is the Omnitrix?”

Ochaco tenses up even further as dread wells up inside of her. The same thoughts are bouncing around in her mind and each one indicates something horrendous. Are the villains here for the Omnitrix or for All Might? Maybe they’re here for both? But if they are after the Omnitrix what are they going to do to Deku when they find it? What are we going to do?! She can’t let them get to it! If they do there’s no telling what they’re going to do with the alien device. According to Thirteen it can’t be anything good, in fact it could potentially result in the end of the world!

 _‘Maybe…maybe that’s why they want it….’_ A dark thought crosses her mind. _‘Maybe they want the Omnitrix to use its powers to kill All Might!’_

All these thoughts finally get to her and she snaps at the intruder. “Y-you w-won’t get it!!”

Todoroki looks back at her in surprise, but not because she suddenly raised her voice but because she may know what the villain is talking about.

The villain is probably smiling underneath his helmet. “Ah, so you do know what it is.” He begins to march up towards them, his heavy feet stomp across the frozen ground.

Todoroki stands at the ready, whatever this guy’s Quirk is it’s perfect for dealing with his Half-Cold and Half-Hot. “Uraraka.”

“Y-yeah?” Ochaco nervously replies.

“I’m…going to need your help to take this guy.”

She’s not sure if she heard him right. “Seriously?”

“He’s not bothered by my ice. So we need to rely on your Quirk.”

The gravity-welder isn’t too sure about this plan. “Why don’t you try your fire?”

The heterochromia teen’s eyes shift towards her. She flinches back at the dark and almost infuriated look in them, but she doesn’t say anything.

Eventually he draws his attention back to the approaching threat. “I’ll distract him so you can get close.”

Ochaco doesn’t have time to consider why he blew off her legitimate question. For now she has no choice but to do as he says. “Alright, I’m with you, Todoroki.”

With both of them on the same page, Todoroki releases a wave of ice letting it crash into their opponent. He knows it won’t hold him off for long, but it’s not meant to stop him.

Ochaco takes the opportunity to speed off to the side taking cover behind large debris and other frozen villains and monsters. If this works, she’ll be able to sneak up on their opponent and bring him down.

Their opponent breaks out of the ice, punching a hole outward and crawling out. “You are really starting to become a nuisance.” He grabs a chunk of ice off his shoulder. “If you’re going to resist, then…” He crushes the ice in his grip. “I’ll show you how a real warrior does it.”

Almost out on nowhere, the villain is sprinting across the Landslide Zone and all too soon he’s upon the more inexperienced fighter. Thankfully Todoroki is skilled enough to generate a small glacier to act as a shield and jump back just as his attacker smashes through the glacier of ice.

Todoroki scowls as he puts some distance between himself and the brute. _‘He’s far more agile than I first thought.’_

With the villain’s attention purely on Todoroki, Ochaco leaps up and over a nearby boulder. All she needs to do is get one hand on the villain and make him weightless. After that it’ll be simple enough to just push him away and let him float off to somewhere else.

But it looks like she's a bit over her head, she had assumed that thanks to a bulky helmet with such a low viewing space would make it hard to spot her, and she was wrong.

The villain easily spins around and backhands her away before she can secure a single finger onto him. He hits her hard and Ochaco can’t help but compare the feeling to being gut punched by a metal beam. She’s pushed backwards and she lands hard on the frozen ground.

The villain stomps over toward Ochaco’s prone form. “This is getting bothersome.” He growls. “Where is the wielder of the Omnitrix?”

Ochaco’s shaking in fear as the villain is nearly upon her.

Thankfully Todoroki decides then and there to step in by generating a wall of ice between his classmate and her attacker. “Get up, Uraraka!”

Acting on instinct Ochaco pushes herself off the ground and takes off towards Todoroki as the villain smashes his way through the ice wall.

“Get back here-Ah!” The villain comes to a sudden halt as their legs are ensnared by ice.

As the villain pries his legs free Ochaco and Todoroki retreat and take cover behind a half-broken wall in order to regroup.

Ochaco pushes against the wall trying to steady her breathing before she accidently gives them away. _‘This is bad. No, this is terrible! Just what the hell is this guy’s Quirk? Some kind of immunity? Super strength? Durability? Whatever it is he’s quick and he’s clearly unaffected by the cold. If they’re going to get past this villain, then they need a new strategy.’_ She looks over to her teammate who’s just as out of breath as her. “Todoroki.”

The dual-haired teen looks over at her in response.

“Can you use your fire on him?”

There’s genuine surprise on his face as if he never considered that idea himself.

“We’re running out of options. This guy can shrug off your ice and he’s a lot faster than we thought. So relying on my Zero-Gravity isn’t sound since he’s far more experienced than we are.” She grips her arm as if to hold One For All itself. “And…if I go all out with my Quirk, I’ll only injure myself and if he can somehow take it then we’ll only have more things to worry about.” Like how can she possibly fight him off with a broken limb?

Todoroki lets her words sink in. He turns away as he does so, so Ochaco can’t see his face or gauge his reaction. “I…I can’t…”

Okay, that was not the answer she was expecting. “W-why not?”

Todoroki doesn’t have the decency to look her in the eye instead he keeps his head turned as he gives her the silent treatment.

Worrying that she may have accidentally struck a nerve she cautiously reaches out to him. “Todo-Ahhh!!”

The villain crashes his way through the stone wall like a tank, nearly smashing into them as a result. “I’m done playing games!!”

 _‘Shit!!’_ Ochaco jumps forward as Todoroki leaps away to the side. “Use your flames, Todoroki!!”

Todoroki turns to face the villain. Ochaco can’t see his eyes past his locks of dual-colored hair as he screams out in frustration.

“Ahhhhh!!” He generates a giant wave of ice that rushes forward.

The wave of ice slams into their foe taking him up into the air before freezing in place. The giant wave of ice nearly takes up half of the Landslide Zone leaving Ochaco gaping in shock and awe.

Todoroki is breathing heavily; his breath can be seen in the cold air. “I…will not use…his Quirk.” He sounds angry and frustrated, and for some reason he’s actually shaking either because of the cold or perhaps because of some internal rage. 

_‘His?’_ Ochaco has no chance to ponder as she notices the villain moving near the top of the frozen wave.

She yelps as the villain once again breaks free of the ice, completely unfazed, and begins to run down the wave of ice before pouncing right at Todoroki.

The frustrated boy sends a frozen lance in his direction, but the villain is nimbler than he looks and evades it. Before either teen can comprehend it, their foe lands a direct punch into Todoroki’s midsection throwing him to the ground.

“Gah!” Todoroki coughs as he’s thrown onto his back, and before he can do anything, the foe pins him down with his foot holding him in place.

The villain peers down at the boy, as if he can’t freeze him simply by touching him. “You’re too far reliant on that power of yours. You need to learn how to adapt and use your own skills when in battle.”

The boy growls in frustration. “Be…quiet.” His hand slowly trails up, if he can grab the villain's leg perhaps, he can freeze him in place even if it'll cause some frostbite.

Their opponent aims a strange pistol down at Todoroki’s head.

Both teens’ eyes widen in fear and desperation. They were not expecting this villain to be packing a weapon, especially a gun of all things.

Without removing his gun the villain’s attention shifts to Ochaco who’s positioned a few meters away down the frozen slope. “If you don’t want your companion’s journey to end. Then you will reveal the location of the Omnitrix to me.” The sooner he gets it the better, and since his radar can only give him the general vicinity of the Omnitrix when it is activated, he needs a better way to track it down.

Ochaco considers her options. She could charge the villain but there’s no way she’s faster than a bullet even with All Might’s power; it’ll only injure her legs and make her useless. She can’t even think of a conceivable way to use her Zero Gravity either. Should she just lie and tell him where Deku could be? But she could just end up causing him to go after a different classmate of hers. But…what else can she do? 

During the entire battle they all nearly had forgotten that this battlefield is filled with other frozen villains and monster hamsters.

While lost to her own panicking thoughts she doesn’t notice one of the monster hamsters breaking out of its imprisonment. After shaking off the cold the monstrous creature notices how defenseless Ochaco is at the moment and it just cannot resist. It’s quick to pounce upon her ready to tear her to shreds.

From his position on the ground, Todoroki spots the abomination a little too late. “Uraraka!!”

She doesn’t react, instead as if she’s in a daze, only to be greeted by the sight of the monster’s gaping maw ready to snap her head off. But before she can even blink a laserbolt strikes the monster’s head, knocking it back and possibly killing it in the process if the smoking wound on its head is any indication.

The villain sighs, he’s getting pretty annoyed with all these interrupts. “You need to learn how to be more decisive.” He aims his blaster back down at the boy, who is still running off of fear for Ochaco’s life. “But what else can I expect from mere children.”

 _‘We may be young, but we can handle ourselves.’_ Her eyes drift towards the blaster. _‘But maybe not in this situation…’_

This guy is serious. If she doesn’t make a decision soon then he might end Todoroki’s life here and now. But both One For All and Zero-Gravity are useless to her unless she can guarantee a hit on this guy… Inspiration strikes! Perhaps there is a way.

All Might’s successor glares up at the villain, she inhales allowing both of her Quirks to flood into being; her hands emitting a dim pink light as a result. “Perhaps you will learn that lesson with time. Which is something I don't have.” He’s really getting frustrated now. If he doesn’t have the Omnitrix soon then there could be dire consequences. “So, I ask again. Where. Is. The. Omnitrix?”

The pink aura spreads up her arms until nearly her entire body is surrounded by One For All’s pink aura. With her power building up inside of her, Ochaco locks eyes with the villain letting him know that she’s not ready or willing to give up, and her response confirms her feelings. “Up your ass, you damn villain.”

Todoroki is visibly surprised; he didn’t expect her of all people to say something akin to Bakugou’s foul language.

Ochaco lets out a determined roar as a giant sphere of pink light explodes out from her body and engulfs everything in the surrounding area.

Looks like her plan worked because the villains clearly affected by her Zero-gravity Field, as he slowly begins to float upward as debris and shattered ice levitate around them.

“Woah?!” The villain tries to regain their balance, perplexed by the phenomenon surrounding them.

As for Todoroki, he recognizes the Zero-Gravity Field and knowing its capabilities he’s quick to generate an icicle lance that spears itself into the villain’s side pushing him upward.

“Have you learned nothing?!” The villain, not one to be deterred, smashes through the icicle lance that’s weaker under the effect of the Zero-Gravity.

The skillful fighter floats back down to the ground but thanks to Todoroki’s attack he’s now a fair distance away from him. _‘These humans truly are full of surprises.’_

He truly has no idea, because while he was handling Todoroki and his Quirk, he lost track of the gravity wielder despite being surrounded by an illuminating pink light.

“Ahhh!!” Ochaco after a running start lunges herself reeling her left arm backward, ready to deliver a finishing move.

The villain can see the attack coming from a mile away, but he knows he can take whatever she dishes out his way, so he crosses his arm over his front in defense. “You can’t harm me!”

All Might’s successor doesn't bother with retorting, mainly due to the pain and adrenaline coursing through her. Her gym uniform’s sleeve tears apart from the immense pressure building up within her as she throws her fist forward. “VENUS SMASH!!!”

Her glowing fist collides with the villain’s arms, and on contact a burst of power blasts the villain away. The villain leaves a trailing crater as they are rocketed across the top of the frozen ground, smashing through various weightless boulders, debris and walls, before crashing into the side of the U.S.J.

All sorts of debris and even a few frozen villains and hamsters are floating in the air, and if they were scared of Todoroki then they’re literally pissing themselves at the sight of Ochaco’s own power.

Speaking of which, the Zero-Gravity Field gives way, dissipating into thin air and as a result all the floating debris and villains come crashing down back to earth.

Ochaco has her left arm outstretched in front of her and she’s positioned in the follow through of her attack. Breathing heavily she relaxes, although painfully, as her swollen arm falls to her side. She delicately holds it, hoping not to irritate it further.

Todoroki hesitantly approaches her. He looks almost cautious as she does so. “Uraraka…are you alright?”

“I’m…fine.” Her pained yet determined gaze drifts into Todoroki’s. “Just…doing my part.”

Todoroki actually shows emotion, shame. His shoulders slump down as his gaze falls to Ochaco’s now disabled limb. He really did fail them both, if he had used…those damned flames then they might have ended the fight sooner and she would have never had to injure herself. He could have done more but he didn’t…

Ochaco’s voice cuts through his thoughts. “Come…on.” She offers him a small smile, as if she understands how he’s feeling. “We need to help the others.”

Todoroki is honestly surprised by her gesture, but he’s in quick agreement. “Alright.”

“Well done.”

That voice, it makes the two teens freeze up.

The villain is back on his feet, looking like he took very little damage, although the way he’s holding his right arm may be an indication that she was able to damage him. Although taking him out of the picture entirely would have been more than ideal.

The villain limps to a stop. “You certainly exceeded my expectations. I was not expecting such raw power, especially from you.” He sounds almost amused, as if these children are far better warriors than others, he’s had the displeasure of facing in the past.

Ochaco is a little offended by the remark, but she’s far too anxious to form a retort.

“However.” The solemnity of the villain's tone turns cold as their gaze pierces into the fletching heroes. “I still have a mission to complete.”

Even with her injury and despite the sweltering pain she will not allow that to happen. “You’re not getting the Omnitrix. And you will not hurt, Deku.” This is a declaration, not a suggestion or a wishful dream.

Todoroki is astonished by her resolve despite her current condition. Not to mention he’s a bit curious about how Midoriya’s involved in this, but he remains silent. Instead he readies himself, standing with her and ready to take on their opponent for another go.

The villain peers down at the girl. “Deku.” He lets the name sit making sure that he engraves it into his memory. “I assume they’re the one that wields the Omnitrix.”

Ochaco scowls; she probably shouldn’t have given that piece of information away. “He is…” She raises her fists even her injured one. “And you’ll never get to him.”

The villain shifts his head to the side, but it's impossible to tell what he’s thinking from behind his visor. “Well I think we’ve had a misunderstanding.”

Okay, that is not exactly what they were expecting. Just what is this villain getting at? Isn’t he here to kill Deku and take the Omnitrix for himself?

“I’m not here to harm this Deku. No, I’m here to save them from a far greater threat.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Iida pushes his way through the waist-deep water. “I may need to rethink my costume’s design. It’s clearly not capable of maneuvering in aquatic settings. Perhaps I should make the board a permanent addition to my gear.”

As Iida considers a new piece of gear, Izuku, Tsuyu, and Iida are making their way through the shallow end of the Flood Zone. Hopefully these shallows aren’t deep enough for the monster koi fish to follow them although they seem pretty distracted if the commotion of splashing and screams in the distance are any indication.

Izuku grips the glowing red Omnitrix as they continue onward. “Lucky that managed to get them all. Because honestly that was a real gamble. If my transformation timed out a second sooner than I definitely would have been fish chow. Not only that, if they’d been smart then they could have prevented our plan. We really need to be careful, who knows what else-”

Tsuyu wades by his side. “Midoriya, stop it. It’s scary.” She says this even though her own face doesn’t express it.

“Oh, sorry!”

They keep moving until eventually they make it to the shoreline, but rather than hop out of the water they remain wading inside the man-made lake.

Tsuyu looks to either of them for options. “So, what should we do now?”

Izuku wrings out the end of his brand-new hoodie, upset that he’s already gotten it wet after just only receiving it that same day. “For now calling for help is our top priority. If possible, we should follow the shoreline and make for the exit.”

The teens look past the Central Plaza towards the entrance, but there’s a commotion in the Central plaza that draws their attention. It looks like Eraserhead is still dealing with the hoard of villains, and by himself no less.

Tsuyu shrinks back down into the water. “It looks like Mr. Aizawa is drawing a large number of them to the plaza.”

Izuku can’t help but worry for him, his earlier conclusions about Eraserhead’s fighting skills racing into his mind. “There’s too many of them.”

Iida moves his arm about like a robot. “Even so, we must trust in him. He’s definitely more than capable.”

The wielder of the Omnitrix isn’t so sure about that. “I’m sure he is… But it’s too much for him. He knew that, but he jumped in to protect us.” He really wants to help in some way, after all he dreams of becoming a hero and how can he call himself that if he’s willing to leave his own teacher to a possibly grim fate.

Iida must have noticed the look in the greenette’s eye. “Midoriya, just what are you thinking? Whatever it is I cannot advise it.”

“Kero?”

Izuku gazes back at the Central Plaza where Eraserhead is fighting not only for his lift but all of theirs too. “I’m not saying we should dive right into a fight. I just think that we can watch for an opening and do what we can to lighten Mr. Aizawa’s load.”

That’s the end of the discussion, the other two can’t really deny that they wouldn’t like to aid their teacher in some way if possible, and besides they have to pass the Central Plaza in order to get to the exit anyway. So, they continue wading through the water silently hoping that they aren’t about to commit a huge mistake.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Eraserhead continues fending off the hoard of murderers using his Erasure Quirk to cancel out each of their Quirks before taking them out.

The villain’s boss eyes the pro hero studying him for any signs of weakness. “Twenty-three seconds…”

Nue raises an eyebrow at his boss from underneath his bandanna. “What was that?”

Instead of acknowledging his underling, the villain boss takes off in a full-on sprint making a beeline for the pro hero who sees him coming.

Eraserhead’s hair floats upward as he activates his Quirk. “So, you’re the boss?” He lashes out his capture scarf towards the villain. 

The strangely dressed man grabs the capture weapon in midair. “Twenty-four seconds.” He tosses aside the scarf as he continues charging. “Twenty seconds.”

However, Eraserhead is far quicker running in low.

“Seventeen seconds.”

The pro hero slams his elbow right into the villain’s abdomen. If he can take this guy out, then the faster he can bring this nightmare to an end. But…the villain doesn’t so much as to fall over or even groan in pain for that matter. 

“It’s hard to tell when you’re scampering around with those goggles, but there are moments when your hair falls and rises.” It appears the boss grabbed Eraserhead’s elbow before it could make impact.

Eraserhead’s sleeve begins to rot and tear away until his bare skin is exposed.

“That’s your tell, and your max duration’s getting shorter and shorter.”

Suddenly a crawling sharp pain spikes from his elbow as Eraserhead watches in horror as his skin breaks away before his flesh begins to rot away.

“Don’t overdo it now, Eraserhead.”

A quick punch to the side of the villain’s masked face is just enough for Eraserhead to retreat as the villain topples over. _‘My elbow’s been disintegrated! There’s no doubt, it must be this punk’s Quirk.’_

The leader shrugs off the hit as he pushes himself off the ground. “Your Quirk, it’s not good in long, group battles, huh? This is kinda different from your usual work, yeah? You specialize in quick sneak attacks.”

Eraserhead doesn’t like this, even though they were foolish enough to come here this villain somehow has intel on him and he was able to analyze his fighting techniques. Otherwise he would have never been able to actually land a hit on the pro hero.

The villain is back on his feet, but he doesn’t take another attempt to take down the hero. “Yet you jumped right into this fight hoping to make the kids feel safe.” He scratches at his neck in annoyance, but even so he sounds almost amused. “You really are so cool, Eraserhead.”

Nue watches on from the sidelines, throwing his head to the side. “I’m so bored…” 

His commander ignores him, keeping his full attention on his opponent. “By the way, Hero… I am not the final boss.”

Amongst all the fighting Eraserhead failed yet again to keep aware of the big players. This is reaffirmed as seemingly out of nowhere a powerful force slams him headfirst into the ground. A crushing cold grip snaps his arm, breaking it like a twig as a giant hand only adds pressure pushing him into the harsh ground. A deep and animalistic growl hovers over Eraserhead’s prone form.

The villain grins maniacally from underneath his hand-mask. “Meet the Anti-Symbol of Peace, the bio-engineered Nomu.”

A monstrous inhuman screech rings in Eraserhead’s ears making his head spin in agony.

Unbeknownst to any of them, Izuku, Iida, and Tsuyu watch on in absolute horror from within the shallows of the Flood Zone. They cannot believe what they are witnessing. Not only has their teacher, a pro hero, been taken out by a single blow but by a creature like the Earth’s never seen before.

The Nomu is a true monster; it’s a large, black humanoid monster with a very muscular body that has many scars on it. His brain is exposed on the top of his head, while his large eyes are around it beading out and while also looking vacant. He has a beak-like mouth with an array of sharp teeth.

However the monstrosity’s features don’t end there. Not only does this think look like a cross between a hulking human and a bird but also a mutated crab. Its right arm is a giant claw that can crush anything within its grip such as Eraserhead’s bones, whereas his left hand is that of a human’s. A second pair of skinny flimsy arms twiddle together just above its abdomen. And to bring the atrocity together the Nomu is sporting shell-like armor that spikes out from the abomination’s back. Clearly whatever this Frankenstein esc monster is, it’s been heavily altered by some foreign power.

The Nomu growls, leering down at its latest plaything as he awaits his master’s command.

Its so-called master is shaking with excitement, he just loves how useless and pitiful the pro hero looks. He is truly enjoying himself.

Meanwhile, Tsuyu grabs at her mouth trying to hold herself from retching.

Iida too looks a bit paler, his hands balling at his sides unsure on what to do.

And Izuku can only look on, feeling as useless as he did before the Omnitrix. “Mr. Aizawa…” 

One of the villains hears him; Nue’s gaze slowly turns until he spots their audience. His eyes scan each of their features from the teen in a knight’s outfit, to the frog-like girl, and finally landing on Izuku where it lingers on him making the boy freeze up in fear after realizing that they've been spotted.

Nue smirks from underneath his mask, he was not expecting this. It looks like he found the cure for his boredom. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am not sorry for the cliff hanger! It was a necessary evil for getting this chapter out early. That said, the next chapter is only going to be even crazier, so the wait is going to be worth it. Any guess on what may occur next?
> 
> *Incase it isn’t obvious, the intruder that fought Todoroki and Ochaco was Tetrax Shard…he’s great J However, I know some of you were hoping for 6-6 and I want to say that there’s no need to worry. SixSix will have his own moment to shine, it just won’t occur during this current Arc.
> 
> *Dr. Animo only altered the already existing Nomu. I just wanted to point that out, although the mutated monster animals are all his.
> 
> *As you already know Thirteen is a Plumber in this fic, but they only really display their combat ability when up against alien criminals and not normal villains. One reason is that their Quirk is way to deadly to use against regular humans/villains, so they opted to do rescue work instead. And because of that Thirteen can spend more time working as a Plumber while remaining available to do hero work out in the open. And in this case, the lack of information blew up in Kurogiri’s face.
> 
> *As I mentioned previously, Iida being warped by Kurogiri will affect how things playout in the future. That’s all I’m going to say on that matter.


	17. It's Hero Time Part III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final battle of the U.S.J. attack is here! How will our young heroes fair against these unfavorable odds?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is the final part of the U.S.J. Arc!! I thank each and every one of you for your patience, and to show my thanks you are all in for a long chapter so get comfortable. I also hope this chapter helps to pay off a lot that’s been set up to this point. Anyway enjoy.
> 
> Also please be sure to stay safe out there.

Several explosions ring out from within one of the destroyed office buildings within the Collapsed Zone of the U.S.J. 

“Say goodbye!!” Katsuki Bakugou jumps forward thrusting his hand forward blasting away a mutant monster rat right out of the building through the fifth story wall.

Meanwhile, Eijirou Kirishima is facing off against his own foe, using his hardened arms to slice through the villain’s blade before delivering a swift chop into the criminal’s side.

That appears to be the last of their attackers as the two boys take a moment to catch their breaths. Kirishima appears to be fine, as does Bakugou but it looks like that at some point he lost one of his grenade gauntlets possibly to one of the monster rats.

Bakugou gazes over the fallen villains and mutant rats, none of them appear to be getting up any time soon. “Think that's the last of these guys. Buncha weaklings.”

Kirishima releases his Quirk so he can wipe away the sweat on his face without injuring himself. “All right, let’s hurry and find the rest of our class. If we’re both still in the U.S.J. then everyone else probably is, too. And not all of them have the offensive skills we do.”

He thinks back to how both of them tried and failed to take out the warping villain before they and their classmates were scattered across the U.S.J. “We gotta make sure they’re safe. Especially since we screwed things up when we got in the way earlier.”

He can’t help but feel somewhat at fault for getting their classmates warped away into unknown danger. “If Thirteen had been able to suck up that villain then we never would’ve been separated like that.” Kirishima looks at Bakugou hoping he feels the same way. “We have to make it up to the others!” 

Bakugou brushes him off with a frown. “You wanna track everyone down, have fun, but I’m gonna go destroy that warpy bastard.”

“Huh?!” Kirishima can’t believe it! Is this guy so apathetic that he doesn’t care what happened to the others?! “Our physical attacks didn’t hurt that guy. C’mon. Don’t be an idiot, man.”

The ash-blonde snaps at the red-head. “Shut up! I’m gonna take him down because he’s their way in and out. If I cut off their escape route, they’ll be stuck here and have to pay for what they’ve done. We’ll just have to figure it out.”

While Bakugou explains his own plan a camouflaged villain that resembles a humanoid chameleon crawls along the floor, stalking towards the oblivious students with a dagger at hand. Once in the best position the camouflaged villain attacks aiming to stab Bakugou in the back. ‘You let your guard dow-Oof!!”

With masterful reflexes, Bakugou side steps and grabs the villain by the back of the head before releasing a fiery explosion into his wannabe killer.

“Anyway.” Bakugou holds up the head of the stunned and charred lizard man. “If all these villains are small fries like these guys were then our classmates can handle ‘em.”

The villain groans in pain, his tongue hanging out to the side.

Kirishima is understandably impressed by what he just witnessed. “That reaction time was insane. Also… Since when do you act so calm and rational? Usually you’re all like…” He thinks about Bakugou’s usually furious demeanor like how he was relentless against Midoriya, how he snaps at everyone, and that he loves to tell everyone that he’ll kill them with a maniacal grin.

The teen in question must have a mind reading Quirk because he snaps in anger at the red-head. “I’m always calm and rational red-haired loser!!”

Kirishima smirks, glad to see the old Bakugou. “Yeah! There you are.”

Bakugou huffs as he tosses the charred villain aside like a piece of trash. “Go find the others if you want to.” He begins to step away to the exit.

“Wait, hold up.”

Bakugou stops in place, he’s willing to hear out what Kirishima has to say.

“I think what you’re really saying is that you believe in our classmates.” He raises his hardening arms clanging his fists together. “And that’s thinkin’ like a man, Bakugou.” He gives his teammate a sharp-toothed grin.

Looks like these two are teaming up again, but this time they’re the heroes.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

_‘This is bad. Really really bad.’_ Thirteen jumps away avoiding a bite from one of the monster serpents before ducking down as a second monster snake lunges at their head. 

Thirteen then dives out of the way of an incoming warp gate that the purple-mist villain propelled towards them.

Thirteen needs to get to the kids! Before it’s too late, but these monsters are not making it easy for them.

Currently the students that didn’t get warped away are trying to fend off their own pair of monster serpents who are too fast for any of them to really counter their movement.

Some however are doing better than others.

“Ahhhh!!!” A tear gushing Mineta frantically throws his Sticky Balls in a frenzy at one of the upcoming snakes as it slides over the ground.

The purple Sticky Balls scatter across the ground and the serpent, clueless to what they are, slides over them before coming to a sudden halt, the serpent thrashes about trying to escape the sticky trap but it’s of no use.

Rikido Sato smiles at the sight as the whining Mineta scrambles behind him. “Hey, it’s working!”

The monster serpent finally stops flailing about to take in its surrounding, noticing the Sticky Balls holding it in place. The serpent becomes still, laying its head down low before its entire body begins to shake and shift as its own skin begins to pull and tear away from its body.

Sato and Mineta turn pale and stock still as they watch with their jaws dropped as the serpent tears out of its skin, its feathers peeling away as well as the serpent frees itself from Mineta’s snare. The serpent’s entire scaly body is clean but completely white in color, probably a result of the fresh layer of skin it just exposed.

The newly freed serpent lunges forward away from the Sticky Balls, opening its maw wide, and spitting out a spray of acid at the boys who clamber backward.

Mina Ashido takes note of the acid spitting. “Hey that’s my thing!!” She runs ahead of the boys, swinging her arm and thus throwing a splash of her own acid at the mutant snake.

The acid makes contact coating the serpent's scales, but it hardly reacts to the acid only finding it mildly annoying.

“Oh, come on! That’s so not fair! Ahhh!”

The serpent lunges at her, it’s mouth open ready to bite off her head.

A flying strand of white tape wraps around the serpent’s mouth before being pulled away and missing Mina entirely.

Hanta Sero grins proud that he could help. “How do you like that?!”

The muzzled monster snake shakes its head violently desperately trying to remove the annoying hindrance while also wishing it had hands to do it.

One of its companions slithers up and uses its own fangs to tear away the tape.

Sero sweats nervously as the serpents look his way. “I spoke too soon…”

Sero backs away and joins the others as they prepare themselves to fend off these abominations. Mezo Shoji takes the front with his arms outstretched to his sides to defend his classmates while also intimidating the monster snakes.

Thirteen notice their struggle even while dealing with their own attacking serpents. _‘I have to help them!’_ Thirteen jumps up as a serpent snaps at their feet, Thirteen uses the serpent’s head as a jumping board and takes off towards the students.

But the warping villain is not going to allow that. “Where do you think you’re going Thirteen?” The villain intercepts Thirteen’s path, his misty exterior fanning out making him even bigger than before. “Things are just getting interesting…let’s not end it here.”

The pro hero glares up at the villain. “Trust me, I’d love nothing more for this to be over. But I’d prefer to end it with your defeat!”

“That’s some big talk for someone of your stature.”

While the two argue, one of the serpents decides to take the opportunity to set up a sneak attack, slithering as low as it can across the ground aiming to attack the pro hero from the side.

Unlike the villain, Thirteen does notice the stalking monster as it inches its way closer, and an idea pops into their mind. “Blackhole!!” With no hesitation Thirteen activates their Quirk.

“That again?” The villain quickly generates a warp gate to intercept the pull of Blackhole and at the same moment the serpent lunges at the hero just as a second warp gate begins to form behind them.

But this is exactly what Thirteen was planning. With masterful skills, Thirteen ducks their head forward allowing the serpent to fly over their head before Thirteen swings their head back knocking the snake towards the second warp gate.

Blackhole’s pull immedialty begins tearing away at the serpent, it screeches in agony as it disintegrates and pieces of itself are pulled through the warp gates and into Thirteen’s Blackhole.

The warp villain realizes his blunder far too late. “Damn serpent!!” He closes the warp gates in an attempt to salvage the situation, but that’s just another mistake on his part.

_‘Now’s my chance!’_ Thirteen deactivates the Blackhole and sprints past the warp villain as the serpent lays silent on the ground with its back completely ripped away.

Thirteen passes over a fourth monster snake as they take off to the students.

It appears that Yuga Aoyama is having some trouble, the trembling teen is firing away at one of the serpents but it’s far too quick for him to get a clean shot. Thirteen comes in and kicks the serpent right in the head knocking it away.

Aoyama looks visibly relieved and grateful.

Thirteen eyes each of them, making sure that none of them have been hurt. “Is everyone alright?”

The other students finally take notice that their teacher had rejoined their group. “Thirteen!”

“Everyone stay close together. Defend each other’s backs.” Thirteen steps forward as the students huddle up behind them.

Tooru Hagakure nervously backs into the group. “Thirteen…”

She’s understandably nervous because the remaining three monster snakes have begun to circle around their little group.

Sato is just as freaked out as his classmate. “This looks bad.”

Mineta cries out from below. “You think?!”

Mina looks to Thirteen for a solution. “Wh-what do we do now?”

Thirteen…doesn’t know. _‘What do we do…? I don’t know…’_ They can’t hope to outright defeat the villain and his pets in time they need someone to get back to the school and get help. They need at least one of them to make it out! “Everyone we need to get to the exit.”

Sero brings up a good point. “But the others!”

“We can’t help them. I know it sounds harsh but if we want to save everyone one of use needs to escape and get help. And if we all work together then hopefully at least one of us can escape.”

The warp villain approaches as the snakes continue to circle around them like a pack of sharks. “Not a very well thought out plan. It’s essentially the same as before. But then again, there’s nothing else you can do, is there?”

Thirteen takes in the situation, and nothing is in their favor: surrounded by monsters, students that never faced real villains, and a villain with a powerful Quirk. Not exactly the best conditions to stage a plan of action, but sometimes you gotta work with what you have.

For one thing, Thirteen has knowledge. For starters while fighting the villain they noticed an odd metal brace within the misty exterior, why else would a villain have that other than to protect something. Not only that but Thirteen made sure to pay attention during Aizawa’s Quirk Apprehension Tests; they understand the students’ Quirks, too. And with this knowledge, perhaps they can pull something off.

Thirteen whispers their next lines extremely softly. “Shoji…” Their dark helmet prevents anyone from seeing their mouth move as they speak. “Shoji.”

One of Shoji’s hands is currently an ear and it picks up on the whispering. Shoji eyes Thirteen letting the hero know that he’s listening.

Thirteen continues to speak in the quietest tone possible. “I apologize but in order for this to work, I need your cooperation. Be warned…you may get…hurt.”

There’s an underlying tone of dread in Thirteen’s voice that makes Shoji hesitate, but he ever so slightly nods his head.

Although Shoji is willing to cooperate, Thirteen in fact becomes even more tense with anticipation. “Thank you. Okay here’s what we’re going to do…”

The villain is getting impatient, looming over the group of fighters. “This is the end!! Your journeys will end here before they even begin!!”

A large warp gate hovers over the group casting a looming shadow over them, however, the large portal blocks the view the villain has over them, but with them surrounded at all sides they should not be going anywhere but where he wants to send them.

Looks like there isn’t going to be another time to make their move. “Now!!” That’s the only warning as Thirteen rushes forward towards the obscured villain.

The students gap in shock as their teacher charges head first towards the circling serpents.

The monster snakes immediately set themselves on the pro hero lunging at them while spraying them with acid that eats away at the pro hero’s space suit. 

Shoji, the only one expecting such a brazen move, jumps forward and with his multiple-limbs he grows out chains of arms that latch onto the serpents before pulling them inward. The snake flails around to strike but Shoji grapples them to the ground making sure to keep their mouths shut.

Even while wrestling with these monsters Shoji is able to call out to his classmates. “Go to the exit!!”

It takes his classmates a moment to fully process what has happened and follow his order, sprinting as fast as they can for the exit.

Meanwhile, Thirteen gets up close to the surprised villain. Thirteen aims just below the metal brace and with a swift chop they strike what may be the villain’s main body.

The villain groans as the wind is knocked out of them and as a result the warp gate dissipates to nothing.

The villain falls to the ground reeling in pain, he truly isn’t suited to close quarters combat. “Impertinent Hero!!” The villain propels a warp gate at the hero who easily spins out of the way before turning around and taking off to help the students escape while the villain is down.

Shoji continues to wrestle with the thrashing serpents. “Quickly! I can’t hold them!!”

The snakes pull off a lucky hit with their tails, breaking loose of Shoji’s grip, but rather than strike him down they immediately begin to chase after the other students. After all their orders are to prevent any of them from escaping.

“Look out!!”

Shoji’s shout is the only warning they get.

Sato, spins around, as the rest keep moving forward. “Keep going!!”

He throws his fist forward, smashing into one of the serpent’s heads before he uses his other hand to essentially slap its head away from his body. Acting quickly he grabs the serpent's tail and begins to swing it around and around before letting it go, letting it fly through the air and over the edge of the platform letting gravity take it from there.

Unfortunately, while he was taking care of one of them, the other two monster snakes slithered on by racing towards his classmates.

Hagakure sees the reptiles chasing after them. “They’re coming!!”

Aoyama, after seeing his allies throw themselves into danger, decides to follow their sparkling examples. He skids to a halt throwing his hands behind his head before firing off his Naval Laser. The sparkling laser travels onto the ground until trailing right into both of the oncoming beasts.

Aoyama’s signature smile widens, feeling somewhat proud for getting both of them and buying some time for the others. “You can’t handle my sparkle, can you?”

The serpents shake their heads before they race forward once again,

Aoyama fires out a barrage of lasers, but the monsters have wisened up, weaving through the shower of laser beams before they zip right past the flashy teenager.

“Oh, no!!”

The serpents are quickly gaining on the remaining four students.

Mineta, with tears in his eyes, turns around to see if his classmates managed to save their asses, but instead he sees his inevitable demise as one of the serpents pounces upon him, its large jaws opened so wide that it could probably swallow him whole.

“AHHHH!!!” Without thought, Mineta panicly begins rapidly ripping off his Sticky Balls and throwing them as quickly as he can at the serpent. “Get away from me!! Don’t kill me!! I have so much to live for!!”

The others stop to help him, there’s no way he can defend himself, he’ll be killed!! But…what they find instead is actually a pleasant surprise. 

Unintentionally, Mineta threw his Sticky Balls right into the creature's mouth. The purple spheres are jammed into the teary-eyed monster’s mouth as if it tried to swallow a whole vineyard of grapes in one gulp. The serpent desperately tries to regain its breath, the Sticky Balls blocking its windpipe and after a few short seconds it falls unconscious from the lack of oxygen.

Mina grins juvenilely. “Way to go!”

As does Hagakure. “Yay!!”

Normally, Mineta would probably bask in the fact that he’s being praised by a couple of girls but right now, he’s just so happy that he isn’t dead. For a while there he was pissing himself scared…

In their moment of relief they’d forgotten the last of the mutant snakes, and it makes its presences well known.

The pale-scaled serpent wraps itself around Mina, its long slithery body coiling around her waist and legs before hoisting her up as she screams in terror.

Her classmate cries out for her. “Ashido!!”

The serpent tightens its grip around her, making the girl wheeze in pain. Tears begin to prick into her eyes under the pressure as she gazes up at the serpent as it hisses down at her. Knowing that it now has its prey well in hand, the serpent bears its fangs ready to finish her off once and for all.

Tears begin to flow from Mina’s eyes as she can do nothing but watch her death fall upon her.

Thirteen, however, will not allow that to happen. All this time the hero’s been racing across the platform like a wild stallion when they noticed Mina’s predicament.

In a hasty sprint, Thirteen rushes forward lunging themselves right towards Mina’s trapped form. They can’t use Blackhole otherwise they could kill Mina so there’s only one thing they can do to ensure her life. Just as the serpent’s fangs are upon the poor girl, Thirteen throws their arm right into the monster’s jaws. Blood and acid sprays out as the fangs pierce right through the tattered spacesuit and into Thirteen’s flesh.

Mina cries out in sheer terror. “Thirteen!!”

The hero can’t respond, they still have a job to do. “Raaaaahh!! Leave my students alone!!”

With the snake’s fangs still lodged inside their arm, Thirteen pulls their arm back taking the snake along with it.

The abomination is not expecting the sudden change in direction and it dislodges from the hero’s arm as it is slammed onto the ground.

With adrenaline still pumping through their veins, Thirteen quickly activates their Quirk. The serpent screeches and flails about as it completely begins to disintegrate and get pulled into the never-ending void.

While the snake withers in pain Thirteen cries out to the students. “What are you waiting for!! GET MOVING!!!”

The students especially Mina are far too stunned to even move.

“Be heroes!! And escape as fast as you can!! GET HELP!!” The serpent is completely gone by this point, as Thirteen collapses from exhaustion.

The remaining three students take off without another thought. “You can count on us!!”

The villain, who recovered from the blow not too long ago is catching up to them.

“I won’t let you!!” He’s nearly upon them, his misty form stretching upward in order to warp them away. “Be gone!!”

“No!!” Hagakure throws herself at the villain, grabbing him by the metal brace and thus slowing him down.

“Stupid child!” Kurogiri throws her off but Hagakure’s interference was just enough.

Mina, with blinding tears in her eyes, throws her hands forward and a wave of acid is propelled out and onto the door, melting a hole right through the metal frame. “Go!! Sero!!”

With no time to waste, Sero launches two strands of tape at the ends of the door before slingshotting himself forward and right through the hole with pin point accuracy.

The villain bursts out in anger. “No!! Ahh!!” He winces in pain as acid eats away at his brace and body.

Mina swings her hand again, sending another splash at the villain that makes him jump back in fear. “That’s for Thirteen!!” She cries out, in rage and sorrow.

The villain eyes the now melted exit as Sero uses his tape to the best of his abilities to swing and pull himself forward.

“If he calls for help…it’s game over.” The villain considers what to do; he can’t stay even with Thirteen out of commission he’s now outnumbered by the now congregation students. “I should warn Shigaraki…” And with that the villain warps himself away.

Sato breathes in heavily. “Woah, he just up and left.”

Shoji offers up an explanation on why. “He failed his mission, there’s no point for him in staying.”

Thirteen’s weak and soft voice manages to reach their ears. “You…were all…so amazing…”

“Thirteen?!” The students quickly gather around their teacher.

Mina carefully lifts the hero’s head, resting them on her lap. “A-are…y-you okay?” Tears are streaming down her face as she takes in the hero’s condition.

Thirteen is completely battered; their hero costume has melted away at places, residue acid drips off of the suit, their helmets cracked, and a bit of blood is slowly dripping out of the bite wound on their arm.

Thirteen coughs while replying. “I…could be…better.”

Their reply makes Mina choke on her tears.

Hagakure watches on helplessly unsure what to do. “There’s got to be something we can do?”

Sato offers up a naive suggestion. “Should we suck the poison out?”

Thirteen manages a soft chuckle in response to the naive suggestion. “No…that only works…in the movies.”

Shoji places a hand on Thirteen's chest to ensure that they’re not going to try and move around. “Easy now, just rest. Help should be here soon.”

“I know it…will.”

“Thirteen…” Mina coughs through the tears.

Thirteen turns their attention to her, as a few drops drip onto their helmet.

Mina’s a complete mess, her eyes flooded with tears. “I’m…I-I’m sorry.” She’s in complete disarray, because of her mistake she’s caused Thirteen so much pain right now that could possibly end their life. She continues to cry in anguish. “If it wasn’t for me…you wouldn’t…have gotten…” She can’t even articulate what she’s feeling, the thought is way too dismal for her to form the proper words.

While Mina’s body shakes, Thirteen affectionately places a comforting hand on her head. The gesture is small but it’s enough for Mina to start slowly crying. Without any words the hero gently pats her head, careful as to not touch her sensitive horns. As they continue Mina visibly begins to calm down, her tears eventually stopping all together.

“It wasn’t…your fault.” Thirteen wheezes. “I was just…doing my duty…” Yes, they were doing their duty as a teacher, as a pro hero, and as a Plumber. “All of you.” Thirteen peers at each and every one of them, happy that none of them have sustained any injuries. “Hang in there…the heroes…will be here…soon…” And with that Thirteen’s eyes close shut ready for a long rest, with the comforting thought that these kids…that these heroes are more than capable of protecting themselves. 

Hagakure cries out at the sight, fearing the worst. “No, Thirteen!!”

Mina is frozen in place holding the hero’s head as Shoji places a few fingers on the hero’s wrist. 

Shoji sighs in solace. “They’re alive, they just need to rest.”

Everyone smiles, happy to hear the good news, not only that but they can also enjoy the fact that help will soon be on its way.

Hagakure cheers. “They’ll be here before we know it!”

“Really?!” Shouts Mineta.

Shoji’s eyes furrow. “Hopefully, but…and I don’t mean to get our hopes down, but I doubt they’ll make it that quickly.”

Now that’s a hard pill to swallow; Sero is far from the fastest in their class and they are far from the main campus, so it’s still going to take quite a bit of time for the pro heroes to even get the S.O.S.

Sato gulps. “So, what do we do?”

Shoji replies. “We stay and watch over Thirteen.” Shoji turns, his multiple grown eyes staring out into the massive interior of the U.S.J. “Some of our classmates have already begun to move. So, they should be making their way over here. We need to keep this spot safe so we can all get out of here.”

They all understand, this is no time to relax. If they hope for everyone to escape, then they need to hold this position.

As they each take a position over the platform, ready to defend it from further villains, Mina promotes herself to watch Thirteen silently praying that the pro heroes will get here on time.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

The Frankenstiened Nomu continues to hold Eraserhead down, pushing him further into the hard ground.

The villain boss wobbles on his feet as he gazes down at the pinned pro hero. “Canceling out Quirks. Pretty cool, but nothing special. Up against crazy strength you might as well be a Quirkless child.” He chuckles amusedly at the sight of the struggling pro hero.

Eraserhead desperately reaches his hand forward in one last attempt to escape, but Nomu grabs his other arm and snaps it too.

“GWAHH!!!” Eraserhead screams out in agony. _‘He snapped my arm like a twig!! Looking at any part of his body should be enough to nullify his Quirk, but his base strength is immense.’_

Nomu grabs the pro hero’s hand, crushing it within its meaty fingers, and more blood drips down the hero’s face.

_‘I think he’s as strong as All Might…’_

And with that the Nomu smashes Eraserhead’s head into the ground.

From within the shore of the nearby Flood Zone, Izuku and the others gasp at the gruesome sight.

Iida is visibly shaken at the sight; he can’t believe what he’s seeing. “This is bad…”

Tsuyu fearfully sinks further down into the water until only the upper half of her head is sticking out. “Kero…”

Izuku is completely frozen in place, but not just because of what’s occurred to his teacher, but because he’s locked eyes with that Nue character.

Nue remains silent and he looks like he’s about to move towards them, but a swirling mass of mist appears next to the villain leader.

The leader notices the new arrival. “Kurogiri.”

The misty villain, Kurogiri, warps into place. “Shigaraki, I have returned.”

Nue scuffs. “Took you long enough.”

The leader, now dubbed Shigaraki, is wondering why the mist villain has come here. “Is Thirteen dead?”

“They’re incapacitated, but there were some students I couldn’t warp away and one of them…made it outside.”

Nue bursts into laughter. “Hahaha!! Looks like you failed mist man, ha!”

Kurogiri’s yellow eyes leer at the shorter villain, but he keeps his composure.

Shigaraki considers the update, and in doing so he becomes outright irritated, scratching at his neck furiously as if that will solve the issue at hand. “Kurogiri, you…” He scratches at his neck even more so much so that he may draw blood. “I’d turn you to dust if you weren’t our ticket out of here.” He suddenly stops scratching, removing his hands from his neck. “We won’t stand a chance against pros. It’s game over. We’re leaving.”

Iida isn’t too sure that he heard the villain correctly. “Leaving? Now?”

Tsuyu hopes she heard him correctly too. “I think so…” However, she too noticed how that Nue guy was eyeing them earlier. “I got a bad feeling about this.”

Izuku agrees. “Yeah, me too.”

But perhaps the villains are going to retreat, there’s no way they can take on a hoard of pro heroes. Perhaps they are all going to survive this after all.

Nue enters into another fit of laughter. “Haha, you’re funny Handjob!”

Shigaraki doesn’t want to deal with this punk’s antics. “Little shit! I told you not to call me that.”

“Yeah, yeah, but I don’t want to leave yet.” Nue points towards the Flood Zone. “Because there’s still some fun to be had.”

Shigaraki and Kurogiri follow Nue’s line of sight towards the children who freeze in place like that will somehow make them disappear.

Shigaraki smiles form underneath the disembodied-hand on his face. “You know what, I think you’re right Nue. The game isn’t quite over yet.” He steps forward. “Let’s hurt the pride of the Symbol of Peace, shall we?”

“Actually.”

“Huh?”

Nue steps ahead of him. “Let me handle this one. Why should I let you have all the fun, right?”

Shigaraki really doesn’t like how casual he’s treating this. “What are you playing at?”

“Oh, nothing.” Nue waves him off as he approaches the water and the three hero course students.

The teens themselves ready themselves taking a few steps back in case they need to make a run for it.

Izuku’s hand instinctively begins to reach for the Omnitrix as he considers everything. _‘Who is this guy? What’s his Quirk? Is he…is he going to attack us? Just what are they planning?!’_

The villain continues to approach, strolling forward like he has absolutely nothing to fear nor is there a rush to get things going.

Izuku grips the Omnitrix now, ready for a fight.

Iida too readies himself as does Tsuyu as she begins to crouch ready to jump into action at a moment’s notice.

However, before Nue can even get that close he stops leaving a big gap between himself and them. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it…Deku.” The way the name rolls off his tongue, it’s clear to everyone that he’s using the name as an insult.

A cold feeling of alarm runs down their spines, especially Izuku’s. _‘How?! How does he know…who I am?!’_

Maybe this guy can read minds, but the way he said Deku sounds as if he’s familiar with him somehow. Like saying Deku would instantly upset him, much like how Bakugou uses the name.

“This is really great isn’t it?!” Nue sounds excited like he’s been waiting for this. “I should have known you’d be here! You never shut up about this place!! Shit, I wish I had realized it sooner, hahaha!” He takes a breath wiping away a tear from his eye. “Oh, well. Now we can hang out, like old times.”

Shigaraki leers at Nue’s back. _‘So, he knows one of them…’_

He’s not the only one interested as Eraserhead’s prone from twitches slightly as if reacting to the news.

Tsuyu leans in towards Izuku while still keeping an eye on the villain. “Midoriya do you…know this person?” She recognized the name Deku thanks to Bakugou and Ochaco.

Izuku’s broken into a bit of sweat, his mind trying to piece together who the hell this person is and how they would know who he is. “I…I don’t.” But that voice…

Nue fakes hurt while clenching at his heart. “Aw, seriously did you forget about me already? Did our friendship mean nothing to you?” He throws his head to the side. “But then again it wasn’t really a friendship now was it?” His smirk widens. “I mean, friendship is just a means to an end. After all…In this world everything is give and take.”

Izuku’s eyes widen, he only knowns one person whom lives by that motto. It can't be, it just can’t be! There’s no way! “He-Henzu?”

“Ding ding ding!! We have a winner. And now for your prize!!” Nue grabs and rips away his bandana revealing his true identity. 

“You’re…you’re…you’re-”

“A villain.” Henzu Uuichi finishes Izuku’s sentence as he grins down at the shorter boy.

Iida grabs Izuku’s shoulder. “Midoriya, what is going on?! Who is this?!”

Henzu overhears Iida. “Really, he never mentioned me, his best friend?”

Iida and Tsuyu’s eyes widen, not expecting that in the slightest. Just what kind of crowd does Midoriya hang out with? Are these two really friends?! That can’t be the case! Midoriya has shown them all throughout their time together that he cares for others and that he wants to be a hero. So, how could he possibly be on friendly terms with a villain?!

Izuku truly cannot believe his eyes, is this really what happened to Henzu after that day… “Henzu…what…what happened to you?” Yeah, they fought, and he left the school, but this cannot be. “After everything you just…disappeared. Is this where you’ve been all this time?” 

Henzu waves it off. “Ha, nah not at first at least but…” Henzu gives Izuku and his teammates a wicked grin. “They’re a fun group. But I share some sentiments with them.” His grin widens. “Like taking down the so-called heroes!”

Iida is desperate for answers now, just how do these two know each other?! “Midoriya, please…explain.”

Izuku…gives in seeing no point in trying to cover this up. “This is…Henzu Uuichi and we…used to be friends.”

Tsuyu eyes him oddly. “Used to be?”

“Yeah, we had a…falling out.”

Henzu laughs out loud at that. “Ha, falling out?! More like you betrayed my trust!!” With his maniacal grin he holds his hands out to the side, gesturing to himself. “And now look at the result of your betrayal, Deku.”

Okay, sure Izuku probably could have handled that past situation better, but he is not going to take the blame for Henzu’s decisions. It was his own decisions that put him with the villains, and sure Izuku would like to know how that came about, but he will not take this sitting down.

“It…it is your own fault. I never betrayed you, but I couldn't stand by and let you hurt innocent people.”

Henzu tsks. “You’ve always been a stick-in-the-mud.” He then smirks. “But since we finally have a reunion, I’d like us to pick up where we left off.”

Izuku leers up at him. “What are playing at, Henzu?”

Henzu gives the boy his familiar mischievous grin. “Nothing. I just want a rematch.”

_‘A rematch? Is that seriously all he’s after?’_ Izuku eyes the other villains. ‘ _No way he wants a fair fight. I bet the others will jump in and attack the others when the moment presents itself.’_

Henzu can tell exactly what Izuku’s thinking, but he really just wants a…fair fight. And he’s going to get it. “Here I’ll cut you a deal.”

Everyone, even the villains, are a bit stunned by this declaration. There’s no way that Nue is serious about that, is he?

“During this fight there will be no interference.” Henzu peers back at his boss, flashing him a grin. “Is that okay, Shigaraki?”

Shigaraki doesn’t initially respond, instead he turns his head away. “Pft, fine do what you want.”

Honestly, he couldn’t find this more annoying at the time, considering that the heroes may be on their way here soon. But he has to admit that he wants to find out a little bit more about Nue’s powers and why he’s so determined to fight that green-haired brat.

Henzu smiles, glad that Shigaraki is willing to play by his rules. “Well you heard him.” He turns back to Izuku. “And I’ll sweeten the deal if you win…you and your two pals can leave.”

Okay, if Izuku wasn’t trusting him before, which he wasn’t, then he definitely knows that something’s up. It’s one thing for that Shigaraki guy to go ahead and approve their “rematch” but it’s another if Henzu actually thinks that they’re going to leave Iida and Tsuyu alone. But…what if he is serious? What if…what if they keep to their word. Then he can get himself and the others out or at the very least to safety and then they can make a plan to save Eraserhead and the others…

But he needs to be sure, first. “And if I refuse?”

Henzu’s grin widened, he was waiting for that question. “Then…they’ll be added to the list of friends that you abandoned!!”

That actually hurts Izuku a bit, mainly because he can’t really deny it.

He needs to think about this. If they make a run for it, that warping villain, Kurogiri, will catch them easily. If they all try to fight then there’s no way they can win, that Nomu guy looks way too powerful, maybe Four Arms could take him, but there’s no guarantee. Also, they still have Mr. Aizawa as a captive and they can’t just leave him… he could try to stall for time, but they could get impatient and a fight would be inevitable. But if he agrees to fight then…then there’s a chance that they can get out of here. 

Iida must sense Izuku’s inner thoughts and he grabs his arm, snapping him out of his dire thoughts. “Midoriya, you can’t trust him.”

Izuku’s breath hitches.

“I understand that there’s some kind of history between the two of you, but he’s clearly deceiving you. There’s something about this that isn’t right.”

Tsuyu grabs his arm too, pulling him into the water slightly. “He’s right. Whomever this guy is, he really has it out for you. And there’s no telling what the other three will do or if they’ll agree.”

Izuku scowls, they’re right. They’re both absolutely right, no matter how they look at the situation there’s no way things are going to play out in their favor.

But…this may be their only option. “I have to.” Izuku meets their wavering gazes, he hopes he can convince them to trust in his decision. “He may have been my friend once, and this could just be a big setup, but…” He turns to meet his exfriend’s gleeful gaze. “Right now, he’s trying to hurt my friends and I just can’t stand for that.”

His eyes narrow with determination, he will win, and he will get them all out of here. And he does mean all of them.

Tsuyu and Iida consider his words… Neither of them like this, not one bit, leaving Midoriya to fight on his own just doesn’t sit right with them. But…this may be the best bet for them all. 

Without any words or rebuttals, they both release his arm.

Izuku smiles at them gratefully. “If this doesn’t go right…I’m trusting you two to help us.” He approaches the man-made lake’s edge. 

Tsuyu picked up on his choice of wording. _‘Us?’_

Izuku pulls himself out of the water.

Iida calls out. “Midoriya…”

Izuku looks back to see what else his Class President has to say. Instead he doesn’t say anything instead he offers his own confident look, silently conveying that he’s decided to put his faith into the wielder of the Omnitrix.

As does Tsuyu who offers her own words of encouragement. “No matter what…we trust you.”

Izuku offers them a small appreciative smile along with a nod. _‘I will save you all.’_

Henzu is starting to get antsy. “So, do you accept the terms?”

Izuku takes a breath before turning to Henzu, his hardened gaze wordlessly says it all. He will win this fight.

“Hehe, alright then let’s get started.” Henzu…no Nue gestures for Izuku to step forward. “You can make the first move.”

That makes Izuku nervous, Henzu knows how his powers work. So, to let him take a moment to pick out a transformation like this, has to mean he’s planning something.

Iida and Tsuyu realize this as well, as they remain in the water, but they don’t voice their concerns knowing full well that Izuku must have come to the same conclusion on his own.

This is truly Henzu’s game, Izuku grips Omnitrix switching from one option to the other considering all the possible battle strategies. Unfortunately, Henzu knows the basics of all of his transformations: Feedback’s electricity, Four Arms’ strength, Ditto’s cloning, he knows all of them. Well there’s Buzzshock, but Izuku hasn’t gotten a real handle on that alien yet, mainly because his usual time for practice has been taken up by serving detention. But…there’s got to be one alien that’s perfect for this job. 

At this point Nue is ready to get started. “Hurry up, we don’t got all day!”

Well Nue’s Quirk is Osmosis and he doesn’t appear to have any metal on him, other than his lock necklace, but it’s not enough to absorb. So, Lodestar wouldn’t be useful. The only solid material around appears to the floor… which as he’s seen isn’t the most durable substance.

With that in mind Izuku picks the right alien for the job. “Hey…Nue.”

“What?”

“I just want to say…that I’m sorry.”

“Huh?”

Izuku’s gaze casts downward. “I made some mistakes, I see that, but so are you. And I hope it isn’t too late… But” He glares back up at his opponent. “I can’t afford to hold back.”

Nue smiles excitedly. “Good boy.”

Izuku raises his hand over the alien device. “It’s hero time!!” He slams his palm down onto the dial and in a flash of familiar light Izuku disappears from sight.

He can feel his body growing, his muscles expanding, and his bones shifting as he transforms into one of his most reliable forms. “FOUR ARMS!!!”

With a powerful kick the Tetramand charges straight for Nue ready to end this as quickly as possible.

Shigaraki is blown away by what he’s seeing!! _‘How is this possible?! How could there be two of you with similar Quirks to Master?!’_

Four Arms is quickly upon his opponent. “Let’s see you stand up to this!!” He throws his two right fists forward ready to deliver some swift punches.

Nue, however, couldn’t be happier to show his exfriend how well he’ll take the attack.

His entire body buffs and expands, his bones shift painfully as a third arm forms from his left side and two muscular red arms grab onto Four Arms’ wrists stopping his attack.

Four Arms gasps as his classmates’ jaws drop at the sight.

Four Arms is visibly shaken. “H…how?”

Nue’s entire body has changed into a somewhat bizzaro form of a Tetramand but with the features of Henzu.

The morphed Nue grins, his four yellow eyes narrowing in glee. “Surprised?”

Four Arms is too stunned to speak his mind racing with all sorts of questions. _‘How? How is this possible?! Just what the hell happened to him?! Did he get his own Omnitrix?!’_

Nue laughs, finding Four Arms’ reaction absolutely priceless. “If you like that, then you’ll love this.”

His red skin begins to poke out as it becomes scaly, his lower pair of hands turn into sharp claws with fins piercing out from his elbows, and jagged fangs rip out from his mouth as an angler-fish antenna grows out of his head.

Four Arms tries to back away at the hideous sight, but Nue’s holding him in place. _‘How?! How?!’_

Nue’s entire body…it’s a combination of Four Arms and Ripjaws. Not even he can do that?! So, how can Nue do this?! And without an Omnitrix no less?!

Nue smiles, licking his horribly jagged teeth before he uses his right arms to punch and slash at Four Arms simultaneously.

Iida and Tsuyu gasp in shock as Four Arms winces at the pain, the claws actually pierced through Four Arms’ hide most likely because of the boost in strength.

Nue throws him to the side.

Four Arms groans, holding his side as he gets right back up. “How did you…?” He leaves the question hanging in the air.

Nue smiles broadly. “Cool right?” He peers down at his muscular morphed body. “After our…argument I couldn’t access my Osmosis Quirk… But then I noticed a change.” he smashes his fists together, it’s not like he really has to explain any further.

Izuku immediately understood; back then when Henzu tried to pry off the Omnitrix he must have activated his Osmosis Quirk and absorbed the energy of the alien device. And as a result it gave him access to the alien DNA within the Omnitrix.

No wonder he was so eager to let Izuku make the first move and pick his alien, because it didn’t matter!! No matter who he picked Nue would be able to counter any of them!!

There’s no way he can win this!! But he has no choice but to try.

“I’ll stop you!” Four Arms lunges forward ready to deliver a powerful punch.

Nue smiles as Four Arms throws his punches, Nue’s body shrinks until it becomes an odd version of a Kineceleran.

Four Arms throws more punches but it’s simple child’s play for the Kineceleran to zip and zoom around to evade each and every attack, all the while laughing in Four Arms’ face making the morphed Izuku even more frustrated.

In a desperate attempt to land a hit, Four Arms throws such a strong punch that his fist embeds itself into the ground. With his defense down Nue speeds in delivering quick running strikes to his head until knocking him onto his back.

Nue smiles down at Four Arms. “ I got to say.” He flexes his claws admiring their ferocity. “I’m deeply enjoying these powers.”

“Rahh!!” Four Arms, in a fit of rage, kicks himself off the ground to attack his opponent.

Nue simply smiles as he zips away, as he runs his body shifts as a shell-like armor protrudes out from his body and his arms become larger and red in color.

The combination of XLR8 and Water Hazzard rocket forward until smashing head first into Four Arms’ gut.

“Gahh!!” The powerful collision knocks Four Arms back but before he can even hit the ground Nue zipped behind him and thanks to his speed he crashes into the Tetramand from behind. “AHHH!!!”

And the cycle continues with Four Arms unable to get any time to react as Nue relentlessly delivers attack after attack.

Tsuyu and Iida watch on in horror, feeling absolutely useless and helpless as their classmate, teammate, and friend takes one beating after another.

Meanwhile, Shigaraki and Kurogiri watch on in mild interest.

Kurogiri’s eyes narrow. “He’s really a beast, isn’t he? Perhaps he would have been enough to take down All Might on his own, after all.”

Shigaraki growls in response. “Maybe…but I think he’s getting just a bit too cocky.” He begins to scratch at his neck in irritation. _‘Honestly, I wouldn’t mind if Nue got what’s coming to him.’_

The hits are so strong that pretty soon Four Arms is just getting thrown around like a lightweight, so much so he begins to tumble here and there.

As he’s about to fall, Nue transforms into a Tetramand, grabbing Four Arms by the head before he falls over completely. “Not yet, I’m not done yet.” He kicks Four Arms backward.

The dazed Four Arms stumbles back before throwing his leg back in order to stabilize himself. He wheezes in pain, grabbing at his now bleeding side. He’s really taking a beating here and he has no plan…no idea on how to win.

Nue’s glad to see that Deku isn’t giving up yet. If he’ll admit one thing is that Deku was always rather resilient and difficult to put down.

Nue’s Tetramand form begins to shift and change, this time becoming somewhat smaller in size as fin-like growths form on his head and gem-like orbs pop out from his body.

Nue begins to laugh at Four Arms’ confused face which becomes one of surprise as a clone of Nue’s current form rips away from the original. Soon there’s a whole squad of Tetramand/Splixson Nues and they descend upon the outnumbered Deku like a swarm each one delivering two to four punches each. All Four Arms can do is hold himself in place and endure it as best he can. Thankfully the Splixson DNA seems to have weakened the Tetramand strength but they’re still stronger than an average human so they still deliver some strong hits.

Iida’s fist clench, he so desperately wants to help, but…he’d be risking not only his life but Tsuyu’s and Aizawa’s, and he…just can’t risk it. “Midoriya…” His voice cracks, and tears begin to prick at his eyes.

Tsuyu is in no better condition, her entire body trembling as she holds her hands over her mouth as hot fresh tears stream down her face. “Oh, God…please no…” 

Eventually the Nue clones back away and form into one being. No longer being surrounded, Four Arms’ legs give out and he instantly collapses onto the ground.

Nue turns back to human and he actually frowns at the sight, he didn’t think their rematch would be so one sided… Okay maybe he did, but he would have liked it if it was somewhat of a challenge. “Are you really part of the hero course, Deku?”

Four Arms remains silent as he desperately tries to regain his strength.

Nue then turns to the two spectators. “I thought you guys were supposed to be the best? I guess I was wrong.”

The two students don’t reply, not like they could if they wanted, it feels like they’re tongues have turned to lead, and their entire bodies are refusing to budge.

Nue throws his head back in a fit of laughter. “Hahahahahaha!!”

His laughter rings through the morphed Deku’s ears. He struggles to pick himself up, but he’s so worn down that Nue, without transforming, is able to push him back down with just his foot.

Nue rubs his foot against the downed Tetramand like a doormat, enjoying the very satisfying view. “It’s like I always told you; you can’t be a hero.”

The transformed Izuku can’t help but feel like…he’s right. All his life he’s been nothing but a Quirkless, useless nobody with only dreams of the impossible to keep him going, And now…now in the face of real villains he can’t do anything. There’s no way he can save any of them, even if his first plan was a fluke, it could have easily gone array! And now, now he’s clearly in over his head against an opponent that’s had nothing but time to hone his own powers. While he himself is still the old powerless Deku, and no Omnitrix can change that.

With a maddening grin plastered onto his face Nue roars out for all those to hear. “You’re nothing but a useless, powerless Deku!! A nobody with no hope for the future!!”

Four Arms stops struggling as the harsh truth of the matter really sinks into his heart. _‘Perhaps…perhaps he’s right…’_

“Don’t give up!”

Four Arm’s eyes jolt open in response, he drags his head across the ground to peer over to the Flood Zone.

Tsuyu, with tears in her eyes, cries out in desperation. “Don’t listen to him! He’s nothing but a freak that doesn’t know what he’s talking about!!”

Iida is a bit taken back by her outburst as well but he full heartedly agrees. He wipes away his own tears before shouting out to his friend. “She’s right, Midoriya! You’re by far one of if not the most heroic person in our entire class! You can’t give up now!!”

The two cry out in unison. “Don’t let this villain beat you!!”

Four Arms stays quiet allowing their cheers to swirl in his head.

Nue snaps at the two of them, not appreciating how they're interrupting his fun. “Shut up!! This backstabber deserves what’s coming to him! So, stay out of it!!”

Four Arms’ body jolts in place drawing Nue’s attention. However, before he can act upon it, he gets thrown back as Four Arms leaps back onto his feet.

Nue stumbles and then backs off, putting some distance between the two of them. He grins excitedly as Deku glares back at him, ready to continue with their brawl. “Oh, not done, are we? You always were persistent. But can you really keep going?”

Four Arms replies between deep breaths of air. “I can do this all day.”

“Haha! Good one!” Nue’s smile widens. “But I had my fun, so I think you deserve a turn.”

His body shifts and expands becoming a terrible combination of a Tetramand and a Geochelone Aerio, essentially his main physique is that of Four Arms but with the features, namely the shell, of Terraspin. With this form he can take any hit that Four Arms can dish out.

Four Arms however will not let that stop him as he takes off into a run, charging straight for Nue’s larger form.

“Come on, do it!” 

Four Arms picks up speed. 

“I want you to hit me!”

Four Arms runs even faster.

“Show me what you got!”

He’s in a full-on sprint his arms swinging out in rapid succession as he charges.

“Show me how weak you really are!!”

However, instead of a punch colliding with his heavily defended body Four Arms instead tackles the larger foe. His muscular arms wrapping around Nue’s own, as he grapples him backwards.

“What are you doing?!”

“AHHHHH!!!” Four Arms roars out in a righteous fury. “STRONG ARM TOSS!!!” He spins around and with his built-up momentum and throws Nue as hard as he can. Right. At. The. Nomu.

Nue’s large form crashes into the unsuspecting Nomu, the other villains flinch in surprise. They too did not expect such a stunt from the kid.

With the Nomu’s grip temporarily loosened, Four Arms snags Eraserhead from underneath the monstrosity before taking off for the Flood Zone, when close enough he tosses his teacher at his friends. “Guys!!”

The two snap into action, Tsuyu lashes out her tongue catching Aizawa in midair before reeling him into Iida’s waiting arms.

Shigaraki hollers out in anger. “That brat, I’ll kill you!!” He lunges forward but a black tendril wraps around his leg and pulls him down.

“No!!” Shouts Nue as he stands back up. “He’s mine!!”

His form is still using the Tetramand DNA and Ripjaws as a base, but he’s also combined with the features of a Conductoid. The long slender tendrils bursting out from behind his head and the tips of his claws have turned gold in color.

Nue charges his claws and tendrils flailing about in a frenzy. He can't stand the thought of Deku pulling off another fast one over his head, not again!!

Things aren’t looking good; Four Arms stands with his fists up ready to defend his friends and teacher from this stampeding monster. That’s not the only issue: Shigaraki and Kurogiri are now on edge after his stunt. Also, the villains that Eraserhead took down earlier are beginning to stir, and finally he’s way too exhausted to properly be able to fend them all off let alone Nue, who is clearly out for his blood.

Nue jumps forward roaring at the top of his lungs. “You’re No Hero!!”

Four Arms readies himself for the inevitable, if he moves then the others behind them will…will be killed. So, he’ll be the hero. He’ll face this villain head on…even if it kills him.

Nue opens his jaws up wide ready to rip and tear through him. “And You Never Will Be!!”

“SMASH!!!” Something all-powerful smashes right into Nue’s charging form, striking him so hard that several teeth break away and his bones crack as he’s sent flying away before crashing into the side of the U.S.J. leaving behind a gaping crater in his wake.

A powerful whirlwind kicks up so much rubble and dust that Four Arms has to brace himself as do the villains.

A powerful figure moves within the cloud of dust as they ready themselves for battle.

Shigaraki is visibly shaken by the newcomer, he has his hands out at the ready. “All Might?!” Is it him, has he finally come?!

Kurogiri leers into the shroud of dust trying to see if it’s truly the Symbol of Peace himself. “Is it him?”

There’s something there, whomever it was that struck down one of their strongest players is a real powerhouse. Everyone can just feel the pure flowing power radiating off, a power that is somehow both terrifying to the villains yet comforting to the young heroes.

Four Arms wheezes. “All Might?” Is it truly him? Did his classmate make it back to campus on time? 

“Have no fear!” The dust begins to clear away revealing their savior. “Because I am here!!” Ochaco Uraraka proclaims out loud for the world to hear.

Four Arms and the others blink in surprise. “Uraraka?”

Was…was that really her that performed that smash? Wow, she’s so much more powerful than they thought.

Ochaco flexes her arm in surprise. _‘No way, it didn’t break.’_ It’s true her arm’s totally fine, did she intensity control the output or something? 

Shigaraki glares from behind his mask, taking in this little girl who holds a power similar to All Might’s own. “Who hell is this?! And what was with that smash?” He furiously scratches at his neck. “Is she a disciple of All Might?”

Ochaco’s head swirls from side to side until she spots Four Arms, her eyes widen in worry at the sight of his injuries. “Deku! Are you okay?”

He yells out in response. “Am I okay?! Are you okay?!” Sure he’s just gone through a major beating, but her entire left arm is all swollen. It may have been from an earlier fight, but he can’t tell. 

Ochaco quickly approaches him. “I’m fine! But you look terrible.” 

He feels terrible too, now with the adrenaline leaving his system he shakes and stumbles struggling to keep himself up.

As Shigaraki, Kurogiri, and Nomu watch on hesitantly wondering where in the hell this little girl came from and how the hell, she was able to take out Nue.

While the villain leaders compose themselves, their minions are stirring and pick themselves up on their feet. They notice the group of students with their injured pro hero teacher. They can already smell the blood as they are ready to swarm the children. Before they can even move, a sheering cold freezes them in place, cocooning each of them in a sheet of freezing-cold ice.

Shigaraki throws his head to the side to see what could have caused it.

Shoto Todoroki calmly approaches his classmates from within the frozen horde. “You villains don’t stand a chance.” His gaze falls on Shigaraki. “None of you ever stood a chance.”

If he wasn’t mad before then he sure as hell is now. Shigaraki is absolutely fuming with rage; how could this have happened?! These brats are way more powerful than he could have imagined!! None of his minions have proven at all useful even Kurogiri and Nue! One slipped and let a student escape to get help and the other got smacked away by a little girl of all things! Now they’re without one of their tanks. The pro heroes will soon be upon them. Hell they don’t even have a hostage to use!! Just how in the fucking hell did things go wrong!! And to top it all off, All Might never even showed up!! Their mission was a failure from the very start!

Kurogiri seems to have analyzed the dire situation as well. “Shigaraki what shall we do?”

Shigaraki cries out in a fury. “Nomu kill these brats!!”

The obedient Nomu lets out an inhuman screech as it finally takes action and charges.

Ochaco and Todoroki take the front ready to defend their injured and worn out peers, but it looks like they may not have to interfere quite yet.

Because a new arrival plunges down from above. “You are no warrior.” The new arrival tackles the mutated Nomu. “You’re nothing but a beast!!” He throws his crossed arms forward, knocking Nomu back.

Four Arms, Tsuyu, and Iida have the same exact reaction, “Who’s this guy?!”

Ochaco smiles sheepishly. “Don’t worry he’s a…uh, a friend?”

A sweatdrop forms on Four Arms’ head. “Why don’t you sound convinced?”

Ochaco ignores him waving a hand towards their newest alley. “Anyway, everybody meet Tetrax.”

Tetrax turns to face the others, it's unclear to tell what he's thinking from behind his visor, but none of them recognize him. Is he a hero or something? Maybe a traitor?

“A pleasure, as Uraraka has stated my name is Tetrax. Tetrax Shard.”

##########(Flashback)#########

“I’m not here to harm this Deku. No, I’m here to save them from a far greater threat.”

Ochaco can’t believe what she’s just heard: part of the fact that that line was cliché, but also is this guy really here to save Deku? That can’t be. “What are you saying?”

The foe holds his hands up trying to be as unthreatening as possible. “I’m saying that we are having a misunderstanding. I am not here to harm anybody, in fact I’m on a retrieval mission.”

“Retrieval?”

“Yes, I came to retrieve the Omnitrix.”

“And like I said you can’t have it!”

Todoroki decides now to get some answers. “What is the Omnitrix?”

Woops, Ochaco forgot that Todoroki doesn’t know anything about that stuff. “Oh, um, it’s uh Deku’s watch-thingy. You know for his…Quirk.”

“Hm?”

Their foe decides to clarify further. “The Omnitrix is a pow-”

Ochaco practically throws herself into the sentence frantically throwing together a reasonable explanation. “Hahaha yeah it’s a super neat piece of technology that was costumed made for him!” She’s totally bullshititng but she can’t risk letting even Todoroki to find out the truth.

The intruder silently watches as Ochaco rambles on, but he understands these humans don’t know anything about his kind and it should remain that way. “Yes, and my client would like to have it.”

Todoroki leers at him. “Your client…you mean that leader with the severed hands?”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t follow. I was sent here by someone else to retrieve the device, but I never had any intention to harm any of you.”

“Then why did you attack us?”

“Technically, you attacked me first.”

Ochaco and Todoroki stiffen in response, they can’t really argue with that. They were the ones to attack first so technically he was only defending himself at least at first.

Todoroki still isn’t having it. “You still snuck in here, that seems pretty suspicious to me.”

“True but I have no real reason to fight you any longer. Also, the harming of innocents doesn’t sit right with me. I refuse to cross that line.”

Ochaco has one more question for this strange man. “So, what are you going to do now?”

He looks around taking in all the frozen villains. “From what I’ve gathered this army of degenerates have invaded and intend on bringing harm to this establishment and the inhabitants within it, which I’m assuming are fellow children, correct?”

Neither of them initially replies, but Ochaco gives in. “Yes.”

“Well I’ll never complete my mission with these…villains, as you called them, are about. And I can’t allow harm to come to those that are not deserving of it, especially children.” He grabs at his chin, assuming he has one underneath his helmet. “So, I will provide my assistance in their removal.” 

He doesn’t really think that they’ll buy that, does he?

Todoroki steps forward ready to deliver another ice-based attack. “What makes you think we can trust you?”

“You can’t.” He responds rather bluntly. “But let’s change that shall we?” He holds his hand out in greeting. “My name is Tetrax Shard.”

Ochaco decides to indulge their foe, perhaps if he’s willing to cooperate then maybe they should accept his help. He’s more than a capable fighter, and not to mention he was able to take a punch of One For All and get right back up. So, she for one would rather have him on their side than on the villains’.

“I’m…Ochaco Uraraka.”

Todoroki eyes her, thinking that she’s made the wrong decision, but then again, he’s proven that he hasn’t been making the right calls today so maybe he should just stick to following her lead. “Shoto Todoroki.”

Tetrax is grateful for their cooperation. “Uraraka, Todoroki will you allow me to assist you?”

Ochaco gulps, hoping she isn’t about to make a huge mistake that she’ll end up regretting later. “Answer me this first, alright?”

Tetrax allows it.

“You said that you aren’t here to harm Deku, but that you’re here to save him. Save him from what exactly?”

Tetrax eyes shift from Ochaco to Todoroki. “All I can say is that this threat is truly…out of this world.”

Todoroki is rightfully confused by odd language. _‘What kind of answer is that?’_

As for Ochaco, she completely gets the message. Tetrax was sent not by a villain but by an alien, so that means that Tetrax must be an alien too! And if that’s the case then he can’t risk harming any innocent humans otherwise he would have the Plumbers sent upon them.

Of course, there’s the concern that another alien knows about the Omnitrix and sent Tetrax to get it, but that’s a worry for latter.

Tetrax stretches his hand forward. “I ask again, will you accept my help?”

Ochaco looks the man right in the eye, if he’s really here to “save” Deku. Then he can’t be all bad, and he sounded genuinely sincere when he said he can’t stand the thought of innocent lives being lost.

With all this in mind, she can’t pass up the opportunity to gain a new powerful alley, even if it’s temporary. “Yes.”

Todoroki is completely caught off guard by her answer. “Uraraka?! No!” 

“Todoroki.”

Like a dog being hushed he quiets down.

“We need all the help we can get right now. He’s not here to harm any of us and he can fight, we need someone like him right now. Both Eraserhead and Thirteen are outnumbered and outgunned, and our classmates are all on their own, without All Might to save them.”

That sticks a chord with Todoroki, his gaze softens as he begins to understand her reasoning.

“We’d be fools to refuse Tetrax’s help.” Ochaco then steps forward towards the being in question. “Okay, Tetrax I’m going to put my faith in you.” She reaches out shaking the alien’s much larger and stronger hand.

Tetrax smiles from underneath his visor, not because she agreed to accept his assistance, but because she’s starting to become more decisive. “When this is done, I will be glad to explain myself, but for now.”

He pulls out an odd circular device, he tosses it down and the device opens up and becomes a high-teched hoverboard.

Ochaco and Todoroki’s eyes popout in surprise at the amazing piece of technology.

Tetrax steps aboard the floating device before gesturing for them to hop on. “Come now, let’s go help your companions.”

Ochaco offers up an almost excited smile; she may have made the right decision after all.

########(End Flashback)#######

Tetrax scans Four Arms until his eyes fall upon the Omnitrix. “So, you’re the one who wields the Omnitrix.”

The transformed Izuku internally gasps. _‘How does he know about it?!’_ His eyes drift to Ochaco for answers.

She can only offer a sheepish smile at best. “I’ll…tell you later. But he’s definitely on our side.”

He’ll just have to accept that for now, besides turning away a potential alley isn’t the best idea right now anyway. But he’ll definitely want a full explanation later.

Shigaraki is even more pissed off as Nomu picks itself up. “Now who’s this?! He’s not one of the heroes that was supposed to be here today?!” He turns to his abomination. “Nomu!!”

The monster screeches, its pincer clanking together before stampeding towards them all!

In response, Tetrax fires off a few rounds of laser bolts that burn in the creature's tough hide, but Nomu refuses to stop and in less than a second, it’s upon Tetrax. It slashes at him with its claw but Tetrax sidesteps and then delivers a sucker punch to his face making it reel back. 

While Tetrax handles Nomu, Ochaco looks to her friend for some information. “Deku, what’s the deal with these guys?”

Everyone quiets down as they listen in.

“That guy with the hands on his body is called Shigaraki, and whatever you do don’t let him touch you otherwise you’ll start to decay.”

Ochaco gulps.

“Of course there’s the warping villain from before, I think his name is Kurogiri. And there’s that Nomu, but…something is off about it.”

They all watch as both Tetrax and Nomu trade blows, but Tetrax’s superior combat experience seems to be pulling through. 

Todoroki begins to approach the fight, as he does so he turns back to his classmates namely the injured Four Arms. “You need to leave.” His eyes then drift over to Ochaco. “We’ll handle them.”

Ochaco gives him a curt nod, agreeing with his plan, before following the dual-haired boy.

Four Arms isn’t too sure, he’d rather stay and help them fight off these villains, and he’s just about to follow them into battle when Tsuyu grabs onto one of his hands..

Tsuyu gently tugs on his arm, looking up at him with eyes filled with worry. “Midoriya…”

She can’t bring herself to say it, but both her and Iida can’t just keep watching as he willingly throws himself into another death match. Their hearts, especially hers, can’t take it. And with his injuries he’s in no condition to continue fighting.

Izuku’s mind thinks back to earlier that morning; how he promised his mother that he’d be more careful and stay safe. And now…now someone else is expressing that same concern. “Alright…”

Although he doesn’t want to, he will retreat as to not worry his friends anymore. Besides if he were to stay, he’d only be a liability plus the Omnitrix will time out soon anyway.

Ochaco watches on in concern as Tsuyu leads the limping Four Arms away, she’d normally laugh at the comedic sight of Tsuyu’s small frame trying to help prop up the much larger begin but now is not the time for that.

Iida, with the injured Eraserhead on his back, leads the way back to the Entrance making sure to keep a fair distance between themselves and the immobilized villains incased by Todoroki’s ice.

While they make their retreat Tetrax rejoins the other two hero course students as Nomu backs off awaiting his master’s instructions.

Tetrax, without removing his gaze from the monster, gives his orders. “I’ll take the beast; you handle the other two.”

Ochaco raises her hands ready to utilize Zero-Gravity and Todoroki’s whole right side begins to produce a cold mist.

Shigaraki eyes the students with disdain. “Kurogiri.”

The mist villain steps forward. “Yes, Shigaraki.”

“Don’t you dare hold back.”

With that all three villains jump into action charging straight for them.

Tetrax intercepts the Nomu bringing the behemoth to a screeching halt as the other two villains pursue the children.

That Shigaraki guy is a lot faster than he seems because before they can even process it, he’s in front of them with his hand outstretched and ready to kill them.

Out of reflex if anything else the two jump back with Todoroki generating a small ice wall to separate them from the murderer.

Shigaraki easily breaks through the ice thanks to his Decay Quirk and he lunges after the two of them.

Ochaco doesn’t back down this time, instead she allows Shigaraki’s hand to brush by and in that moment, she grabs his arm, twists her body, and pulls. Shigaraki’s body gets tossed over hers and she slams him into the ground.

Todoroki’s eyes widen in pleasant surprise. ‘That move…it was the same one Midoriya pulled on Bakugou, during the Battle Training.’

It sure was, after all this time hanging out with Deku she picked up a thing or two and after seeing that move work so well on Bakugou she knew that she had to remember it for later.

Shigaraki growls before leaping up and taking a swipe at her, but Ochaco jumps back in the nick of time as Todoroki freezes Shigaraki’s feet in place.

“You damned brat!” Shigaraki howls. “I’ll kill you!!”

Kurogiri comes swooping in. “I’ll handle them!” He generates a warp gate that doesn’t strike the students but Shigaraki before warping him a fair distance away.

Kurogiri then turns his attention onto the children. “Now for you.”

As he looms over them something shiny within the mist catches Ochaco’s eye.

Todoroki strikes first firing off a pair of icicle lances that pierce through the mist without injuring the villain.

“You have to do better than that.” Kurogiri taunts, but maybe he shouldn’t be running his mouth.

Because Ochaco runs in low and throws herself towards the middle of the villain’s mist. Within the dark space she grabs onto something cold and metallic, acting fast she places her fingertips upon it. She can feel the villain becoming weightless, and she tosses him up into the air.

“What is this?!”

“Todoroki!!”

Upon hearing his name the recommended student generates a large icicle lance that races upward and collides with Kurogiri freezing him in place.

While those two were fighting off the leaders, Tetrax continued his one on one fight with Nomu.

The creature fights without thought, it’s simply trying to rip and crush away at his opponent. Tetrax’s fighting style is far superior with quick evasions and blocks before delivering several critical hits upon the monster. However, despite all this the creature is unrelenting as it screeches and growls while never appearing to be losing any stamina or strength. The same could not be said for Tetrax, he’s been trading blows with this thing for a while now, but it’s showing no sign of slowing down anytime soon. In fact it looks as if it’s just finally taking this match seriously.

He throws another punch into the creature’s armored shoulder but unlike before his fist hardly makes a dent. “What’s going on?”

Nomu growls in response, and with a sudden burst of speed its pincer collides with Tetrax’s midsection pushing him back.

Meanwhile, Shigaraki watches on and he actually smiles at the sight of Nomu’s success. “How do you like that…hero? That’s Nomu’s Shock Absorption at work.”

Ochaco overhears the villain. “Shock…Absorption?”

“Why yes.” He’s actually going to indulge a bit here. “Nomu was specifically designed to take on All Might himself and his Shock Absorption was tailored made for that. No matter how hard you strike him he’ll just shrug it off and turn that power into his own strength.” He grins maniacally from underneath the hand on his face. “There’s no way any of you can defeat him!”

The Nomu roars in response to Shigaraki’s declaration.

While Nomu roars, Kurogiri manages to break himself free from his imprisonment before warping himself to Shigaraki’s side.

Shigaraki leers to their opponents. “This is where your luck runs out, brats.” He raises his hand towards them. “Here’s where we’ll kill you.”

The three heroes glare right back at the villains, if they are going to be killed then they better believe that they’ll go down swinging.

At the same time, Iida, Tsuyu, Aizawa, and an injured Izuku have finally made it to the large staircase. Aizawa is still propped onto Iida’s back and Tsuyu is helping Izuku along, he’s gained a bit of strength back so he’s not as wobble and because he’s now transformed back Tsuyu can now properly support his weight.

His fingers rub against the now dirty and torn hoodie, he hopes that someone could fix it. He only had it for less than a day, it shouldn’t have been messed up so soon.

But that’s all insignificant as he peers back to see the progress of the fight.

Iida calls back knowing full well that if he doesn’t keep an eye on Midoriya that he’ll just run right back in there. “Come on, we have to keep moving.”

“R-right!” Izuku looks like a kid caught doing something wrong.

They all begin to ascend the stairs, looking up they see Shoji running down to meet them. “I’m on my way!”

They all smile up at him, happy to see that he and the others are alright.

Shoji meets them and he offers to take the injured Aizawa off Iida’s hands. As they transfer their teacher Izuku continuously peers back at the battle, silently hoping that they can handle it, but he so desperately wants to help too.

The entire time he’s been looking back, Tsuyu has been quietly observing him; she knows what he wants to do and so she removes his arm and steps away.

Izuku, not expecting the gesture, looks at her in confusion. “What are you-”

She can’t bear to look him in the eye. “Go. I figured out that there’s no way to stop you.”

Izuku offers her an apologetic smile. “Thank you.”

“Just…just promise me that you’ll be okay.”

“I promise.” He will make it out alive and intact, not just for her but for his friends, classmates, teachers, and his mom.

With no other words to exchange between them, Izuku turns right around and takes off to enter right back into the fray.

Iida finally notices Izuku leaving them. “Where is he going?!”

Tsuyu offers up a sad smile. “Probably to do something reckless.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Things have been getting more and more dire as the battle rages on. Tetrax is still taking on the Nomu but its landing more and more hits as Tetrax’s stamina slowly begins to drain away piece by piece.

Ochaco and Todoroki aren’t faring any better, now that the villains have a read on their Quirks, they are much more prepared to deal with them both. They make an effort not to let Ochaco get too close while also keeping an eye on Todoroki before he pulls off an ice attack.

At one point, Shigaraki swipes his hand at Ochaco’s face, and in a panic to avoid being hit she allows her body to fall backwards. With his opponent down, Shigaraki propels his hand downward but Ochaco swiftly rolls out of the way as Shigaraki’s hand slams onto the ground, decaying it in the process.

Todoroki pulls Ochaco further away from Shigaraki. “Are you okay?”

She holds the back of her head, it smacked itself against the ground when she fell. “I-I think so.”

They’re distracted now, it’s the villains' chance to strike! “Kurogiri, now!”

“Right!” Kurogiri launches himself towards the students to engulf them into his mist.

Ochaco and Todoroki don’t have enough time to react, as Kurogiri is upon them.

“Get away from them!!” Izuku roars out as he charges right towards the villain.

Todoroki and Ochaco now watch on in shock as Izuku throws himself at the just as surprised villain.

But before any of them can collide a booming explosion strikes Kurogiri from behind. “Get The Hell Outta My Way, Deku!!”

The teens cry out in surprise. “Bakugou?!” ‘

As Izuku skids across the ground, Bakugou slams Kurogiri down, pinning him in place by pushing down on the villain’s metallic brace.

With their opponent down, Todoroki shifts his attention to Tetrax and Nomu. An idea forms into his head and fires out a sheet of ice and crawls across the ground until enveloping both the Nomu and Tetrax as they grapple with each other. Both combatants become completely frozen in place, bringing them both a complete halt, but Todoroki knows that his ice will only affect one of them. Proven by the fact that Tetrax flexes and breaks himself free of the ice. As for the Nomu, it shivers and growls softly, unlike Tetrax it is affected by the cold which has already set in causing the monster’s skin and flesh to freeze up under the sub-zero temperatures.

Shigaraki growls in irritation, but he doesn’t have time to get distracted as he avoids an incoming attack by Kirishima.

“Gahh!!” Kirishima slashes at Shigaraki but the villain dodges each attempt before leaping away. “Crap! That was gonna be cool!”

Bakugou grins down at the struggling Kurogiri. “Guess I found your body that time ya smoky bastard!”

Izuku is so happy to see Bakugou that he slips up. “Kacchan…”

Bakugou catches the slip of the name, but he doesn’t call it out. 

The tables have really turned in their favor.

Shigaraki has realized this as well. “Kurogiri. How could you let this brat get the best of you?” He rubs the back of his neck. “You’ve gotten us into a real jam here.”

Bakugou smiles away has he presses his hand down onto Kurogiri’s metal brace. “Heh, he got careless, you dumb villain.” He leers down at the smoky bastard himself. “It wasn’t hard to figure you out. Only certain parts of you turn into that smoky warp gate.” Namely his head and arms. “You use that mist to hide your actual body as kind of distraction. Thinking that made you safe!” Which is why his and Kirishima’s earlier attacks failed to hit. “That’s why we missed.”

His hand pushed down on the villain. “But if you didn’t have a body you wouldn’t be wearing this neck armor, right? You’re not immune to physical attacks if they’re well aimed.”

Kurogiri grunts as his yellow eyes narrow in anger, but Bakugou give him a fiery warning by setting off a few explosive bursts onto the neck armor.

Kurogiri groans as if in aching pain, maybe that brace was there for a reason after all.

“Don’t move!” Bakugou’s grin is so wide and terrifying he looks like a psycho that’s captured his next victim. “You try anything funny and I’ll blow your ass up right now. You got it? They’ll be cleaning you up for weeks.”

Kirishima can’t help but smile at Bakugou’s…odd threat. “Oh. That doesn’t sound very heroic.”

Shigaraki, rather than becoming furious and lashes out, instead holds his hands together and calmly assesses his predicament.

“You’ve taken down both of our heaviest hitters, and you captured our way out. and most of you are still at full health…”

The group of heroes group together wary about what this villain is going to do in response.

“Kids these days really are something, our League of Villains really didn’t stand a chance…” Shigaraki calmly looks to the frozen Nomu. “Nomu…take out that explosive brat we need our escape route back.”

Everyone watches on in shock and awe as the obedient creature begins to free itself, but with most of its body frozen large chunks of frozen flesh break away from its body. The Nomu hardly makes a noise as its legs and an arm break away like glass and it slowly wobbles its way forward as more pieces of frozen flesh and muscle break away.

Izuku grabs at his mouth. “His body’s falling apart, but…he’s still moving?!”

Tetrax steps to the front throwing his arm out to the side. “All of you, get back!! There’s no telling what else it can do!”

Kirishima finally notices the unfamiliar Tetrax. “Oh, who’s that guy?”

Ochaco quickly throws in a reply. “Oh, uh, he’s a friend. Yeah.” This really isn’t the time to have a conversation.

Something else is wrong here, and Todoroki wants to know what it is. “Hang on. How can this guy have two Quirks? I thought his Quirk was Shock Absorption.”

Shigaraki grins. “I don’t remember saying that’s all he can do. This is Hyper-Regeneration.”

And sure enough all the damaged flesh and armor that broke away is just as quickly replaced as the Nomu’s muscles and shell regrow themselves until hardly any damage is left. 

“Nomu is a super-powered living sandbag designed to withstand even All Might’s power!”

Just as it’s claw fully develops, Nomu charges moving at a blistering speed right for Bakugou.

He’s way too fast for most of them and in a blink of an eye the Nomu is set upon the stunned Bakugou. It throws a powerful slash that knocks his target away until they crash right into the side of the Conflagration Zone.

Izuku cries out in horror, there’s no way Bakugou survived such a brutal attack. “KACCHAN!!!”

“I’m…I’m alright.” And sure enough he is, well he’s a bit scratched up but he’s fine he’s a few feet away from where he started but he’s fine. _‘I couldn’t do a thing…!’_

Kirishima’s jaw drops. “Wha?! You dodged that?! Wow!”

“Shut up, I didn’t…” 

Ochaco tilts her head. “Wait, then how…?” She then turns to the collision and she gets her answer.

A downed Tetrax is smashed into the side of the wall and judging from his posture he isn't’ getting back up any time soon.

Ochaco cries out to him. “Tetrax!”

Todoroki is just as equally stunned as his teammate. “That attack actually hurt him?!”

It did. During that attack, Tetrax was able to shove Bakugou out of the way at the last second but in doing so he couldn’t properly defend himself from Nomu's attack. Combined with the fact that he was already getting worn down, there was no way he’s going to recover fast enough. He can feel his side breaking away from underneath his suit and even his helmet has been cracked.

Shigaraki eyes Tetrax, happy to see that the last real hero has been dealt with. _‘He took the hit for the kid.’_ He chuckles at the thought. “Anything to save a comrade, right?” he turns his attention back on the teens. “You know you kids are really becoming a pain. This entire time you've done nothing but get in our way, and what’s worse is that not even All Might decided to show up!! We’ve efficiently lost our chance!! This is a failed Quest!! And that just makes me so frustrated!!”

Kurogiri and Nomu rejoin their leader’s side.

“And if I can’t kill All Might, then I’ll settle for killing his pride!!” Shigaraki howl's out into the U.S.J.

Knowing full well that another battle is imminent Bakugou pushes Izuku back. “Get back Deku!!”

Whether that’s out of concern is unclear, but it’s the smart decision he can’t do much while the Omnitrix is recharging anyway.

Before either side can make a move something else finally returns to the battlefield after being taken out.

An abomination of a Tetramand, a Piscciss Volann, and a Conductoid bursts into the scene. “We’re not done yet, Deku!!”

Kirishima reels back in shock at the sight of the hideous creature. “What the hell is that?! Is it another guy like Nomu?!”

Nue stomps his way forward taking in the situation. “Huh?!” He comes to a stop and gives a jagged toothed smile. “Well, looks like we have a real reunion on our hands here!” One of his mutated arms points a claw at Ochaco. “You’re that gravity girl, right? I haven’t seen you since the Kiyashi Ward Mall.”

“Kiyashi Ward Mall?”

Nue then points at Bakugou, his smile widening as he does so. “Good to see you too, Blasty! I’ve wanted to take you on for a while as well.”

In typical Bakugou fashion he roars out at the villain. “Who the hell are you calling Blasty?!”

Shigaraki eyes his most troublesome ally. _‘How many of these brats does he know?’_

Ochaco recognizes the creature as the thing she smashed away from before, but she had assumed that it was out of commission. But what really concerns her is how this monster with…familiar features knows who she is. 

Upon noticing both Ochaco's and Bakugou’s confused expression Izuku chokes down his fears and decides to let them in on it. “Guys…that’s Henzu Uuichi.”

Both gasp in shock. “Uuichi?!”

Ochaco looks back at the creature and sure enough that's his face right there, even though they met once it’s hard to forget the face of someone like him. _‘There’s no way! How and why is he like that?! I knew they had a falling out but… What the heck happened to him?!’_

Bakugou scuffs in annoyance. “So, that’s Uuichi is it? He’s just as fucking ugly as I remember him to be.” Bakugou brushes himself off as he gets back on his feet. _‘But…what’s with his Quirk? Why does he look like a freakier version of Deku?’_

“Hahaha!! Oh, you’re just as funny as always Blasty!” Nue licks his lips. “Now die!!” Nue sprints forward.

The fletching heroes, minus Izuku, jump into action to take on the monster.

Shigaraki growls in frustration. He'd like to jump in too, but Nue is too unpredictable right now! He’s already interfered before, so he’d mostly likely do it again. So for now he gestures for Kurogiri and Nomu to be on standby; they'll let Nue handle this for now.

As the teens take on Nue, Izuku falls back to check up on Tetrax hoping he can help in some way. “Hey, are you okay? That was a pretty nasty hit.”

Tetrax groans. “I’ll be fine. I just need to heal.”

Izuku grabs his large arm and tries to pull him up but he’s heavier than he appears. “We have to get you out of here.”

Tetrax hardly budges, but he does grab Izuku’s arm.

Izuku freezes in place when he realizes that Tetrax is taking in the sight of the Omnitrix admiring the small alien device.

“Is this the Omnitrix?”

“How…how do you know about it?”

Tetrax peers up at the boy. “…Tell me, what do you know about it?”

Izuku’s mouth instantly shuts tight, not willing to reveal his secrets.

Tetrax chuckles at the sight of the nervous child. “Judging from your silence I’m assuming you know enough that it shouldn’t be in the wrong hands.” Tetrax’s grip tightens around Izuku’s arm but not out of aggression, more like to make sure that it’s something to revere. “Good, nice to know someone capable of reasoning is wielding it.”

“Why…why do you care so much?”

“I was tasked with retrieving the Omnitrix.”

“Retrieve it?” Retrieve it for who? And for what? How’d his client even find out about the Omnitrix?

“Yes, but that is not my mission.”

“You’re mission?” This guy is really confusing, just what is he here to do?!

“Yes. The Omnitrix is one of the most powerful weapons in the entire universe. There is nothing else like it and it cannot fall into those that will utilize its power for conquest and destruction!” Tetrax takes a breath and his voice softens as he falls into a depressive state of mind. “A lesson I learned far too late…”

Izuku remains silent as Tetrax is clearly dealing with some internal emotions. He’s still trying to wrap his head around this guy, and especially about what he had to say about the Omnitrix. _‘It’s a weapon? And the one of the most powerful in the…universe? Just who would have built such a thing? And how?!’_

“From what I’ve witnessed you’re not too impressive of a warrior.”

Izuku a little taken back by that, just how much of his fight did this guy see? Well he did throw himself at the Kurogiri guy without a real plan so…

“You’re far too reckless, and you’re too willing to throw yourself in the line of fire for others, a dangerous trait.”

Okay he does have Izuku there.

“But also…a noble one.” Tetrax lifts Izuku’s arm displaying his alien device. “I’m not one for destiny and fate but perhaps there is a reason you wield the Omnitrix… Perhaps you can help in more ways than you know.”

“What do you mean?”

“…I can’t stand the idea of the wicked bringing harm to those who are innocent. And I’d like to believe that you’re the same way.” He falls silent before speaking again, there’s just one last thing he needs to know. “Tell me why do you wield this power?”

That’s…a question Izuku was not expecting, but he has an answer. “I’m…I’m someone that's always felt useless, like I couldn’t help anyone no matter what I tried…but I always dreamed of being a hero. A hero that saves everyone with a smile on my face.” Izuku places a gentle hand onto the Omnitrix. “And the Omnitrix allows me to live out my dream. I don’t wield its power for my sake, but for the sake of others.”

“Good answer.” Izuku can’t see it but Tetrax is smiling from underneath his helmet. “Alright, then I leave it in your hands.” Tetrax grips the Omnitrix holding it tightly. “Harness its power not for yourselves but to serve others. To save and preserve life…!! On all worlds!!”

Izuku is more than willing to do as he says, he will use this device not for himself but for others. Starting with saving his friends, and as if agreeing with his resolve, the Omnitrix shifts and glows green ready to get back in the action.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Shigaraki watches on as Nue tosses Kirishima away, the rock-solid teen bounces off the ground but comes to a stop when Todoroki stops him with an ice wall. “Aren’t any of you ready to give up yet, there’s no chance any of you are going to survive this.”

Bakugou blasts Nue in the face before blasting himself back and out of reach, “Go to hell, Handjob!!”

Nue chuckles. “Hehehe, see someone gets it.”

“Shut up!” Shigaraki snaps. “If you weren’t so damn useful, I’d turn you into dust right here and now.”

Nue simply laughs back at his supposed leader giving the teens a moment to regroup.

Ochaco holds her swollen arm. “We have to do something different!” Everything they have done doesn’t seem to be doing anything and there’s still the rest of the villain, especially that Nomu, to worry about.

Kirishima raises his hardened arms up. “Yeah, but what?”

Bakugou glances down at his only grenade gauntlet, he’d love to use it but with that misty bastard in play there’s no guarantee he can pull off since he’ll only get one shot.

Ochaco takes in Nue’s massive form of Four Arms, Ripjaws, and Feedback and she comes to a possible weakness. “Todoroki, try your flames!”

Todoroki looks to her in surprise as do the others; it’s a good idea. Nue’s current forms would be weak against the heat.

“I know you don’t like it, but it could stop them!!”

“I…” His voice trails off, he can’t bring himself to use that man’s Quirk. But if he doesn’t…

Shigaraki has had enough of just waiting on the sidelines, they’ve wasted far too much time. “Nomu, Nue, Kurogiri let’s take them.” He charges with the others in toe. “Let’s clear the game and go home!”

Nue grins. “You got it!!” He gets ahead of himself and readies himself for one last attack. “I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time Blasty!!”

Bakugou scowls. _‘Shit!’_

The others ready themselves for one last showdown, but in full honesty there is no way for them to win this. Nue and Nomu were one thing by themselves, but now they have to take on both of them and the other murderous villains are just too much for them. There’s no conceivable way they can all get out of this alive.

Just as they are ready to accept their grim fate, Izuku runs right past them without so much as glancing at them.

“Deku/Midoriya!!”

Nue grins in pleasant surprise at Izuku’s brash decision. “Ready for another beating?! Alright!!” He reels his arms back, his golden tip claws radiating electricity. “There ain’t nothing you can do that I can’t do better, Deku!!”

“I said it before, and I’ll say it again!” With no hesitation Izuku’s hand slams down on the Omnitrix. “IT’S HERO TIME!!!”

Bam!! His entire body gets enveloped in blinding green light. But that hardly fazes Nue as he thrusts his claws forward to tear apart his exbestfriend. “Die, DEKU!!!”

Before his claws can even scratch Izuku a massive wave of diamond-like crystals rushes forward crashing into Nue’s large frame. The wave of crystal slams and smashes him backwards, Nue desperately tries to regain his footing but it’s of no use, as the crystals send him crashing right into the side of the U.S.J. before entrapping him in said diamonds. Hopefully that will keep him out of the fight for a while.

The transformed Izuku stands tall with confidence and the resolve to fight on. “I probably should have mentioned this sooner, but…” The Petrosapian takes deep breath before declaring to the world that. “Deku is the name of a hero!!”

Everyone even the villains watch with astounded expression they cannot believe what they just saw. Izuku Midoriya, A.K.A. Deku, has a new transformation.

This new form looks to be a silicon-based life form whose body is composed of durable indigo and diamond-like crystals. He has a sharp rectangular head with a back fin, and several long shards are protruding from the being’s shoulder blades.

Bakugou is a bit pissed by Deku’s newest form, but mainly he’s just surprised that Deku of all people was able to pull something like this out of his ass. “Who the hell is this diamonded headed guy?!”

The Petrosapian grabs his chin. “Hm, diamond headed… Diamondhead, yeah I like it.” He gives Bakugou a big crystal thumbs up.

Bakugou is quick to snap back in his usual fashion. “Like what?!” 

Kirishima shoves Bakugou aside. “Woah, Midoriya is that you?”

The newly dubbed Diamondhead smirks. “Yup, I got a brand-new transformation.” He raises his diamond fist admiring the unnatural yet beautiful example of evolution.

At least someone can appreciate Diamondhead’s arrival, because Shigaraki sure as hell doesn’t. “Nomu!!”

Nomu springs into action and Diamondhead is more than willing to take him head on.

Ochaco tries to call after him. “Deku, wait!!”

“I got this!!”

And he does, Nomu thrusts his claw forward and grabs Diamondhead’s arm. It then squeezes down in an attempt to slice and crush its opponent’s arm clean off, but instead its own claw is what breaks apart making the monster cry out in agony.

With its defense down, Diamondhead grabs Nomu bashes his own head as hard as he can against the monster’s shelled head. His headbutt struck Nomu's exposed brain, making it groan while stumbling backwards. Not one to waste an opportunity, Diamondhead rushes in to deliver some swift punches but thanks to the creature’s Shock Absorption it doesn’t do much and thanks to its Hyper-Regeneration it’s back up to full strength.

“Not good, pure force isn’t the answer.” Diamondhead raises his arms examining, perhaps he can try something else.

Either by instinct or reflex he thrusts his hands towards the Nomu. His hands seemingly shift into his arm and a shower of crystal shards fly out and impale themselves into the Nomu.

Diamondhead, and some of the others, grin with satisfaction. “Oo, you are so in for it now.”

He rapidly fires more shards into the monster; it screeches and roars in pain as its Hyper-Regeneration tries to keep up. Out of desperation it swings its claw wildly to swat away the bullet-like crystals, but it only worsens its situation as the shards pierce right through its shell.

Nomu roars and in that moment one of the shards impales its exposed brain making the beast come to a sudden halt as its brain functions temporarily cease. 

Not going to get another opportunity like this, Diamondhead presses his hand against the ground and crystals burst out from his hand and towards the Nomu before entombing it in the diamond-like material.

Diamondhead smiles at a job well done, but his moment is cut short by a cry from Ochaco. “Look out!!”

During his fight, he failed to keep track of the other villains, specifically Shigaraki who managed to sneak up to him while running at full speed. “I’ll kill you!!” He slams his hand against Diamondhead’s chest.

The alien braces himself for the worst as his teammates gasp and watch on in horror, and Shigaraki grins madly at his pressed hand waiting for Decay to do its work and kill the bothersome teenager.

But it never comes, it gets to the point that Diamondhead opens his eyes and sees absolutely nothing happening to his body. “Um, are you having performance issues?”

Shigaraki growls up at the alien before slamming his hands around the freak’s head. “No!! It can’t be!!” His Quirk, his Decay, doesn’t work on this guy!!

Diamondhead is oddly calm despite the villain's attempt to kill him.

Shigaraki lets go of the morphed boy knowing full well that he can’t do a thing to him. “You…CHEATED!!!” His entire body is trembling, not of fear, but of fuming rage.

Shigaraki leaps back as a sheet of ice nearly ensnares him in place.

Looks like Todoroki was trying to capture him and thus bring this all to an end. “Don’t go throwing a tantrum just because of your lack of competence.”

Ochaco runs up to Diamondhead examining his body for any sign of injuries. “Deku, how’d you survive that?”

“I’m not sure. Well I am made out of crystals and crystal doesn’t decay.” That has to be it, he’s immune to Shigaraki’s Quirk!

Kirishima grins happily at the explanation. “If that’s true then.” 

Bakugou’s face turns into that of an excited predator. “Then we can kill these punks.”

Ochaco isn’t too sure about that. “No offense, but how? That monster can regenerate and take anything we dish at it!”

Diamondhead shakes his crystal skull. “No…it can only take anything All Might dishes at it.” He examines each of his teammates until his eyes come upon Bakugou’s remaining gauntlet. “I have a plan, but we need to hold off that warping villain. He’s the wild card here.”

Todoroki caresses his left arm. Throughout this fight and the one against Tetrax he’s been more of a liability than being useful. All because he’s been relying on his mother’s Quirk. And sure it’s proven useful against the weaker villains, key word being “weaker”. But when it comes to these monsters: Shigaraki, Kurogiri, Nue, and especially that Nomu guy… He’s nothing to this group.

His mind replays how Ochaco essentially begged him to use his fire earlier, but he refused then too. Why, because of pride? Because of its…that man’s Quirk? Probably. But he made a vow, to become a hero using his mother’s Quirk. But now…that isn’t enough anymore. And if he wants to call himself a hero than he needs to step up. “I’ll handle him.”

Ochaco raises an eyebrow at Todoroki. “Are you sure?”

Todoroki meets her gaze. “Yes.”

Diamondhead shrugs, if his plan is to work then it might as well be Todoroki. “Alright, we’ll leave him to you.”

Todoroki walks forward with purpose and a fire in his heart.

Kurogiri spots him approaching, and knowing of his powerful ice Quirk, he quickly nominates himself to take care of the oncoming issue. “Say farewell!!”

In response, Todoroki does something that nobody was expecting. With a wave of his left arm a torrent of flames burst to life colliding with the misty villain.

Kurogiri yelps, as he tries and fails to avoid the oncoming flames forcing him back.

Kirishima is completely gobsmacked. “He’s using his fire, woah!!”

Diamondhead holds his hands close to his chin, wishing he had his Quirk notebook. “So cool.”

Even Bakugou looks amazed by the dancing inferno.

But the flames mean something a little bit more to Ochaco. All day he’s been so against using that side of his Quirk, and now he finally man’s up and let his fiery side known to the world. And it is spectacular. _‘Thank you, Todoroki.’_

Todoroki keeps it up, his flames dancing before him as if to celebrate being released from their confinement. _‘For now…I’ll use his Quirk. But…that’s because even I have to admit it’s powerful. So for now, I’ll use it for myself until Half-Cold becomes strong enough to rival it.’_ The flames burst out even more. _‘Take a good hard look Uraraka. Because after this…I will not be using my flames ever again.’_

Diamondhead grins, with Todoroki’s keeping Kurogiri at bay then there’s nothing to stop them from achieving victory. “Everyone listen to me and follow my plan to a T otherwise it’s over for all of us.”

“You got it!”

“I’m with you, diamond man!”

Bakugou growls in response, but he pulls off a smirk letting the others know that he’s more than willing to cooperate.

As Diamondhead quickly shares his plan, Shigaraki orders the Nomu to attack the flame-spewing hero. They need Kurogiri to escape, which is looking more and more appealing of a plan than any.

With his master’s orders ringing in his head, Nomu manages to tear its way out of his crystal tomb, its clawed arm ripping out of its socket as he does.

Despite the lack of a limb the monstrosity charges right for Todoroki.

It doesn’t get far as a wall of diamonds burst forth from the ground cutting it off from Todoroki and Kurogiri.

With the Nomu isolated, Diamondhead's ready for the next part of the plan. “Uraraka!!”

“Right!” Ochaco presses her hands together allowing Zero-Gravity and One For All to surge into being.

Her entire body is enveloped in a heavenly pink aura before it explodes outward swallowing up everything within the Central Plaza in a weightless, floating field of pink light.

Of course this does mean everyone. None of them are unaffected by the Zero-Gravity Field: Nomu, Shigaraki, and even Kurogiri begin to float upward.

Shigaraki struggles to reach out to something solid but he continues to float upward. “What’s going on?!” His gaze falls upon Ochaco whose face is all puffed up and tight as she tries to keep the Zero-Gravity Field going. “She’s the one causing this! Just how much power does she hold…?! ”

Kurogiri spots the girl from above. “I’ll get her! Argh!”

Another burst of flames prevents him from moving any further.

Todoroki, who at this point has gotten used to Ochaco’s field, stands before the villain. “You still have to get past me.”

Diamondhead too slowly floats upward, but he could care less about that and more on how Nomu is flailing about in the air. Now's the time to end this!! “Bakugou!!”

Nearby both Kirishima and Bakugou stand at the ready. Kirishima’s entire body is hardened while his legs and arm are embedded into the ground while using his free hand to hold Bakugou in place, acting as a back support.

Bakugou smiles like a maniac as he aims his right arm and gauntlet right towards the weightless Nomu. “I’ve been waiting to show this off since day one.” He grabs the pin. “So long you sorry pile of shit!!” And he pulls it. “DIE!!!”

Bakugou unleashes his raw explosive power as a fiery-beam of explosive energy surges forth. The shearing power radiates heat and wind bellows around them propelling them against Diamondhead’s crystal wall. They all watch on as the beam speeds right towards its awaiting and helpless target, the blast completely engulfs the screeching and roaring monstrosity launching it upward until it smashes right into the roof of the U.S.J. where a section of the roof is blown away as the beam explodes outward in a fiery eruption generating powerful shockwaves that reverberate across the entirety of the U.S.J..

And with the Nomu gone, Ochaco releases her Quirk resulting in everyone collapsing on the ground. She holds a hand over her mouth before inevitably vomiting up her stomach’s contents. But despite the nauseousness and the strain on her body the only emotion she can feel is relief and joy. They had done it!

Shigaraki lays defeated on the ground, his eyes locked onto the fresh gaping hole in the U.S.J.’s roof. He can’t believe it! The bio-engineered specifically created to destroy All Might was defeated by a bunch of kids!! “Nomu…he’s…he’s…”

Before he can get another word out, he finds himself entombed in a case of crystals with only his head sticking out of the top.

Diamondhead lifts his hand off the ground after the villain’s been secured. “He’s been defeated as have you.”

Kurogiri attempts to rush to Shigaraki’s side, but he gets encased in a similar tomb of ice.

“You’re not going anywhere either.” Todoroki presses his left hand against the ice tomb, his skin steams as he readies his flames giving the message that if he makes a move then he’ll be burned to a crisp.

Ochaco jumps up in gleeful joy. “We did it!” They survived and somehow defeated the villains! They saved everybody!

Kirishima feels similarly. “Heck yeah we did!”

Bakugou stomps over towards Todoroki. “These bastards were nothing. Complete garbage.”

Todoroki raises an eyebrow, not appreciating Bakugou’s blatant disregard of their opponents' abilities but he has to admit it. It does feel rather good to have contributed to this win.

While the heroes cheer in celebration, a human formed Nue crawls out from the wave of still crystals. He had to shrink back into his regular form in order to slip out of the tight positions.

He is pissed and surprised to see the results of the battle, specifically his eyes fall on the Omnitrix dial on the unfamiliar form of Deku’s.

He growls under his breath. “Deku…”

What the hell is his power?! How could he have another form?! Was he hiding it all this time?! Was he trying to trick him earlier?! Fine, if Deku wants to hoard all the power for himself then there’s only one logical conclusion. ‘ _I’ll just take it for myself!’_

And so while the hero course students see to each of their injuries and plan out what to do next, Nue sneaks his way forward using the large crystals as a means to hide behind. The hero students are so content believing that the worst is over that they don’t even consider that a villain is approaching them.

And that will be a mistake that they will end up regretting for a long time.

“You’re mine!!!” Nue leaps out and rushes the unsuspecting morphed Deku.

Nue crashes right into him, his hand immediately getting to work to absorb and pry at the Omnitrix.

“No!!” Diamondhead grabs at Nue’s arm trying to pry him off but his exfriend transforms himself into his Tetramand form ensuring that he’s not going anywhere .

Ochaco throws herself at Nue. “Get away from him!”

He simply bats her away with one of his extra arms and does the same with Kirishima who tried and failed to save Midoriya.

Diamondhead howls in pain as the familiar feeling of suffocation prevents him from forming words. His howls of pain grows when Nue’s absorption increases making him feel like he is ripping at his own heart. The Omnitrix discharges and sparks with green energy as if itself is also flailing about to remove the unwanted attacker.

Nue grabs at Diamondhead’s skull squeezing it within his deathgrip.

“The power!! You don’t deserve it!!” His Osmosis increases its pull on the device.

“AHHHH!!!” Diamondhead roars out in agony as he desperately tries to pry the much stronger foe way, but it is of no avail.

As if heading its wearer’s plea for help, the Omnitrix’s energy explodes outward generating a blast that knocks everybody away. The blast is so powerful that something big smashes into the side of the diamond wall.

The blast also results in Todoroki getting knocked over and the ice entrapping Kurogiri breaks apart, freeing the warping villain. 

Izuku groans grabbing at his fleshy chest, he’s very relieved to find himself in one piece and the Omnitrix safely secured on his wrist.

Ochaco brushes off a few pieces of dust and rocks that fell atop of her. “Deku, are you alright?”

After gaining control of his breathing Izuku answers, “I’ve been better.” He then takes notice of the red light Omnitrix, and his mind thinks back to how Henzu first gained his abilities. “Wait, where’s-”

“RRRRRAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!” A monstrous inhuman roar reverberates out as something big and hulking crawls out from within the partly shared crystal wall.

It’s Nue…or at least it looks like him, because it’s a complete monster if they’ve ever seen one. Nue’s mutated form is a mashup of all the Omnitrix aliens Izuku has gathered so far and he’s so large that his shirt and shoes have given away exposing the true catastrophe of the incident.

The base form is that of a Tetramand but with many key differences. Nue’s upper right arm is that of Diamondhead’s while his upper left arm is that of Lodestar’s. His lower pair of arms are that of Water Hazard’s. Large gaping holes like that of Terraspin’s are embedded into Nue’s chest and abdomen, and the Geochelone Aerio shell somehow morphed into part of his back acting like a thin layer of skin. Ditto’s fins poke out from his shoulder and two slim black tendrils have grown out from his shoulder blades. Several circular protrusions glow green down his back, thanks to Buzzshock’s DNA. And finally a Kineceleran tail swishes behind him. But what really brings the monstrosity together is Nue’s mutated face. His jaws are that of Ripjaws and his left eyes have split like that of Four Arms while only a single large eye like that of Grey Matter is on his right, and finally Ripjaws’ lore is dangling from Nue’s forehead poking out of his long black locks.

“RRRRRAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!” With so much power and rage clouding his mind Nue is thrown into a complete frenzy as his many limbs lash out at anything and everything that moves before him.

The fletching heroes quickly make use of their evasion and blocking skills. Kirishima simply hardens his body as Nue whips his tendrils at him. Todoroki uses a small pillar of ice to spring himself away. Bakugou uses an explosion to repel Nue’s thrashing tail, and Ochaco grabs Izuku pulling him out of the way before he could be smashed to bits by Nue’s crystalized fist.

Nue is in such a distorted frenzy that he smashes his crystallized fist against Shigaraki’s tomb, either because he wanted to release him, or he was straight up trying to attack him is unclear.

Shigaraki is swift to retreat towards Kurogiri not wanting to get in the middle of this ordeal. _‘What the hell?! What’s happened to him?!’_

Unbeknownst to anyone, but Izuku is sharing some similar thoughts. _‘No. No! No! No!! He’s mutated himself even further! He’s…he’s a complete monster now!’_ He rolls out of the way as Nue’s Lodestar-like hand smashes against the ground. _‘If he’s not stopped…he could destroy this place alone!’_

That is not as impossible as one would think. There are no more heroes, the students are still scattered across the facility, they’ve used up Bakugou’s most powerful attack, the villain leaders are free, and the Omnitrix is back to red! It’s going to take a real miracle for them to stop this rampaging monster.

In that moment, as if a higher being decided to answer their prayers, the doors to the U.S.J. are smashed right open as something or rather someone finally makes their entrance.

A total and complete silence has fallen over the entirety of the U.S.J. as a result and everyone's attention turns to the main gate, even the thrashing Nue stops for a moment to see what’s happening, but all they can see is giant dust cloud veiling whoever has arrived.

Footsteps echo out as a tall hulking figure appears.

The group of students that were near the entrance are smiling brightly at the sight before them, tears stream down a few of their faces, even Shoji’s extra limbs have become extra smiling grins.

And how could they not smile for when the deeper the darkness is around you…the brighter the light shines when a ray of hope appears!

Mineta cheers excitedly. “We-we’re saved!!”

Tears of joy and relief stream down Mina’s and Hagakure’s faces.

Even Tsuyu’s eyes aren’t without tears as she breaks into a smile.

Iida stares up in awe as he gently holds Aizawa. “He’s here…All Might.”

He sure is, the Number One Hero himself has arrived and he is certainly not happy.

With a terrifying frown All Might tosses his suit jacket aside before stepping out from the dust cloud. **“I COULDN’T SHAKE THE FEELING THAT SOMETHING HAD GONE WRONG HERE WHEN AIZAWA AND THIRTEEN DIDN’T ANSWER MY CALLS. SO I HURRIED OVER.”** All though in his skinner form originally as to save on his daily limit. **“AND HOW COULD I MISS THAT EXPLOSION FROM ATOP THE U.S.J.”** That was truly a sight to behold although at the time he had assumed the worst. **“I THEN RAN INTO YOUNG SERO ALONG THE WAY. HE TOLD ME OF THE VILLAINY AT WORK HERE.”**

His frown hardens as his teeth grind together. **_‘I CAN’T BELIEVE ALL OF THIS WENT DOWN WHILE I WAS RESTING AND GETTING LECTURED.’_** He’s an absolute failure as a hero if he couldn't even be here to do his job. He can’t stand to think about how frightened all the children must have been all this time. And how hard his colleagues had to fight in order to protect them. The only thing he can do now is reassure them that things will be okay and end this quickly. **_‘THAT’S MY DUTY AS THE SYMBOL OF PEACE.’_**

He stands atop the staircase looking down upon the Central Plaza like a mighty god. **“HAVE NO FEAR, STUDENTS.”** He rips away his tie in anger. **“BECAUSE I AM HERE!!”**

Tears prick at Ochaco’s eyes as a grin adorns her face. “He’s here, he’s really here.” Her smile soon vanishes upon noticing All Might’s furious expression. “And…he’s not smiling.” 

Shigaraki instinctively steps back out of fear despite All Might being a fair distance away. “After everything that’s transpired…the heroic piece of trash has finally decided to show up.”

Almost in a blink of an eye All Might disappears from atop the staircase and with a rush of wind he appears standing before his students as to protect them from the abomination known as Nue.

Kirishima awes at All Might’s crazy speed. “So, fast!”

**“STAND BACK STUDENTS!”**

The other students follow his instructions taking position behind him.

Ochaco however has other concerns. Even though it’s All Might, he’s still reached his limit for the day so he must really be pushing himself. So, if this battle drags on the villain may succeed in their goal. “All Might be careful! They’re here to kill you!”

All Might’s frown shakes in anger and despair. Is that true? Were these villains really after him this whole time? And…and his students had to suffer the consequences of his arrogance?! These kids have had to deal with so much because of him, he needs to show them that everything will be okay. **“YOUNG URARAKA.”** He turns around flashing his signature joyful smile with a peace sign over his eye. **“FEAR NOT!”**

It works because it makes her smile albeit softly.

Not one to be ignored Nue returns to rampaging. “RRRRRAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!” Nue thrusts his diamond fist forward.

All Might turns to face the monster, internally wondering what sort of Quirks could have resulted in such an abomination. **“OH, YOU’RE A BIG ONE. BUT I’VE FOUGHT BIGGER!”** All Might catches the fist, pushing it upward and over his head.

His smile must enrage Nue, because he lets loose another inhuman screech. “RRRRRAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!” Before he can do anything the Number One Hero bats him backwards but Nue quickly recovers and gets right back up. His arms and limbs flailing about wildly smashing anything within reach.

In the meantime, Kurogiri leans into Shigaraki’s ear. “Shigaraki we should take our leave.”

The furious villain scowls. “We can’t! The final boss has finally made an appearance! If we run…we may never get another chance like this again!”

“There will be more opportunities, but we should retreat.” Kurogiri looks out to the ensuing battle. “Because of his current state, Nue is far too unpredictable to rely on. And despite his abilities he is of no match when against All Might.”

As to prove his point, All Might delivers a Carolina Smash into the beast’s midsection making him groan and scream in anger as he stumbles back.

Shigaraki is visibly steaming, his body trembling with rage, but he has to agree. Without the Nomu they can’t hope to kill All Might, also the fact that the other pro heroes will indefinitely be here soon is another mess to deal with if they chose to stay.

Although not happy about it, Shigaraki gives Kurogiri the go ahead.

The misty villain produces a warp gate for them to escape through.

All Might takes notice of them leaving. **“OH NO YOU DON’T!”** before he can make a move Nue lunges and grapples the pro hero in place. **“LET GO OF ME!”** He tries to pry off the monster, but it’s got a strong hold on him.

Before stepping through the warp gate Shigaraki takes one last look back at the heroes. “This may be Game Over but the next time we meet you’re dead, All Might.” His gaze drifts to the hero course students. “As for those kids…” His glare hardens underneath the severed-hand. “I’ll be sure to make each of their demise a slow and painful one.” And with that both he and Kurogiri step through the gate leaving the U.S.J. behind.

**“HANG ON THERE!”** All Might breaks Nue’s grip and lunges for the warp gate, but it’s too late. All he catches in his grip are a few black wisps that dissipate into the air. **“DAMN, VILLAIN!”**

“RRRRRAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!”

**“OH, DON’T WORRY I DIDN’T FORGET YOU.”**

Nue throws his body forward at the rather pissed off hero.

All Might, however, is not willing to drag this out. If he can’t bring justice to those that have escaped, then he for sure as hell will bring it down upon this villain. **“DETROIT SMASH!!”**

Nue doesn’t stand a chance as his face collides with All Might’s signature move. Nue wails as he’s sent flying into the air. However, before he collides with the ceiling of the U.S.J. a black wisp starts to swirl around him.

Kurogiri’s voice whispers out from within the mist. “We’re not done with you yet; you can still prove useful.”

The black mist swallows up Nue before shrinking away into nothingness.

**_‘DAMMIT!’_ **

The pro hero would have much preferred it if he had caught that monster, but it looks like he had made another error in judgement. But to be fair he had thought that the warping villain had taken his leave already, perhaps he simply warped himself nearby and awaited for an opportunity to retrieve his ally.

Whatever the case, the fight is over and the leaders of this army of villains are gone.

And with them gone there’s one last thing to do. **“HOW ARE YOU ALL HOLDING UP?”**

“All Might!” Ochaco throws herself at the hero hugging his side as she balls her eyes out. “I-it w-was s-so scary!!”

His smile falters for a second. **“I’M SO SORRY.”**

“Huh?”

**“IF IT WEREN’T FOR ME…NONE OF YOU WOULD HAVE GONE THROUGH SUCH AN ORDEAL.”** His gaze falls upon each of them. **“BUT I’M ALSO SO HAPPY.”**

Ochaco blinks up at him. “Happy?”

**“YES, I COULDN’T BE PROUDER OF EACH AND EVERYONE OF YOU.”** He stands tall flashing his shining grin down upon them. **“TODAY, YOU HAVE PROVEN THAT YOU REALLY ARE…HEROES.”**

They’re not sure if it’s because of the praise or the fact that it truly is over, but they just can’t help but smile in response. Tears leak out from Ochaco and Izuku’s eyes, even Kirishima looks like he is holding his own back. Todoroki stands tall accepting the praise with dignity. While Bakugou smirks thinking that he was always a hero and that he doesn’t need to be told that.

Finally, Sero returns with the entirety of the U.A. staff who are led by the one and only Principal Nezu. None of the pro heroes hesitate to take action, spreading out across the U.S.J. in search of other villains and the remaining Class 1-A students.

And after what felt like an eternity, the attack on the U.S.J. has finally come to an end. With the heroes…no with these future heroes coming out on top.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with that we have reached the end of Season 1, but unlike the anime I will not make you wait for Season 2! That’s right you all know what’s coming next!! Although I may take my time with the next chapter, we’ll see. Also we still need to get through a few chapters first, before the main event can occur, but I have some ideas for them, and I think you’ll enjoy them...hopefully. Anyway how was Ch.17? Did you like it? How did it make you feel? Do you have any questions? Let me know in a review.
> 
> *So this where I’ll explain some of my decisions that went into this Arc. First off I always wanted All Might to enter late into the fight. This way I can give the students their time to shine instead. This is mainly why I had Iida get warped away as well. Because without his speed he wouldn’t have made it in time, and sure Sero is fast, but I think we can agree that his speed is nowhere near Iida’s.
> 
> *If you’re struggling to imagine Henzu/Nue’s final form then don’t worry I’ll try to clarify his new appearance here. Basically imagine Kevin Leven’s mutated form from the original series and then swap out his left arm for Lodestar’s arm. His wings for Feedback’s tendrils. His back is green and looks similar to Terraspin’s shell but smaller sized. Add Ditto’s head fins to Nue’s shoulders, and finally throw on the battery like protrusions on his back. And boom you have this version of Kevin Levin!
> 
> *Also I may just start referring to Henzu Uuichi as Nue (his villain name), but I may change that. It depends. 
> 
> *If some of you are wondering why I chose to have Four Arms take on Nue, it’s because I wanted to give Four Arms some action. That’s it, I just wanted to include him.
> 
> *I didn’t get a chance to address this but Tetrax is not discovered or arrested by the heroes. I will explain this next chapter so please wait until then for me to explain how and why.
> 
> *Also in case any of you are worried, Thirteen and Aizawa will live. They are some of my favorite characters right now, I’d be crazy to kill them off.
> 
> *Finally, I have to admit that the ending for this chapter was probably the weakest point. I think I just wanted to wrap it up at that point, plus most of what happens after the U.A. staff arrives is pretty much the exact same as it is in the anime. So, I figured that most of you should be able to tell what happens.


	18. Exposition Ex Machina

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of the U.S.J. Incident.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning, this chapter is nothing too special. Sorry if you were expecting some kind of action, you’ll just have to wait a little while until we can get back to the fun stuff. Essentially the name of this chapter is kind of on point is what I’m trying to say. But it’s a necessary one.
> 
> Thanks for reading by the way, also take care of yourselves out there and be supportive of those around you. Everyone needs to stay as positive as they can be in these times, and we’ll have our moments of frustration leak out and when it does be sure not to lash out at the wrong people. Thank you.

Slowly expanding into existence, a dark swirling warp gate forms just inside an empty well-kept bar.

A shaking Shigaraki steps through his hands furiously scratching at his exposed neck. “We got crushed...they got Nomu…our cannon fodder was taken down in a flash, and all because of those…kids!” He pounds his fist against the counter as the warp gate vanishes behind him. “The Symbol of Peace is in perfect health! He took down Nue like he was nothing!” He leers over towards the television screen sitting at the end of the counter. “You were wrong, Master.”

 ** _“No, I wasn’t.”_** A disembodied voice responds from behind the screen, out of sight, and somewhere disclosed. **_“We merely got ahead of ourselves. Yes, we underestimated him. Good thing that League of Villains came cheap.”_**

Shigaraki is just about to correct his master, when the warp gate returns and a mutated Nue collapses onto the hardwood floor, followed by Kurogiri who calmly steps over Nue’s prone form.

 ** _“What has happened to Nue?”_**

Kurogiri briefly examines Nue’s new features.

He’s almost unrecognizable, only his torn clothes and long black hair serving as a reminder of the once human teenager. But now he’s just as tall if not taller than Nomu was and his physique is equally as powerful, but yet so much more mutated with unmatching features and limbs.

“We are…unsure.”

A second voice speaks out from the screen. “Unsure, what do you mean?”

Shigaraki grips his neck in frustration. “There was a kid there… He had…the same powers as Nue, here.” His gaze narrows towards the dark screen. “Similar powers to you.”

Yes that boy, that kid with green hair and freckles was able to transform into almost identical forms as Nue. But how is that possible, Quirks are hereditary yet neither of them look at all similar. And now…Nue’s some sort of monster… Just what the hell are these two?!

“Deku…”

Everyone turns to the hulking figure that’s currently attached to their admittedly once clean floor.

“It was Deku…” Nue shakily adjusts his head enough to look Shigaraki in the eye. “He did this.”

“Deku?” Shigaraki can only assume he’s referring to that green-haired kid that Nue challenged to fight. “Yes, that brat could transform, too.”

“Yeah…that’s him.” Nue pushes himself enough off the ground that his upper body will allow him to sit up. “I’ll kill him!!”

 ** _“Calm yourself, Nue.”_**

Nue instantly silences himself in response to the command, but he’s still fuming in anger.

**_“We will need a full explanation from you, at a later time.”_ **

The second voice cuts in. “Now tell us, what of our creation? Nomu? Why is he not with you?”

Kurogiri is the one to respond. “He was sent flying, and without proper coordinates, there was no way for me to find him.” He then gestures to Nue. “Although I thought it best to hold on to this one.”

**_“After all the trouble we went through to make him as strong as All Might, he was still unable to defeat him.”_ **

Shigaraki begins to scratch at his neck again, if he doesn’t stop that soon he will end up drawing blood. “No…he didn’t…”

The second person behind the screen is rightfully confused. As well as offended, as if Shigaraki is saying that their hard work and effort was but a waste. “What are you saying? Nomu was the greatest doomsday weapon against the Symbol of Peace we had! We even had my assistant mutate him further to boost his strength and endurance. He was more than suited to kill All Might!” 

“Nomu…was taken out by…children.”

“Preposterous! That is impossible! No one! Not even All Might could defeat him!”

Shigaraki slams his fist against the counter. “Well, they did! Those kids…those brats, were able to take down all of our pawns like they were nothing!!” He then looks towards the defeated chimera who’s taken to leaning his massive frame against the wall. “And one of them…that Deku could transform just like him!! Then there was the one that blew Nomu away with a single shot!!” He raises his hand flexing his fingers as if imagining decaying each of the brats’ heads in his palm. “But…the most irritating one was her…”

**_“Her…?”_ **

“There was one…one kid who seemed almost as strong as All Might…”

That girl with the round face and brown-bobbed hair. She delivered a smash so strong that he slightly thought that All Might himself was standing before them like an almighty god descended down from the heavens to put mere mortals in their place.

 ** _“…Oh?”_** There’s a hint of interest in his Master’s voice.

“She…I think she had two Quirks.”

Now the second voice sounds intrigued. “Really?”

Nue jolts up a bit with confusion. _‘Two Quirks? She only said she had one the last time we met…’_

Shigaraki decides to take a seat before going into an explanation. “She used a Smash attack to attack Nue here…and then…it seemed as if she could manipulate gravity too.” He grabs his head, leaning forward into it in frustration. “She was the key to their victory.”

Without her power, Nomu would have certainly survived that blonde’s explosive blast. Sure Nomu would have still been dealt burn damage, but he would have recovered. The only reason that last attack worked so well as it did was because that girl, at least from what Shigaraki can tell, could make things weightless with that pink light of hers. And so Nomu had no support nor a chance to defend himself from the blast and due to his weightlessness, he was easily launched out and away from him and the U.S.J.

He grips his head even harder. “Without that pest we might have actually gotten the chance to use Nomu against All Might…” 

**_“No use crying over spilled milk. This endeavor was not a complete loss… I believe you’ve learned a lot, haven’t you?”_ **

Shigaraki would hate to admit aloud especially in front of the others, but he has learned a bit. First off, he made far too many mistakes, it wouldn’t be so farfetched to say that he failed from the very start. He failed to consider the students’ Quirks and abilities, he failed to properly look into Nue’s background, and he had no definite way to confirm whether All Might would actually be there or not. And of course, he never accounted for other unknown variables such as surprise appearances by unknown heroes like that hero that took on Nomu for a little while. Just who was that guy anyway? Was he really a hero? Either way he can take away a lot from this defeat.

Understanding what he must do next time Shigaraki nods, showing his Master that he has learned.

 ** _“Good. Now focus on finding stronger troops, take all the time you need.”_** That will be Shigaraki’s next step. **“ _We can’t move freely. That’s why we need a Symbol like you, Tomura Shigaraki. Next time, the world will know of the Terror you represent.”_**

Shigaraki, despite his rage and frustration, smirks from underneath the severed-hand attached to his face. He will not fail in his mission; he will bring about Terror onto this society and its heroes.

While they’ve been exchanging words, Nue has come to his own dark realization. He is unable to transform himself back to human!! How?! Why?! Just what did Deku do to him?! He will not live his life out as a monster!! “RRRRRAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

A police detective watches on as his colleagues and pro heroes herd the horde of villains into a transport vehicle awaiting them just outside the U.S.J.

The detective is a tall man with short, black hair and black eyes. As a member of the police force, he’s wearing a standard tan overcoat and matching hat, underneath he wears a black suit, a green tie with matching slacks, and dress shoes. 

“That’s a lot of villains… How many is that so far?”

One of his fellow officers replies while taking a head count of the criminals as they march. “Not including those…animals we have over sixty individuals.”

A few screams and shouts ring out as one of the mutated koi fish thrashes about snapping at anybody that gets within range.

The detective is quick to take charge. “Make sure to keep that thing secure!! The last thing we need are mutant animals running amuck in the ecosystem.”

One of the pro heroes, Cementoss, steps forward. “Allow me to assist you.”

Cementoss appears to be a humanoid block of cement with black eyes and gray hair tied into a short ponytail. His body shape is even blocky all around his body. His eyes are generally closed, and his lips are pulled upwards. His hero costume consists of a sleeveless brown suit that includes yellow stripes, shorts, and an elongated collar. He also sports gray shoes with yellow soles.

Cementoss slaps his hands against the cement ground and several pillars of cement burst from the ground and surround the thrashing mutant fish. The thin pillars wrap themselves around the fish, restraining it like ring-shaped weights. With the koi fish completely immobilized Cementoss uses his Quirk to push the cement forward to the transport vehicle.

With that potential crisis avoided, the detective decides to see the students as several members of the U.A. staff decide to check on them as well. “Well besides two of them, it looks like they’re all unharmed.”

Nezu, the ever chipper principal of U.A., is more than happy to confirm the detective’s statement. “Yes, all in all I’d say we were quite lucky that no other major injuries have occurred.”

Present Mic looks to his fellow coworkers. “Hey, where’s the big guy, All Might?”

Snipe points towards the direction of the main school. “He went on back to campus, said something about wanting to check in on our injured students.”

Snipe has the appearance of a stereotypical western cowboy. His face is covered by an old-school tan gas mask with his purplish shoulder-length dreadlocks visible from the back and sides. On his head, he wears a brown cowboy hat with a large “S” stamped in the middle of it. He wears a large red cloak under which he wears a plain black tank top with white armor strapped over the right side of his torso, and a brown belt with a gun holster attached at his hip. He has baggy black pants with yellow chaps over them in stereotypical cowboy fashion.

Meanwhile, the students of Class 1-A are huddled together as one big group, probably because after being separated like they were they are not ready to leave each other’s side just yet.

Tooru Hagakure notices the soot clinging onto Mashirao Ojiro’s costume and tail. “Ojiro, looks like it was into the fire for you this time, and all alone? Nice going.” She offers a friendly pat to his shoulder.

“I thought everyone was alone… I only survived with hit-and-run tactics.” He rubs the back of his aching neck. “Although those flaming salamanders didn’t make it easy.”

In the background a large red lizard-like creature spews out flames from its mouth before scurrying away only to be intercepted by the pro hero, Ectoplasm and his clones.

Tenya Iida is bowing his head in respect to one Hanta Sero. “Sero! Thank you for your service, your efforts saved us all!”

Sero is admittedly a bit embarrassed, but he still appreciates the praise. “It was no trouble, man. I bet you’d have done the same.”

From nearby Minoru Mineta is holding his head in anguish, with tears of relief flowing down his cheeks. “That was terrifying.”

Denki Kaminari nods. “No kidding, I got held hostage and we had to fend off a flock of monster birds.”

Momo Yaoyorozu quickly tries to correct his statement. “They were actually cockatiels; you could tell by their beak and wing structures. Although they appear to have undergone some sort of mutated evolution of some sort.”

Kyoka Jiro smiles sheepishly from her side. “I…don’t think that really matters.” 

Fumikage Tokoyami is having a discussion with Koji Koda, Eijiro Kirishima, and Mezo Shoji. “Right, guess those lowlifes were spread out, waiting for us.”

Kirishima frowns. “Looking down on us, cuz we’re kids. So unmanly.”

Shoji eyes each of them looking for any signs of injury. “How’d you guys handle yourselves?”

Tokoyami smirks. “Very well, Koda here was most valuable in the battle.” He gives his shy teammate a smile. “He was even able to take command of the monster frogs.” Heck at one-point Koda commanded the mutant frogs to attack the villains.

“Kero?”

Tokoyami jolts finally realizing that their resident frog-girl was in hearing distance. “Um, no offense.”

Tsuyu Asui is quick to brush it off. “None taken.” She holds a finger to her cheek. “I’m just worried about Midoriya and Uraraka.”

Principal Nezu overhears and is swift to ease her worries. “Not to worry, they’ve already been sent to the Nurses' Office. Recovery Girl should have them back up to optimal health in no time!”

Tsuyu sighs at the reassurance. “Thank goodness.”

Mina Ashido shoves her way to the front of the group. “What about Thirteen?!” After what’s happened the worry has done nothing but build up in her mind.

The detective is the one who responds. “Thirteen has terrible lacerations and burns across their body, as well as a gash in their arm, along with an undisclosed amount of venom injected into them.” Upon seeing the concerned and worried looks of the students, he quickly changes gears. “But the best of the best doctors are already on the case! In fact, Thirteen’s condition is already stabilizing so their life isn’t in any more danger.”

Tsuyu has one other person to worry about. “And Mr. Aizawa?”

“Both of his arms were smashed to splinters. His face is also fractured. Thankfully he doesn’t have any brain damage, and Recovery Girl will oversee his recovery as well.”

The students visibly relax, glad to hear that their teachers are going to make it.

Iida propels his hand into the air, drawing the detective's, and everyone else's, attention. “Sir, what of Midoriya and Uraraka?!”

“Midoriya and Uraraka… Ah! It seems they were sent to the Nurses’ Office since both of their injuries were miniscule compared to your teachers’. I actually have some business over there myself.” Deciding now is a good time to make his leave, the detective turns to one of his coworkers so that they can oversee the students. “Sansa, I’ll leave the rest to you.”

Sansa, a literal catman, salutes in response to his superior. “Understood.”

Mina and Hagakure blink in surprise upon seeing the police cat. _‘He’s a cat?_ ’

Hagakure gushes at the sight. _‘Aw, look at his little bell.’_

_‘Is it weird that I want to pet his head?’_

Nezu in the meantime is considering how they can prevent this situation from ever occurring again. “We’ll need to completely revamp our security systems.” He cups his chin while in thought. _‘Perhaps I can get One-One to assist me.’_

One of the police officers, one that resembles an oni, runs up and salutes his superior. “Detective Tsukauchi! I have a report. We’ve apprehended what seems to be a villain in a thicket about 400 meters from here!”

The detective turns to face the officer. “In what condition?” From what he’s heard, one of the villains was sent flying out of the U.S.J. so he must be in critical condition.

“He seems unharmed and he’s not resisting arrest oddly enough, he’s not responding in any way.”

Knowing he is no longer needed; the detective turns to the principal of U.A. “Principal. I’d like to go over the school with a fine-toothed comb, if you don’t mind.”

Nezu smiles up at the taller man. “Ah, of course. I’m sure some won’t be happy, but the police certainly have jurisdiction! Investigations are your field of expertise. Do what you feel is necessary! U.A. will fully cooperate.”

“Thank you. Principal.”

Before he can leave, Shoto Todoroki approaches the two authority figures and addresses the detective. “Sir.”

“Ah, yes?”

“What of that man? Tetrax Shard?”

“I’m sorry, who?”

Nezu’s smile falls, he’s just as confused as the detective is.

Todoroki goes ahead and explains. “There was another intruder, he’s a large man wearing a strange grey and black suit with a helmet completely covering their head. His name is Tetrax, Tetrax Shard. Uraraka and I encountered him and then he helped us fight off Nomu, but he was injured. I was wondering what ever happened to him afterward.”

“I’m sorry, but we didn’t find anybody with that description.” The detective quickly looks towards the transport vehicle and the villains inside in an attempt to spot the man fitting the boy’s description.

Nezu, unable to let his curiosity and concern slide, addresses the young man. “Mr. Todoroki. Please tell me, why was this intruder here?”

“He said he was searching something?’

“What pray tell?”

“I believe he called it the…Omnitrix.”

For a brief moment, Nezu’s eyes widen with shock, before returning a neutral glint. It was so fast that hardly anyone could have noticed it.

But the detective…somehow must have sensed the flash of emotion in Nezu because he gazes down at the short chimera with slight concern and intrigue. “And what is that?”

“Well, according to Uraraka, it’s that support item Midoriya wears.” Todoroki gestures to his left wrist. “His watch.”

“Hm, I’ll look into it. Thank you for letting me know.” With a bow of his head the detective leaves for U.A. _‘The…Omnitrix, huh? Why would a villain be after a student’s support item?’_ Guess he’ll just have to try and find out.

Meanwhile, Nezu is lost in his own thoughts. _‘Tetrax Shard…was after the Omnitrix? I have to find this mysterious intruder…’_

A few possibilities on how to find this Tetrax cross his mind, but none seem like they’ll be successful. As he continues to ponder his phone begins to ring in his pocket.

He checks the number before popping it into his ear. “Hello, how may I help you?” He listens as the caller explains themselves. “Ah, yes. Thank you for calling…I was hoping to have a chat with you. If you would I’d like to speak to you in person…”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Ochaco Uraraka enjoys the surprisingly comfortable bed and sheets, but that could just be she’s so exhausted that anything other than pain would feel comfortable right about now. Her left arm is all bandaged up and thanks to Recovery Girl the swelling has already gone down.

On the bed next to her own, is Izuku Midoriya. He’s in way worse shape than she is with a bruise on his cheek, and bandages across his chest and arms. His once new hoodie is now folded up as neatly as it could be on the chair next to his bed.

They both release their built-up stress with a deep exhale. “What a day…”

Recovery Girl swings around in her high seat. “The situation being what it was I won’t scold you two as harshly this time.”

They both visibly relax, grateful that they can avoid getting an earful for their actions.

“This time.” She warns sternly.

They both go stiff in response, silently promising themselves to try and not be back at the Nurses’ Office any time soon.

Without any warning, the infirmary’s doors slam open. **“I AM-GWAH!!”** There’s a loud thud as something collides with All Might’s stomach.

“Be quiet!” Recovery Girl removes her cane from All Might’s stomach. “These children have already been through enough without you disrupting their rest.”

All Might rubs his side, and for a moment the Symbol of Peace himself looks scared. **“Y-YES, MA’AM.”**

Izuku tries to sit up in his bed but a sharp pain from his side prevents him from doing so. “All Might?”

Ochaco sits up from her seat. “What are you doing here?”

All Might is happy to answer with a shining smile and chipper attitude. **“ISN’T IT OBVIOUS? I CAME TO APOLOGIZE OF COURSE!”**

A harsh silence falls upon the students and the nurse, it’s hard to take an apology seriously with his current demeanor.

All Might also identifies the issue. **“BUT IF I MAY I DON’T THINK THIS THE PROPER FORM TO DO IT.”** With a puff of smoke All Might is gone, replaced with his much weaker and skinnier form, and just like that Yagi Toshinori is here.

Ochaco’s jaws drops down in absolute horror and shock! Did he forget that Izuku was there?! How is he supposed to explain his weakened form?! 

Unbeknownst to her, Izuku is just as surprised as she is, but because he assumes the same exact thing as her: how could All Might just expose himself in front of the others, especially Uraraka?!

Both Izuku and Ochaco yell out simultaneously. “What are you doing?! You can’t show that form!” They then turn to each other after realizing what the other had said. “What you knew?!” They both shyly look away. “Um, no…yes, wait what?!” They then jab accusing fingers at each other. “Why didn’t you say anything?!” They then both turn their glares onto Toshinori. “Why didn’t you say anything?!”

Toshinori chokes back a chuckle. _‘They’re both in sync…’_ He coughs, catching a few drops of blood in his hand. “I’m sorry for the scare, but yes everyone in this room knows about my true form…and my injury.”

Izuku’s eyes widen, so Ochaco really did know about All Might’s condition, guess now he only has one real question for her. “W-when did you find out?”

Before Ochaco can answer Toshinori answers for her. “Last year, I had a run in with each of you on separate occasions.” He gestures to Ochaco. “I met Uraraka after her escape from the Rojo villain.”

Ochaco remembers that day vividly, after escaping the villain and talking to the police she went home and met All Might at the station. Who knew this is where they would be a year later?

“And I met young Midoriya a month or so before that…”

‘ _So…he did remember me.’_ A part of Izuku is actually kind of glad to know that All Might remembered him, but the other part of him is shaking with worry. Worried because he told All Might that he was Quirkless!! Will he really believe that he’s a late-bloomer?! But if he does remember him, does that mean he remembers…what he said? What he did? 

Toshinori continues on. “After these recent events, I thought it only be fair to disclose this to the both of you. Not to mention I don’t have to strain myself to keep up my facade when around either of you…and Recovery Girl…but she’s known about this for a long time.”

Ochaco is unsure how to take in the fact that Deku already knew about All Might’s predicament, sure it’s nice to have one less secret to keep from him, but on the other hand… If Deku already knows about All Might’s condition, why not include Deku in on One For All? Is All Might still worried about potential threats or does he not trust Deku?

Toshinori positions himself at the foot of their beds, this way he can look them directly in the eye. “I’m sure you both have questions, but…if you would indulge me. I have some things I’d like to get off my chest.”

The two settle their minds to focus solely on All Might and what he has to say.

“First of all I wanted to apologize to the both of you…” Toshinori takes a deep breath before continuing. “You both suffered so much because of my arrogance…earlier today I wasted my time limit and as a result you and your classmates had to face those villains all on your own without me. What’s worse is that you all essentially were protecting me since the villains were there to kill me.” His eyes cast themselves downward, hiding the look of shame washing over them.

“Not only that but I’ve clearly been negligent in my duties as a teacher.” He gazes up at his successor, hoping she is willing to forgive him for his arrogance and mistakes. _‘You are unable to properly control your power and I should have better prepared you to wield One For All. I should have helped you more, otherwise you wouldn’t have been as injured as you are, and you could wield it without fear or restraint.’_ He bows his head. “I promise to do better as a teacher, not just to you and Midoriya, but to every single one of you students.”

He raises his head to address the young man. “Finally, I have to apologize for not being the hero I’m supposed to be.” Their eyes lock together, and a silent message is passed onto Izuku. _‘I’m sorry for not supporting your dream.’_

Somehow, Izuku understands what All Might is trying to communicate to him. All Might really does remember that day, which means he does remember what he did to Izuku. And now, now he’s trying to make amends… Izuku would really like to accept the apology and let bygones be bygones, but he can’t lie and say that there isn't a part of him that isn’t going to forgive the pro hero. After all he was…is a Quirkless kid with dreams of becoming a hero. Is All Might saying this because he thinks that now that he has a Quirk, he can be a hero? Or is he saying…that even someone who is Quirkless can be a hero? Then again maybe…maybe he’s overthinking this, and All Might just wants to set things right between them… 

With his individual pieces said, Toshinori bows his head to the both of them. “Please accept my humble apologies. From now on I promise to the both of you that I will be more diligent in my responsibilities as your teacher.” 

Neither of them respond initially, one is still wrapped up in his own mind and conflicting emotions, so that only leaves Ochaco with the capability to answer. “All Might…this wasn’t your fault. You couldn’t have known that those villains would try something like this. I mean you’re still only human, how could you have known?”

Izuku has to agree, no matter his feelings towards the hero, it wasn’t his fault that the villains attack them. “…She’s right, it’s not your fault. And I’m sure the rest of our class feels the same way.” He offers a small smile in return in an attempt to appease the hero.

That small smile is enough for Toshinori, because it fills his heart with such great relief and happiness to hear that, so much so that tears begin to leak out from his eyes. “Thank you…” 

While Toshinori wipes away his tears, Recovery Girl watches on with a warming smile. She can’t help but find the sight so endearing.

From behind her the door slides back open.

The detective from earlier removes his hat while greeting them all with a friendly smile. “Pardon me.”

Recovery Girl smiles back at the familiar face. “Aw, so nice to see you.”

The detective turns his attention to Toshinori. “Long time no see, All Might.”

Toshinori’s eyes light up, he’s so excited that a bit of blood splorts out from between his teeth. “Tsukauchi! Didn’t know you were here!”

Ochaco eyes the newcomer worriedly, he’s seen All Might in his weakened form! “All Might! Is this, uh, o-okay?!”

Toshinori chuckles. “Yeah, it’s fine. This is my favorite detective on the force, good old Naomasa Tsukauchi!”

Naomasa Tsukauchi laughs as he closes the door behind him. “Ha ha, thanks for the weird intro.” He steps forward to greet the students. “It’s a pleasure to meet the two of you, as All Might said I’m Detective Tsukauchi.” 

The two children respectfully respond in kind. “Nice to meet you, sir.”

“Not to rush any of you, but I’d like to get your statements, especially about the villains. If we can I’d like to start with you, All Might.”

Toshinori holds up his hands as to gesture for the detective to wait for a second. “Wait, hold on. Are the students all right? And how are Aizawa…Eraserhead and Thirteen?”

Detective Tsukauchi smiles, he appreciates how even while weaker than before All Might will always worry over others. “Besides your friends over here, the students got nothing more than a few bumps and bruises, nothing to stress over. And the two teachers are out of danger, for now. If you three heroes hadn’t put your lives on the line the students wouldn’t have made it out unscathed.”

Toshinori frowns in response to the detective’s praise. “I see but you’ve got one thing wrong, Tsukauchi.” He gestures a hand to the very children that just fought off an army of villains. “In this fight, the Students put their lives on the line too!! In fact, they did much more than the rest of us. Especially me.” After all, how can he have the gall to say that he saved the day? If anything, these students were more capable than all of the pro heroes today. “To be thrown into a real battle so young…and survive. Now these first-years know how scary the world can be. Have you ever heard of such a class?!” He can’t stop the sense of pride flooding through his chest and out through his voice. “Those foolish villains picked the Wrong fight! Because the members of Class 1-A are going to be Mighty heroes indeed!!” He offers a grin to the future heroes in question, who have been listening on with admiring and shining gazes. “I’m…going to make sure of it.”

That makes Tsukauchi smile. “I’m sure you will. But I’d still like a statement either way.”

“Of course.” Toshinori follows the detective out of the infirmary, but not before one last wave to the students and a respectful bow to Recovery Girl.

Recovery Girl grins cheerfully. “Not to worry, Miss Uraraka will be able to leave as soon as I remove her bandages.”

“Great, then I’ll collect her statement right after.” Tsukauchi closes the door behind Toshinori as they both make their exit.

Ochaco waves one last time as the door shuts closed. “Now then…” In a flash she swirls around in her seat. “You knew?!”

The sudden outburst makes Izuku jump back in fright. “Ah, uh, y-yeah! B-but i-it was a w-while ago!” He leans to the side to look at Recovery Girl. “Y-you knew too, though?”

Recovery Girl smirks in response. “Of course I did, who do you think oversaw his recovery when he first got injured?” She jumps off from her seat before approaching Ochaco. “Now let’s get you all fixed up.” She puckers her lips ready to heal Ochaco’s last remaining wounds.

Ochaco nervously backs away not really wanting a kiss to the cheek from the elderly woman.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Ochaco yawns into her palm as she makes her way to the exit.

Recovery Girl waves her off from her chair. “Have a safe trip home sweetie! But make sure you see the detective first; you’ll find him in the break room.”

“Of course. Thanks again for healing me.”

“It was my pleasure.” She waves her cane at her, mocking to hit her if she doesn’t leave. “Now I got to get this one out of here.” She points her cane towards Izuku, who flinches at the sight of the swinging cane that resembles a large syringe.

Ochaco chuckles as she waves him goodbye. “I’ll see you later, Deku.”

Izuku waves back. “You too, hero.”

That really makes her happy to hear as her grin stretches even further across her features. That last compliment gives her a little boost to her step as she takes off for the break room.

When she arrives in such a high spirit, she decides to steal her mentor’s line one last time, maybe it’ll amuse his friend. “I am here!”

“That’s my line!!” Toshinori snaps at her from within the break room.

Seated next to him on the couch, Tsukauchi laughs into his hand. Ochaco smiles apologetically to her mentor as she takes the seat across from them.

After calming down from his laughing fit, Detective Tsukauchi stands and reaches his hand out to the girl. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Miss Uraraka. All Might’s told me a lot about you.”

Ochaco’s steely eyes shift over towards Toshinori. “How much did he say?” She asks with suspicion, wondering what else he had to say about her.

Toshinori nervously sweats under her gaze, turning away and whistling to himself in an attempt to look innocent.

Detective Tsukauchi smirks. “Enough to know that you’ve taken more than his lines.”

Ochaco’s eyes jolt up in astonishment before she jabs a finger at Toshinori. “He knows, too?! Is there anyone you didn’t tell?!”

The Symbol of Peace retreats back from her accusing finger. “Um, y-yeah, so I probably should have told you in the beginning, but Tsukauchi knows all about One For All and by extension you.”

“Is there anyone else I should know about?”

“Not many, other than us there’s Recovery Girl, Nezu, and two others.”

“Well I knew about Nezu.”

“You did?” Toshinori sounds surprised.

“We met the other day when you weren’t at school.”

“Ah…” He can’t help but wonder what exactly they talked about…probably about him.

“Wait!” Ochaco slams her hands against the coffee table. “How come you get to tell people about One For All, and I can’t get Deku in on it?!”

Tsukauchi sits quietly by, but he raises an eyebrow at Ochaco’s request. Just who is this Deku person?

Toshinori admittedly saw this conversation coming. “Young Midoriya is a fine young man, but as I mentioned before this knowledge will paint a target on everybody who knows about it. Tsukauchi here is a long-time trusted friend as are the others that know about our secret.”

“Deku can be trusted!” Seriously, he is really good at keeping secrets, especially Earth-shattering ones.

“Can you guarantee that?” Toshinori asks with all seriousness. “I’m not trying to question your friendship, but sometimes a secret like this can be too much for someone to handle.” That and also…if they were to let the young man know about One For All, he also has to explain that he himself is also Quirkless. And he doesn't look forward to the fact that he’d also look like a hypocrite to the dear boy, he’s already been through enough he doesn’t need to know that his inspiration is a liar too. “After all knowing that the Symbol of Peace is not a naturally born hero may be enough to set him on edge.”

“But Deku…he isn’t like that. I’m sure he’d understand.” She leans back in her seat. _‘All Might was Quirkless before he got One For All. And Deku is still technically Quirkless so he would understand better than anyone. Wouldn’t he?’_

“Maybe…but I feel it best if you keep him in the dark for now.”

“But-”

Tsukauchi rudely inserts himself into the conversation. “If I may…I agree with All Might.”

Ochaco is taken back by the officer’s sudden interruption but she doesn’t voice it.

“Think of it this way, if the knowledge of One For All were to get out, what do you think those villains you fought today would do with that?”

Ochaco’s entire body stiffens as she thinks about how much worse the attack would have been if the villains had decided to come after her instead. There’s no way she would have been able to stand up to that Nomu nor any of the villains by herself…

Tsukauchi knows that he’s got her thinking. “They’d try and take it for themselves and they’d target Mr. Midoriya in order to get you and One For All. Do you understand?”

“I do, but…it just seems so unfair.”

“It is unfair, but that’s just how it has to be.” Tsukauchi removes his hat and places atop the coffee table as a way to make himself look more approachable. “But rather than thinking of it as a lie or secret, think of it as a means to protect him.”

“I…guess I can do that.” It might be for the best…but that doesn’t mean she has to like it.

Toshinori smiles glad to hear that she’ll stop trying to tell young Midoriya about One For All. Even with today’s events, he still is a bit wary of the boy. If anything, showing him his weakened form again was an attempt to get the boy to open up to the pro hero. And in doing so maybe he’d give some clues away about his newly acquired…Quirks. 

Tsukauchi is also glad to hear Ochaco complying. “Alright, I’d like to get started with gathering your statement. If that’s okay?” He pulls out a small notepad and pen to take notes, since this is All Might’s successor, he doesn’t want to use a recorder in case any of them bring up that fact into the conversation.

Toshinori looks expectantly at the detective. “I hope you don’t mind, but I’d like to stay and hear this for myself.” Since he showed up so late, he’s still not clear on exactly how things went.

Tsukauchi completely understands Toshinori’s reasoning. “I don’t mind.”

Ochaco understands too. “Me neither.”

Without any more delays the detective would like to get right to it. “Great. So, tell us everything that occurred from your perspective.”

Ochaco then spends the next few minutes describing how the events of the U.S.J. played out. Starting with how they met Thirteen there and then the villains wrapped themselves into the U.S.J. Then of course how they were all warped away by a villain named Kurogiri. She explains how she was warped away to the Landslide Zone with Shoto Todoroki and how expertly efficient he was in freezing all villains and monster hamsters before they could even make a move.

Tsukauchi looks over his notes. “If I may; one of your friends, Shoto Todoroki, brought up how you ran into an unknown intruder.”

A look of concern crosses Toshinori’s features. “Who was it you ran into?”

Ochaco looks between the two adults, they are clearly waiting for an answer. She has no idea how much Todoroki actually told the detective so she might as well answer as truthfully as she can. “His name was…Tetrax Shard.” She then realizes something. “Wait, whatever happened to him?! He was hurt pretty bad?”

Tsukauchi shakes his head. “We couldn't find him; he was just as slippery escaping the U.S.J. as he was getting into it.”

Ochaco sighs glad to hear that a possible alien wasn’t apprehended by the human police. “Oh, uh, that’s too bad…I kinda wanted to ask him a few things.” But where did he go? She’ll have to bring it up to Principal Nezu later.

“Speaking of which, did he mention anything to you?”

“I…don’t think so.”

Tsukauchi’s eyes narrow as if sensing her lie. “Did he mention something called the Omnitrix?”

Ochaco is actually surprised that Tsukauchi knows about the Omnitrix, before remembering that Todoroki must have brought it up to him earlier. “Yeah…he did.”

“For full disclosure, Mr. Todoroki said that you knew what it was. Care to fill us in on it?”

 _‘I knew it.’_ She needs to play her cards right, if not she may just cause way more trouble for everyone. “The Omnitrix…is that watch-thing Deku wears, to help access his powers.”

“Deku is…?”

Toshinori answers for her. “He’s young Midoriya.”

“Ah.” He gives Ochaco a curious look before moving on. “Why would this Tetrax be after Midoriya’s support item?”

Ochaco thinks about her response, again she has no idea how much Todoroki said already and if she's caught in a lie then there’s going to be even more questions that she may not be able to answer. “He said…he said he was sent there to get it.”

“Then who sent him?”

“I…don’t know. He never said.”

“Was he not sent by the same villains?”

“No.”

Tsukauchi and Toshinori share a look of concern and intrigue, just who is this Tetrax guy and why was he after a seemingly useless support item. After all support items are specifically made for their wearer’s own Quirks and bodies, they would be useless to anybody else other than the intended owner. 

“Alright, what happened next?”

“We fought him and then…” She considers mentioning how Tetrax explained a possible threat on Izuku’s life, but she decides to keep that part out of this. That something she needs to bring up to Principal Nezu and Thirteen instead. “He offered to help us fight the villains.”

Both the pro hero and the officer are justified in their astonishment. “He what?”

Ochaco can sympathize with their confusion. “He said he can’t stand the idea of the villains attacking innocent children.”

“So, he didn’t arrive with the villains?”

“I don’t think so, that Shigaraki guy didn’t seem to know who he was either.”

Toshinori has a burning question. “Wait, so he did help you fight the villains?”

Ochaco suddenly becomes nervous, looking away shyly. “Yyyeeeaaahhh, I sort of…accepted his…offer to help.”

“You what?!” Toshinori bursts out in outrage. 

Ochaco flails her hands about in self-defense. “I didn’t have much of a choice! He was a good fighter, even Todoroki had a hard time taking him on, and he just offered a truce. So…I made a decision, and…I feel like it was the right one at the time.” She nods her head as if to confirm her choice.

Toshinori calms himself, dragging a hand down his face in an attempt to do so. “I don’t fault you for your decision, but it was too risky. He could have been trying to trick you.”

“He…wasn’t. He seemed really sincere.”

Tsukauchi finishes scribbling away into his notepad. “Well whatever the case. What happened next?”

“Well after we came to an agreement we went to the Central Plaza and there we saw Deku fighting against someone who turned out to be Henzu Uuichi.”

“Who?”

Oops, she didn’t mean to let his name slip out. “Oh, he’s a…um, guy that…um.”

“Uraraka.” 

She sighs giving into the detective’s demand. “I met Henzu Uuichi a while back…during the mutant attack on the mall a year ago.”

Toshinori jumps up from his seat. “He was there?! A villain was there?!”

“Well…he wasn’t a villain at the time. Actually he helped us fight off the mutants, but he left afterwards.”

Toshinori sits back down. “Why was he there at the mall in the first place? Why did he help then?”

“Well…he was there with…Deku.”

Both of the adults sit up a little straighter, and Toshinori’s worries grows tenfold.

“Yeah, Deku was just as surprised to see him. Actually the two of them had a sort-of falling out after the mall incident and they haven’t spoken since then.”

The detective makes sure to jot this info down for later. “Interesting. I’ll be sure to ask Midoriya about this.” This Midoriya kid is certainly a magnet for odd individuals, isn’t he? 

Ochaco cups her chin. “When I think about it Bakugou knew him too. And if I remember correctly Deku said that all three of them went to the same school.”

Tsukauchi writes that down as well. “Thank you. Please, continue.”

“R-right. Well Tetrax, Todoroki, and I fought off the villains while Tsuyu, Iida, and Deku got to safety. But then Deku came back to help!” She’s starting to get excited recapping the day’s events like one would excitedly explain an epic fight scene from one’s favorite anime. “But then Bakugou came out of nowhere, and bam!! He captured that warping villain!! It was super cool and badass…!!” It finally dawns on her that she’s singing Bakugou’s praises, and that’s scary to think about. “Don’t tell him I said that.” It comes off more as an order than a suggestion.

The adults let out a few chuckles before composing themselves.

Ochaco decides to get things back on track. “Another thing, that Nomu guy was way too strong: he apparently had two Quirk!!”

Both adults nearly shoot out from their seats. “What did you say?!”

“Yeah, I remember, that villain with the hands, Shigaraki, said that Nomu had more than one Quirk! He had Shock Absorption and I think some kind of Regeneration-type Quirk.”

The authority figures share a very worried look, it’s clear to them all that this cannot be in any way good for them and society as a whole.

Detective Tsukauchi adjusts his tie. “Well thankfully, Nomu has been captured so we’ll look into it.”

“Anyway that guy was way too fast for us and Tetrax took a hit for Bakugou.”

“Took a hit?”

“Yeah, he protected him, but he got injured in the process.” She makes a few punching motions with her fists. “But we couldn't stop. So, we fought on and then Deku came in and saved us!!”

“Saved you?”

Ochaco gets excited again, with stars in her eyes as she replays the epic scene in her mind. “Yeah, he got a new transformation that was able to take on Nomu! Hell he was even immune to Shigaraki’s Decay Quirk!” She pumps her fist into the air. “And together we were able to use my Zero-Gravity and Bakugou’s Explosion to blast Nomu away!” Her smile falters and she slowly lowers her hand as she takes on a much more somber tune. “After that, Uuichi…did something.”

Tsukauchi tilts his head to the side. “Did what?”

“I’m…not sure. He just grabbed Deku’s Omnitrix and then boom he was a giant mutated monster!”

Toshinori recalls the foul monster that escaped in the end. “You mean the one I fought?”

“Yeah, and from there you arrived and that was about it. The villains left and Uuichi got away.”

Tsukauchi leans back in his seat overlooking his notes. “I just have a few follow up questions: Would you say the leader was this Shigaraki?”

Ochaco nods her head rapidly. “Yeah, that warping villain kept looking to him for directions and he was ordering that Nomu thing around.”

“What else can you say about them?”

“Hm, that Shigaraki guy was…easily aggravated almost like a kid. But he was fast, and his Decay Quirk was terrifying.” She shivers at the thought of how close he was to disintegrating her own face; now that’s an image she doesn’t need.

“Another question: did Shigaraki ever say anything that could suggest how the Nomu came to be?”

“Um, not really… Oh, he did mention something about Nomu being created or made to kill you.” She points at the deflated All Might.

“Kill me?”

“Yeah… All Might?”

“Yes.”

Ochaco fidgets in her seat. “Do you think…do you think they know about your…injury?” 

Toshinori shares a look with his friend before giving his reply. “I don't know. As I said my secret is a well-guarded one so I know without a doubt that those that do know about it could have let it slip.” Although he can’t really say the same about young Midoriya… “Again it could be possible that they didn’t know about it and were just trying to take me on.”

Ochaco doesn’t look too relieved, it’s not exactly comforting to think that the villains could have potentially brought down the Symbol of Peace.

Deciding that they’ve grilled the girl enough for answers, Tsukauchi grabs his hat off the coffee table. “Okay, I think that’s enough.”

Ochaco rubs her fingers together. “Are…are you sure?”

Tsukauchi offers her a kind reassuring smile. “Absolutely, this will be of great help to us.” He holds up his notepad and waves it around in his hand. “Hopefully we can get some answers and track down the villains responsible for all of this.” He stands up and bows to the young woman. “Thank you for your time, Miss Uraraka we greatly appreciate it.”

“Oh, y-you’re welcome. I’m just glad I could help in some way.” She bows in return. “I-it was also nice to meet you.”

“Same. Now please be careful on your way home.”

“Thanks.” Ochaco picks herself up and walks towards the exit, but not before turning around. “And All Might…thank you for what you said…earlier .”

Toshinori offers a kind smile in return along with a small nod.

Glad to be done, Ochaco is more than happy to take her leave and head on home for a well-earned rest.

The two adults sit in silence as Ochaco closes the door and leaves.

When they are sure she isn’t returning, Toshinori turns to his friend. “What do you think?”

Tsukauchi grins back at him. “I like her, I can see why you picked her.” His grin falls though as does his bright demeanor. “But if you mean my thoughts about what she said…there was much of it I wasn’t expecting.”

“Such as…”

“This Tetrax fellow, the Nomu, and how this Henzu Uuichi plays into this.” He reviews his notes and can’t help but notice how often Deku was written out onto it. “But what’s most concerning is how two of these factors are somehow related to Mr. Midoriya.”

Toshinori can’t help but agree with his friend’s inference. “He should be healed enough for questioning by now.”

Tsukauchi stands up and adjusts his hat. “Probably, Recovery Girl does work quickly. But I think it’d be best if I questioned him alone.”

“I understand.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Recovery Girl takes her seat and begins typing away at her computer. “How are you feeling?”

Izuku groans from exhaustion, but at least most of his injuries are taken care of. “Better.” His gaze falls upon his tattered hoodie sitting on the chair nearby. “Wish I could say the same for my new hoodie.”

“I’m sure if you brought it to the support course, they’d fix it for you. After all it was ruined partly because of our obliviousness so it's the least that we can do.”

“Thank you. I appreciate it.”

Recovery Girl swirls in her seat. “Why’d you bring it, if I may ask?”

Izuku is happy to share how he got it. “Oh, it was actually a gift from Uraraka.”

“Oh, was it now?” A sly smile appears on Recovery Girls’ face. 

Izuku blushes a deep red in response. “Wait! No, I mean yes! I-it’s not like that!”

The infirmary door slides open, and Detective Tsukauchi makes his return. “Am I interrupting something?”

Recovery Girl smiles up at the man. “Back already?”

He steps inside, removing his hat in the process. “Yup, I need to get a statement from Mr. Midoriya here. Is it alright if we had the room to ourselves?”

“Of course but be careful.” She jumps down from her seat before strolling her way out. “Don’t be pressing him too hard, all of these students have gone through enough already.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Tsukauchi takes a seat by Izuku’s bed, as Recovery closes the door. “Are you ready to get started?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Great, alright walk me through everything that occurred from the beginning.”

That’s what Izuku does. He walks the detective through everything that occurred from his perspective: their arrival at the U.S.J., the villains invading, and Kurogiri warping them all away. He then explains how Tsuyu, Iida, and him ended up in the Flood Zone, and using their combined efforts and reasoning, they were able to escape the villains and the giant koi fish. Next, he tells the detective how they tried to get back to the entrance, and they ended up passing by the Central plaza where they unfortunately witnessed Mr. Aizawa’s crushing defeat in the hands (and claw) of the Nomu. He goes on to explain that the villain Nue called Izuku out and they had a fight, during the fight he was able to save Aizawa and get him to Tsuyu before Nue could attack. He then goes on to say how Ochaco, Todoroki, and the others arrived just in the nick of time and together they were all able to fight off the villains and defeat the monster known as Nomu.

Detective Tsukauchi briefly looks over his notes. “Now I have some follow up questions.”

“Alright.”

“Can you explain to me what the…Omnitrix is?”

Izuku internally gasps, how does this police officer know about the Omnitrix?! Did Ochaco say something? Or did they…did they find Tetrax? “The…?”

“Omnitrix.”

“Oh, r-right… Um, my Omnitrix is this.” Izuku lifts his left arm and gestures to the strange device attached to his wrist. “It’s my one of a kind support item.”

Tsukauchi eyes the device, as if he’s engraving the design into his mind for later. “It certainly is one of a kind, I definitely have never seen something like it before.”

“Its purpose is to help me control my Quirk, One Man Army.”

Tsukauchi’s smile falters and his eyes give away to a brief moment of distrust. “Ah, yes your Quirk from what I hear it’s a very unique one.”

Izuku smiles sheepishly. “Yeah, I guess it is.”

Tsukauchi’s gaze hardened ever so slightly. “Mind tell me when and where you got your…Omnitrix?”

“Oh, um…about…a year ago.”

Tsukauchi makes sure to write that down. “So, you haven't had it for that long?”

“N-no.”

Tsukauchi eyes the device suspiciously, his mind full of swirling questions and possible answers, but none of them seem to be correct.

Izuku fidgets under the detective’s gaze become very uncomfortable with where this conversation is going. “Sir, if you don’t mind me asking, but why are you so hung up on my Omnitrix?”

Tsukauchi eyes the young man before deciding to indulge him. “I’ll level with you I want to know why someone would risk breaking into U.A. to take it from you.”

“Take it?” Izuku’s mind instantly goes to Tetrax, and if the heroes ended up capturing him.

“There was a separate intruder today, who was searching for this item and I would like to know why that is.”

“Oh, well…I’m not sure… I don’t know why he wanted it.” Yes, he does, but he can’t tell that to the officer. Not like he’d believe him anyway.

Unbeknownst to him, Tsukauchi doesn’t believe his current answer. “Well, I can’t assume you would know the reasons behind someone else’s motives. I guess it can’t be helped.” He has to be careful how he goes about his questioning otherwise he could tip the boy off.

“Is that all, sir?”

“No, not yet.” Tsukauchi goes through his notes to make sure he isn’t skipping over anything. He would like to ask more questions about his supposed Quirk, but he’s already pushing his luck. So, it’s time to change topics. “Can you explain your relationship with one Henzu Uuichi, A.K.A. Nue?”

Izuku instantly gets that the detective has already been made aware of Nue’s identity, after all several of his classmates overheard him saying it so it’s not unexpected. So, there’s no avoiding this anymore. “Y-yes.”

“I was told you two had a history, care to specify?”

Izuku rubs the back of his neck, while avoiding eye contact with the officer. “We uh…used to be friends…”

Tsukauchi raises an eyebrow. “Used to be?”

“We…had a pretty bad fight, and we haven’t talked since…” Izuku’s eyes cast themselves downward before drifting to his watch, and the source of their dead friendship.

“Until today…” Tsukauchi finishes.

“Y-yeah, that was a surprise.” Was it though? Henzu basically disappeared off the face of the Earth after their fight, and he was never a model citizen, so it really shouldn't have been that much of a surprise.

“I know All Might fought him, and according to All Might, Uuichi’s or Nue’s body had some…similarities to your forms. Do you know why?”

“Well…I think it’s because of this.” Izuku gestures to his watch.

 _‘Now we’re getting somewhere.’_ Tsukauchi gestures for him to go on.

“Well understand that Henz-...Nue’s Quirk is called Osmosis and it allows him to absorb all kinds of solid matter, and even certain types of energy like electricity.”

Tsukauchi quickly writes down these details.

“During our…fight he grabbed my Omnitrix and tried to take it from me. His Quirk must have been active and because this thing is so…closely linked to my powers he must have absorbed my powers rather than the item themselves.” That is honestly his best assumption on what happened. How else can he explain Nue’s new abilities? “He tried the same thing today…but that didn’t work out for him so well.” No kidding, the guy completely transformed in one of the most monstrous things he’s ever seen!

Tsukauchi closes his notepad before getting up to his feet. “Alright, that’s all I needed from you. Thank you for indulging me for so long.”

“O-oh, i-it’s okay! I’m happy to help.”

Recovery Girl decides then to reenter the room. “Are you two finally done?”

Tsukauchi places his hat back on. “We just ended, ma’am.”

“Good, I’d like to let this one rest before he can go home.”

“Understood, I’ll take my leave.” Tsukauchi steps through the door before looking back at the young man. “It was a pleasure meeting you Mr. Midoriya, I look forward to what the future holds for you.”

“Thank you.”

Tsukauchi leaves without another word, he makes his way back to the break room while flipping through his notes.

When he arrives Toshinori is awaiting his return, his head quickly snaps up towards the door. “How’d it go?”

Tsukauchi rubs his forehead. “…I’m beginning to see why you’re so wary of him.”

“Why?! What’d he say?”

“It’s more like what he didn’t say.” He scans his notes. “That boy…he is for sure hiding something.” His Lie Detector Quirk definitely picked up on it, the boy was lying through his teeth when he gave certain answers, and it all has to revolve around that watch of his and his Quirk…

Toshinori is dying to know. “Like what?”

“That is unclear. But…whatever it is, it’s definitely related to his supposed Quirk.” 

Toshinori looks visibly shaken, he knows full and well that if Tsukauchi is unsure about something then it’s something to worry about. Is there a chance that young Midoriya somehow gained a Quirk since he last saw him? “You don’t think…?”

“I hope not…but we supposedly have one villain with multiple Quirks, and a student capable of using multiple Quirks…” 

Toshinori grabs at his head, he really hopes this is not the worst-case scenario, but the dread filling up within him tells him otherwise. It can’t be though, he defeated that devil a long time ago there’s no way he could still be lurking around. “It can’t be… Do you think…?!”

“I hope not.” Tsukauchi turns grim. “But if there’s a connection between the two of them then that could explain a lot. For example, how did the villains know about the U.S.J. and that you’d be there?”

“I…” The Number One Hero’s eyes widen with shock. “They could have been…told.” Was it young Midoriya that told them?! Is he somehow connected to these villains?! And if he is…then it’s his fault! He turned the boy away and now his negligence is coming back to haunt him. “This is all my fault…I shouldn’t have been so harsh with the boy.”

“Toshi…?”

“I…met him…a year ago, in this form. And…he asked me if someone Quirkless could be a hero…”

Tsukauchi eyes widen as if everything has just clicked into place. “You…didn’t?”

“I did…I said no.” Toshinori shakes with grief and guilt. “The instant I said that…I knew I crushed his dream, but I just…walked away, I turned my back on him.”

“Toshi…”

“And because of me…he got himself involved with those villains…all so he can be a hero.”

“What are you saying?”

“Maybe…Midoriya is not a willing participant but an unknowing victim…perhaps he’s being manipulated.”

That has to be it! Perhaps he’s unknowing handing the villains and that devil what they want to know! That’s a possibility, isn’t it?! Then again this could just be All Might’s way to gain some semblance of hope. Hope that young Midoriya can be saved and released from his servitude to the villains. But that’s assuming that this is the case.

“Perhaps…” Tsukauchi puts away his notepad. “I’m going to hold my own investigation on Izuku Midoriya.”

Toshinori was not expecting that. “Are you sure?”

“I think it’d be for the best. The best-case scenario is that I don’t find anything incriminating and we can all just brush this under the rug.”

Toshinori doesn’t want to ask, but he does. “And the worst case…?”

“The worst case is…that we have a traitor among the students of Class 1-A.”

_‘Dear God, please don’t let it be true…’_

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Izuku finishes tucking his torn hoodie into his yellow backpack just as the elevator shaft opens up.

Ochaco steps through first, examining the main lobby of Japan’s Plumber Base. “It’s been a while since we’ve been here.”

Izuku smiles, brushing his hand against the bandage on his cheek. According to Recovery Girl, a bruise isn’t a big enough injury to justify using her Quirk on it. “You said it. Why do you think Nezu called us in so suddenly?”

As Ochaco was leaving her interview, both her and Izuku had gotten a text from Principal Nezu asking them to report to the Plumber Base before they head on home.

Ochaco shrugs as they make their way to the main hanger. “Don’t know…maybe it has something to do with that Tetrax guy.” Speaking of which, Ochaco can’t help but wonder whatever became of him. _‘Tetrax…just who are you? And where did you go?’_

It doesn’t take them long to reach the second level where the doors open up to a meeting area with a large table and at the end of the rooms are two separate gates that lead to different parts of the ship.

“We are here!” You know, maybe they should stop using that line so often before it loses its luster.

Seated upon the head chair is Principal or rather Magister Nezu and posted nearby on top of the table is a little spherical-robot named One-One.

Glad-One cheers at the announcement of their arrival. ^Hooray!! It’s so good to see you!^

Sad-One’s reaction couldn’t be any more different. _^Darn, I thought you too were dead…^_

Ochaco and Izuku deadpan at the dual-personality robot. “Thanks for the vote of confidence…”

Magister Nezu smiles at their antics. “Please, don't mind One-One he was very worried for the both of you.”

Upon being addressed by an authority figure, the teens greet the little chimera. “Good to see you, sir.”

“Likewise, and might I say I am so glad to see both of you on your feet.” Magister Nezu’s smile falls as he bows his head slightly forward and he holds his paw to his chest. “I also must apologize, neither of you should have been in any way involved in this egregious act of villainy.”

Izuku is quick to wave away the accusation. “It’s okay, there was no way to know what the villains were planning to do.”

“Thank you for trying to elevate my worries, but it still stands that the entirety of U.A. has been compromised.” Nezu claps his paws together. “But that is not why I called either of you here for. Now I hate to make you both relive through today’s events, but there’s something that must be addressed.”

Ochaco goes ahead and takes a seat. “What is it, sir?”

The doors leading to the operations room opens up and a lone figure steps out. “Me.”

Ochaco shoots out of her seat so fast that she knocks it over. “It’s you! You’re Tetrax!”

Izuku is just as confused, slamming his hands against the table. “What are you doing here?!”

Tetrax Shard strolls over to the table, his helmet is still cracked but other than that he’s walking around fine, free of injury.

He takes a seat opposite of the teenagers. “It’s like I promised, I need to explain myself to you all.”

^How kind of you.^

_^I don’t trust him. I bet he’s here for our organs so he can sell them off.^_

Izuku looks to their superior to see if this is alright. “Principal Nezu?”

Magister Nezu adjusting himself on his seat which is made up of a small stack of books so he can properly see over the table. “It’s quite alright. I can guarantee that he was not in any way in league with the villains.”

Now that is a relief to hear, the last thing either Ochaco or Izuku want are to get involved in another all-out fight, especially with someone so capable.

Nezu turns to their guest. “Mr. Shard please indulge our curiosities.”

Tetrax nods his head from behind his helmet. “Of course, let’s begin by explaining why I am here. If you couldn’t tell, I am not in fact human.”

Ochaco gives the alien a deadpanned stare. “Yeah, we sort-of figured that out for ourselves.”

“Right, but as an extraterrestrial being, I knew I couldn’t be found out by your planet’s heroes…” Tetrax makes air quotes while saying “heroes”. “And so after I witnessed your fantastic display of strategic battling, I made my escape and came here.” He gestures to their current surroundings. 

Izuku curiously stares up at the being. “But how’d you know it was here?”

Glad-One graciously provides an answer. ^Well how else do you think all the aliens that come here find us? It’s public knowledge to them! Much like how everyone knows where their local police station is.^

Sad-One is of course ready with a quip of his own. _^It also makes it easier for our enemies to find us.^_

The teens roll their eyes, figuring the robot was exaggerating.

Tetrax sheepishly rubs the back of his helmet. “They’re actually right about that.”

“What?!” They both cry out in surprise! Sure it makes sense but isn’t it bad if alien criminals can find them too?!

The ever chipper Nezu simply laughs off their worries. “Hahaha!”

While Nezu calms himself down, Tetrax decides to get things moving. “Anyway if I may. After I arrived here, I had your little droid here contact the local Plumbers, and Magister Nezu arrived shortly after.”

Well that explains how he got here and why Nezu called the two over here.

But that only increases Izuku’s inner curiosity. “Wait, if you’re an alien, what kind of alien are you?” He excitedly has his Hero Transformation Notebook at the ready, he’s also been filing its pages with new aliens that he’s had the pleasure of coming across in Mr. Baumann’s store.

Tetrax smiles from underneath his helmet. “See for yourself.” Tetrax reaches behind his head and after a switch of a button his helmet shifts and opens up until it sheathes itself back into his suit.

Nezu smiles on as the space cadets’ jaws drop at the sight before them. “Diamondhead?!”

Tetrax looks at them with confusion. “Who?”

If he knew what they were talking about he certainly wouldn’t be in the unknown. Tetrax is seemingly a carbon-copy of Diamondhead, because he’s a Petrosapien. Although with a few differences such as a slightly different frame and no long shards of crystal sticking out from his hide.

“Huh, so that’s how I got my new transformation.” Izuku peers down at the Omnitrix. “When you grabbed it, it must have absorbed your DNA… That might explain how I got the Megawatt DNA as well when I think about it.” 

Tetrax approves of Izuku’s deductive reasoning. “Yes, the Omnitrix is a device that stores and collects DNA of all intelligent life forms in the known universe. While also providing the wielder access to all of the DNA within it.” His tone changes, becoming deeper and more foreboding. “And there are many that would do anything to get it.” 

Ochaco nervously sinks down into her seat. “Such as the one that sent you after it?”

“Yes.”

“By the way…are you still here to take it?” Ochaco gestures to the watch, and in response Izuku instinctually backs away gripping said device protectively.

“…No, it’s like I said, I am here to ensure it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.” Tetrax then adds in the following with a casual demeanor. “And besides I couldn’t take it even if I wanted to.”

“Good point.” Ochaco sweat drops, she had forgotten that the Omnitrix is literally fused to her friend's arm. So, he couldn't exactly press and button and slip it off, now could he? “Then why were you searching for it if you were sent to take it?”

“The one who hired me will only use its power to destroy and conquer, I couldn’t risk it. So I took advantage of the situation deciding that I would ensure the Omnitrix’s safety.”

Izuku pipes in his take. “In other words you went against your orders.”

Tetrax gives the kid a cocky smirk. “Exactly. And it’s a good thing too.”

Nezu claps his paws together and places them atop the table before addressing the Petrosapien. “Mr. Shard, please. Would you care to tell us who it is that hired you?”

“Yes…it was the most dangerous being in the universe, the one known as…Vilgax…” He draws out the threat’s name to express how dreadful the danger truly is. 

Nezu’s usual calm and cheery demeanor is shaken, at least for a brief moment. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.” There’s no sugar coating this, Vilgax is the one that hired and sent him here.

“Oh my.”

Ochaco rubs her ear, not sure if she heard the bounty hunter correctly. “Vil-what?”

Izuku is just as lost as she is. “Who is that?”

Nue gestures for Tetrax to explain away.

“Vilgax is a conquer and destroyer of worlds, a powerful being who has made dictators grovel at his feet to appease his violent tendencies. He’s destroyed civilizations not for their resources but for sport! Wiped out entire species of aliens! He’s so dreaded planets have surrendered themselves just to avoid his wrath bearing itself down upon them!”

The space cadets gulp, is this Vilgax guy really all that dangerous?

Nezu rubs his scar which runs down his face. “And somehow, he’s been made aware of the Omnitrix’s existence and he has his sights after it.”

Tetrax grimaces. “Yes. And with it he will certainly create an army of transforming minions that can tear through any environment, army, and force that they come across all in the name of galactic conquest.”

Izuku’s eyes widen with realization. It must have been this Vilgax guy sending all those robots down after him all those months ago, but he had assumed that whomever was sending them had given up. Guess not…

Ochaco grips her hands together, in an attempt to keep herself cool and collected. “W-What do we do? H-how can w-we defeat him?!”

“You can’t.” Tetrax delivers this line rather bluntly.

Izuku and Ochaco freeze up, the blood draining from their faces as the temperature drops several hundred degrees.

Nezu tries to offer the two a kind reassuring smile. “Now, now there is no need to panic.”

They both cry out while completely in sync. “How are you not panicking?!”

Nezu holds up a single finger. “A lesson for you both. Panicking never helped anyone; it's much more productive to stay calm and take everything at face value.” As of now this is how things stand. “For one, a benefit of living here on Earth, especially in such a place as Japan, are our fine pro heroes that risk life and limb to defend the innocent and withhold the peace.” Unbeknownst to the heroes, they are actually the main reason why the Plumbers of Earth don’t have to deal with such vile alien criminals. “As such many of those who would otherwise cause harm to Earth or its inhabitants opt to stay away and not jeopardize their own resources on such an endeavor.”

Tetrax takes over the explanation from here. “Especially when you consider how unique each humans’ powers can be, there’s no possible way for any enemy army to assume what the enemy has waiting for them. Not to mention you have the Symbol of Peace, All Might, protecting over your country and not to mention your place of education.”

Izuku’s eyes disappear from under his green locks. “Wait…you know about All Might?”

“Why of course. Someone with such great power as his doesn’t exactly go unnoticed.”

Ochaco blinks in rupees. _‘Huh, how do you like that? All Might’s also famous across the galaxy and not just the planet. Wow, I really have a lot to live up to, don’t I?’_

Tetrax continues. “In other words as long as you remain here on Earth, even Vilgax will play things cautiously.”

Izuku isn’t too reassured by that claim. “Will he?”

“He has to.” Nezu turns in his seat so he can reassure the boy properly. “For you see, our fellow Plumbers station across the galaxies have recently established a truce with this very same Vilgax.” He sighs in defeat. “However, we cannot make a move on him either.”

“Why not?”

“As Mr. Shard has said, Vilgax is a highly dangerous individual so much so that our so-called truce is more of a cease fire and any aggression from either side could result in the destruction of not only Earth but many other planets across the universe.”

Ochaco is actually shaking in her seat. “B-but t-then…w-what do we do?”

Nezu frowns in response, shaking his head. “I don’t know.”

“That’s not reassuring…”

Tetrax raises his hand with an offer. “If I may, I might just have a solution.”

The others look at him expectantly waiting for him to continue.

“This base is capable of scanning the entirety of Japan in order to keep track of any and all registered aliens living upon it. Correct?”

Nezu nods. “Why of course.”

“Right well Vilgax gave me this.” The bounty hunter pulls out a small rectangular device that’s red in color and has a small screen embedded into its surface. “It’s a special device that uses the same technology that allows Vilgax to locate the Omnitrix whenever it is activated.” He hands the device to Magister Nezu so he can examine it himself. “So using the same technology and with the help of your droid we should be able to create a program of sorts to act as a jammer.” He gestures towards the Omnitrix wielder. “Whenever Midoriya activates the Omnitrix the frequency it releases as a result will be scrambled across your scanner and hence Vilgax will be unable to detect his location.”

Ochaco leans forward in her seat. “But will that really get rid of him?”

“It’s no guarantee, as long as the Omnitrix remains here he will undoubtedly send more agents here to retrieve it.”

Well that’s not good, they’d prefer a more permanent solution, but it’s still not a bad idea. 

But Tetrax isn’t done yet, there’s one more thing they can do. “So, we must also take the Omnitrix off world.”

Neither of the teens find the joke funny. “What?!”

He can’t be serious?! Does he really expect Izuku to just pack up and leave for who knows where?! While a maniacal conqueror purses him until the end of his days?! Or does Tetrax mean they should try and remove the Omnitrix? There are several issues with that two: one, they can’t remove it unless he plans to cut his arm off. And two, Izuku really doesn’t want to part with the device…it’s given him so much, and not just powers. Giving it up would bring everything he’s worked towards to a screeching halt, and there will be no way for him to become a hero. 

Tetrax can almost sense the despair and fear radiating off the boy, so he quickly tries to make amends. “Hold on, allow me to explain. What I mean is we lead him away with a fake Omnitrix.”

That instantly snaps Izuku out of his funk. “A fake Omnitrix?”

Ochaco is equally just as confused. “How will we do that?”

“Simple.” Tetrax takes the device back from Nezu and holds it up. “Using this device I can mimic the signal given off by the Omnitrix and as such Vilgax will believe that I have it. And that I am on my way to hide it and keep it out of his possession. In doing so he will abandon Earth to pursue me.”

Izuku shakes his head, that can’t be their best strategy. “That’s crazy! If you were to do that he’d come after you and those you care about!”

Tetrax offers the boy a smile. “I appreciate the concern, but you have no need to worry.” He jabs his thumb towards his puffed-out chest. “I’m pretty slippery despite my physique and besides…I have no one to lose…” His voice falls slightly. 

They all notice the change in tone, but neither of them wants to be the one to point it out.

Tetrax coughs bring them back to the plan at hand. “What do you say Magister?”

Nezu hums to himself while in though, but it doesn’t take long for him to have an answer. “I think it’s our best option. To ensure Mr. Midoriya’s safety, we must see this through.”

“Thank you.”

Ochaco isn’t buying this either. “Are you sure you’re okay with this? You could stay and we can come up with something else?”

Izuku agrees. “Yeah, you could always just say and help me with the Omnitrix and maybe my new Diamondhead form.”

Tetrax shakes his head in denial. “I wish I could, but I cannot stay.”

“Why not?”

“One, Vilgax will know I betrayed him and send others after me. So, either way I will be hunted. Also…I’m a wanted fugitive here now.” 

“Huh?”

Nezu scratches his ear trying to make this bit of news sound casual. “Yes, you see after hearing the collective statements of the students, there’s a nationwide search for our dear Mr. Shard. He cannot stay, not without risking the exposure of aliens.”

“I understand, sir.”

Tetrax nods before getting up from his seat. “Good.” He turns to One-One who’s been quietly listening from the sidelines. “Now, droid let’s get started on this program.”

^Aye! Aye!^

^ _You can’t boss me around._ ^

One-One hops off the table and follows Tetrax to the main operating room so they can begin programming their scanner and Tetrax’s detector.

Nezu leans back in his seat. “In the meantime, there’s a few things I’d like to discuss with the two of you.”

Ochaco takes a guess about what it is. “Is it about the U.S.J.?”

“It is. During the police investigation…I granted them access to the U.S.J.’s camera footage.”

Izuku and Ochaco share the same thought. _‘There were cameras?’_ But then again not like they would have come in handy since all signals were cut off from the main campus.

“And there were some things that really concern me…such as the villain known as Nue, or rather Henzu Uuichi.” The cameras are also installed with microphones, so they were able to pick up on certain conversations. “From my understanding of the situation the two of you know this person, do you not?”

Izuku swallows a bit of saliva before nodding. “We do…” he takes a breath before continuing on. “He…was my best friend back in junior high.”

“Was he?”

“Y-yes, but we had a fight…” he would rather not get into it.

“Mr. Midoriya.”

Izuku peers up at the principal. 

“Please…tell me, you will not be in any trouble.”

Izuku believes him and goes ahead with his story. “Nue…or rather Henzu was a friend and we all got caught up at the Mutant incident at the Kiyashi Ward Shopping Mall, that’s actually the first time I met Uraraka. But before that…he had always known me to be Quirkless… He…felt betrayed…and so I wanted to explain myself to him…” 

This is the first time Ochaco’s hearing the full story as well. “Deku what happened?”

“I told him…I mean sort-of I didn’t tell him about aliens or anything…I just said that I finally got my Quirk is all.” And that lie made him feel like he owed Henzu. “But then…he wanted me to make it up to him.” So he did, and he can only look back at the results with a powerful taste. “And there was a train…apparently it was filled with gold or something…”

“Deku…” 

“Henzu…Nue wanted me to help him rob it by…crashing the train into a passenger train…” 

Ochaco lets out a gasp while Nezu remains silent.

“That…was when I couldn’t stand by anymore and…we had a fight.”

“Like an argument?”

“No…I became Lodestar and we had an all-out brawl…but he did something.”

Nezu gives his student an inquisitive look, while Ochaco pushes for answers. “Did what?”

“Do you remember how he grabbed the Omnitrix?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, he did the same thing then and…I think he got my alien powers through his Osmosis Quirk. And after the U.S.J….well you all saw what happened to him.” He became a monster. “And that was it…he didn’t come back to school and he never answered my calls…our friendship had officially come to an end.” 

Nezu hops off from his pedestal and approaches the boy, placing a gentle paw to his hand. “My boy, you have my sincerest apologies for your loss. Losing a friend is never easy, especially to villainy.” Or any situation for that matter. “In any case, this does clear up a lot.” He removes his paw. “We best be careful from here on out when it comes to safeguarding the Omnitrix, and not just from Vilgax, but from Nue and others that could potentially use its power for nefarious ploys.”

Ochaco shoots out from her seat, her fists balled up and raised as she leers determinedly at her allies. “I’ll help too.” There’s no way she’s going to let Deku get attacked by some cosmic villain, at least not alone.

“Thanks.” Izuku smiles up to them , appreciating their support. “But are we sure I should be the one to have this…?”

He stares down at the alien device. Is it okay for him to be the one to wield this power? Especially if it’s capable of being used to destroy and conquer worlds? Is it okay to leave it in the hands of a child?

“Mr. Midoriya.”

Izuku snaps out of his stupor, as Nezu waits for him to calm down.

“I don’t think there is anyone else more suited to wielding the Omnitrix than you.” Nezu eyes the young man with pride. “You are a smart and capable young man, one of the finest I’ve ever met. So, believe me when I say that I don’t think there’s anyone else more suited to wield this device.” Well there may be one other person that he can think of, but they’re not here anyway so it doesn’t matter. “Besides we can’t give it to someone else even if we wanted to! Hahahaha!”

Nezu may be laughing, but Izuku’s just happy to hear that the Principal of U.A. believes in him.

All too soon the main doors open back up and One-One rolls his way into the room. ^We finished!^

_^You may now sing my praises.^_

Ochaco gaps at One-One as Tetrax follow close behind the robot. “That was fast!”

Tetrax helps One-One onto the table. “Your droid here is a lot more efficient than it would seem.”

Sad-One leers up at the Petrosapien. _^Don’t patronize me.^_

“The jamming program is up and running.” Tetrax holds up his newly upgraded detector. “And this now has the capability to not only locate the Omnitrix but mimic its signature.”

Ochaco examines the device with intrigue. “How do we know if it worked?”

Tetrax looks to Izuku for the answer. “Let’s try it.”

Izuku smiles in understanding, excitedly he presses down the Omnitrix and is replaced with the one and only Grey Matter.

Ochaco allows the little alien to step into her open palms so she can lift him up and keep him at eye level.

Tetrax turns the signal detector towards them, with a pleased smile on his face.

Grey Matter tilts his head to the side while examining the screen. “It worked?”

Nezu is also pleased with the results. “It appears so.” 

Tetrax pockets the device. “Now that this device can send out signals, Vilgax will have no way to locate your position.”

Nezu hates to bring down the mood, but he’s the type to look at things as they are. “Even so we must proceed with caution. Vilgax is a patient and calculating foe, he may very well still send his agents here to Earth.” He offers an encouraging smile to the students. “But I think we’ll be more than ready for when he does.”

“Well in any case, I think I should take my leave.”

The rag tag group of various species head on down to the hanger where a ship that neither Ochaco nor Izuku recognize sits. Apparently after making his escape from the U.S.J. Tetrax used the cloaking device of the small ship to make his escape and come here to the Plumber Base.

Before Tetrax can take off however, One-One goes ahead and begins inspecting the shuttle to ensure it’s capable of space travel.

The ship is nothing special, it’s a simple ship with the small cargo area leading into the pilot's seat. The docking hatch is the back of the shuttle, with a ramp as the means to climb aboard.

Even though it is nothing that spectacular Ochaco can’t help but admire the spacecraft. “Is this your ship?”

Tetrax knocks his knuckles against the side of the shuttle. “Um…it’s more of a rental.” His real spaceship is undergoing repairs on another planet, so he had to settle for this.

Before Ochaco or Izuku can ask what Tetrax means, One-One jumps down from atop the shuttle. ^Mr. Shiny-man your ship is fully operational!^

_^We are not legally obligated to ensure your safety in the incident of the ship imploding.^_

“Thank you.” Tetrax steps aboard the ramp, but not before facing the space cadets one last time. “Well it’s been quite the experience.” He holds his crystallized hand out to them both. “It’s been a pleasure to fight by your side.”

“Same.” Izuku takes and shakes the man’s hand, although he struggles to stop himself from wincing under Tetrax’s firm grip.

Ochaco bows in appreciation. “Thank you for your help.”

“You’re welcome.” He turns to leave climbing up the ramp towards the cargo duct.

“Wait!” Ochaco just remembered that there was something else she needed to ask. “You could have just walked away; you didn’t need to help us.”

Tetrax stops to hear the girl out.

“So, I guess my question is…why?” 

Tetrax takes a minute to think of his response. There’s a lot he can say on the matter such as his less than spotless past and his innocent people, but there’s no need to bog down these children with those details. “I once walked away from my responsibilities… I turned my back on those that couldn’t defend themselves…after that I chose to never allow that to happen again.” That’s right, he’d rather risk his own life for those that cannot. “Before I leave I have just a few pieces of advice for each of you.”

He points to the gravity manipulator to ensure that she’s listening. “Be more decisive with your decisions and trust in yourself and those around you. Sometimes your instincts are a far greater means of decision making, don’t let fear and uncertainty hold you back. ”

Ochaco looks up at the warrior with an expression that radiates resolve. “I will.”

Tetrax nods pleased that she will take his advice seriously before he turns his attention onto the wielder of the Omnitrix. “And you…you can’t rely on the Omnitrix.”

That is not the advice Izuku was expecting. “Pardon?”

“You rely too heavily on the Omnitrix, and in doing so you risk not only your life but those around you, and the Omnitrix itself.” He pounds his fist over his chest. “You have a warrior’s heart and a strategic mind, being able to fight without the Omnitrix will only increase your own capabilities in a fight.”

Izuku considers the advice and comes to the conclusion that Tetrax knows what he’s talking about. He thinks back to how earlier that day how the others kept him back from the fight. Because in truth there was nothing he could do at the time, not with the Omnitrix out of commission. He needs a way to fight when the Omnitrix’s aliens aren’t accessible to him. But how? Maybe he should look into some kind of support gear or weapon? But what?

With nothing else to say Tetrax boards his ship, until he decides on one last thing. “One more thing.” He grabs a dark flat disk from his belt before tossing down to Izuku.

The disk flops between Izuku’s hands before he finally catches it. Upon being caught the disk expands and shoots outward, the sudden movement surprises Izuku so much that he drops it. But the device doesn’t fall to the ground instead it hovers just above the floor.

Izuku grins excitedly as he examines his brand-new support item. “A hoverboard?!”

The hoverboard is a rectangular shape with a light green base and a strange green alien insignia inscribed on it.

Ochaco awes at the device as Izuku picks it up and continues to examine it.

Tetrax finds their expression rather amusing, if only they knew how common this technology truly is in the galaxies. “I think you’ll have more use for that than me.” Besides he could always get another one.

Izuku presses down on the side of the hoverboard and it shrinks back down into its original disc form. “So, cool!”

“Aw, no fair! Don’t I get one?” Ochaco’s cheeks puff out as she grumbles about the unfairness of the situation.

That complaint honestly takes Tetrax by surprise. “What? Can’t you already fly?”

Ochaco blinks in bewilderment “Excuse me?”

“You manipulate gravity, don’t you? I figured you would use the ability to fly.”

Ochaco’s eyes light up. Holy shit! That’s true isn’t it?! Why didn’t she think of it before?! Well now all she needs to do is figure out how to do it. Look out Deku, you’re not going to be the only one ruling the skies!

While Ochaco revels in her new found realization, Nezu takes the chance to address their new friend. “Mr. Shard, thank you for everything. You protected my students and now you’re giving yourself up to the wolves.” Nezu bows, his back at a perfectly 90-degree angle. “I thank you for your service, and I can guarantee that you will receive all cooperation from the Plumbers.” He salutes as a way to honor his promise.

Tetrax offers a salute of his own, accepting the kind offer. He gives the students one last look of expectancy and with a curt nod he enters into his shuttle just as the ramp rises and closes up the interior of the spaceship.

Izuku and Ochaco watch on as the shuttle roars to life and wind gushes out from its engines as the shuttle begins to float up and into the air, from above a hatch opens up revealing the bright blue sky above. The ship slowly rises out through the narrow tunnel, it’s cloaking device activates turning the entire ship invisible, the only sign that it’s left the tunnel is how the leaves and the branches of the trees above whip around. And with a loud boom like that of a jet the trees fall silent as Tetrax begins to ascend to the planet’s upper atmosphere.

The students watch on as the trees finally settle and the passage begins to seal itself back up and then they are left alone in their thoughts. Thoughts on what their possible futures hold for them now, and the hope that this plan will work out in their favor.

But Nezu has another concern, one that falls upon the responsibilities as a principle rather than a Plumber. _‘Our students have gone through so much on their own… But I fear for how the public will view this incident. We need to assure the people of Japan that there is nothing to fear, that this was a temporary lapse in preparedness._ ’ Hopefully an opportunity to show how well the school is actually conducting itself will be upon them soon.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

A humanoid drone addresses the commander of his ship. “Master, we’ve detected Tetrax Shard’s ship exiting the planet’s atmosphere.”

The commander or rather Vilgax, the destroyer of worlds smiles from underneath his breathing apparatus. _‘I knew I could rely on him. He was so willing to betray his own people; I knew he’d be perfect to complete this mission. And soon I will have the Omnitrix in my grasp.’_

Another drone rushes up to its master’s healing pod. “Master! Tetrax Shard is not trying to board our ship, instead he’s activated his hyperdrive!”

“What?!” 

A third drone wheels around from its post. “Master, we’ve detected the Omnitrix and the signal is coming from abroad Tetrax Shard’s ship!”

“It cannot be?!” But then again. “Prepare to intercept him!!” They must intercept his ship before it can escape.

“It is too late, he just entered hyperspace.” With one last beep of the drone’s monitor, it confirms that Tetrax has left the solar system.

Vilgax roars out in anger, if only he wasn’t restrained to this accursed pod, he would be thrashing about smashing away his useless minions. “Rahhh!!” That traitor, Tetrax, will not outrun him so easily! He will hunt him down and take what is rightfully his. “Quickly we must pursue him!!”

“We cannot, the ship’s main reactor is still undergoing repairs.” Even though they’ve been working on the ship for months it’s difficult doing repairs when they cannot return to their own planet and instead have to resort to sneaking in shipments of supplies and material.

Vilgax is seething with rage. How dare that insulate bug defy him?! “If we cannot pursue him, then we will send another after him. Someone who will not give up his Hunt or betray me.” Yes, he will hire someone that will not give up a hunt, someone who will honor their allegiance, someone who will hunt Tetrax to the very edges of the universe if they must.

Then again…his well-toned and experienced instincts are betraying his rage. Perhaps Tetrax doesn’t mean to escape with the Omnitrix but lead him and his army away from it. Perhaps the Omnitrix is still on the planet?

Either way he cannot pursue Tetrax without a properly functioning ship, so he is stuck here for the time being. With only the Earth’s various media outlets to occupy his time. Admittedly he’s become rather fascinated with this planet, just how does a population of lesser lifeforms evolve so spontaneously with powers that could rival his own strength? Not like that fact scares him in any way…in fact it only serves to intrigue him further. Perhaps this planet will prove to be a worthy challenge, and a fine addition to his grand empire.

A news article projects itself onto the surface of the healing pod. Vilgax examines the article and its headline; “U.A. Attacked by the League of Villains”.

Vilgax rereads the header, it looks like things are getting even more interesting. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You were warned, it was a bit of a boring chapter. But it was a necessary one in my opinion and I hope you all feel the same way. The next few chapters will be similarly the same, but I will try to add a few more action scenes here and there when I can. Anyway I’ll see you all next time.
> 
> *For full disclosure, Nue will remain in his mutated form moving forward.
> 
> *I know some of you wanted All Might to tell Izuku about One For All, but I want to hold off on that for now.
> 
> *If you don’t know, One-One is a character form the “Infinity Train” series. Go check it out it is well worth it.
> 
> *Izuku’s new hoverboard is the X321 model. Or the original version of Ben Ten’s hoverboard.
> 
> *As for Izuku’s and Ochaco’s future support items, I already have ideas on what I want to give them and how they get them. Hopefully the next chapter will continue to see this go through.
> 
> *Also I’m going to say this because I know a lot of you are going to ask, but Vilgax is going to hire the greatest huntsman in the galaxy to go after Tetrax.
> 
> *Speaking of Tetrax we will not be seeing him for a while. Keep in mind that I took a lot of inspiration from the Ben Ten series so I’m treating Tetrax the same way. He will eventually return every now and then, but I would not expect him back any time soon.
> 
> *Also for disclosure we won’t be starting the Sports Festival Arc for another 2-3 chapters mainly because there’s a few more things I want to address and add in one chapter for fun before we get to the Sports Festival.


	19. Prepare Youselves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Class 1-A are finally informed about their next big challenge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, everyone! I know right? I was really able to get this chapter out, quickly wasn’t I? To be fair this chapter is heavily inspired by the manga/anime, so it was a bit easier to craft. But I still hope you can take something away from it. Enjoy.

The tiny TV set is on, its bright screen providing just enough light to brighten the small room. There’s nothing much to the room other than a small coffee table, and couch. “Up next an update on yesterday’s incident at the U.A. rescue training center where hero course students were attacked by a gang of villains.” The newscaster checks over her notes. “According to police officials the criminal forces called themselves ‘the League of Villains.’ Investigators have reportedly uncovered that this group has been plotting to kill U.A. teacher and popular hero, All Might, since the spring of this year. Police arrested 72 villains at the scene, but the League’s leader escaped. His whereabouts are unknown.”

The news continues with its coverage, as the light of the TV illuminates the contents of the room. But what stands out amongst the clutter is a single hand written letter laid out onto the table.

<Greetings.

The air is warm here, it feels like summer is just around the corner. I hope this letter finds you well, sir. In good health and even better spirits. This semester I took a position as a teacher at U.A. High School. Heh, that’s right. I’m now guiding the next generation of heroes. I was hoping to find someone worthy of inheriting my power among the elite students at the school. A hero-in-training with outstanding test scores and a powerful Quirk.

However, before I ever began my tenure at U.A., I met a young woman. Even though she was weak and had a less than combative Quirk, she’s shown me incredible bravery and fortitude. She was even able to save herself from a dangerous situation that caused pro heroes, including myself, to hesitate. She managed to save her own life in the process and apprehend a dangerous villain all on her own. She may not have had a proper plan when she acted, but she knew she had to do something.

I feel like watching her spring into action taught me something that day. It reminded me of the virtues I must embody in order to call myself a pro…a hero. That’s why…I meant it when I said to her: that she can become a great hero. I told this pupil the secret of my Quirk and proposed that I transfer it to her. This ability I have that’s been passed on from person to person, cultivated, and made stronger. The crystallization of power that binds itself to a courageous heart for the good of those in need, One For All. She accepted my power and I began training her for the trials she’d need to overcome in order to be accepted into the hero course at U.A. High School. Even though she sometimes struggles with her newfound abilities. She never stopped trying, giving it 100 percent, and somehow pulling away in victory and harnessing One For All.

I don’t like to toot my own horn, but I believe I found the perfect person to pass my Quirk on to. She has shown me time and again that she has what it takes to be a real hero. I’m still quite new to the role of instructor. The day may come when I must trouble you my old teacher for advice. I’ll be counting on your wisdom and patience when that time comes. Until then please take care of yourself as the seasons begin to change. I’ll continue to keep you updated about what’s happening especially in light of these current events.

Sincerely yours,

Toshinori Yagi>

A lone figure hobbles his way into the room before spotting the very letter that was sent to them. “So, Toshinori has found a worthy successor.” Good, this should make things more fun.

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“Our investigators are trying to learn everything they can about this so-called ‘League of Villains.’” Naomasa Tsukauchi reads off his papers making sure he doesn’t miss a piece of information. “We’ve made some progress, but we can’t find anything on this Tomura Shigaraki so far.”

It’s rather late in the day when Detective Tsukauchi begins his report with several members of the U.A. Staff in the school’s very own Conference Room, not all of them could be there mainly because after a few days of extensive investigations the students will be returning to class soon enough.

Detective Tsukauchi addresses the pro heroes in attendance. “We’ve searched our records for men in their twenties who are registered as having some sort of disintegration Quirk, but so far we’ve come up empty. Same for the Warp Gate villain Kurogiri. So they’re not citizens or they’re using aliases. Hard to find either way.” He checks over his notes real quick. “The same can be said for the intruder known as Tetrax Shard.”

Each of the staff members comb through their own piles of sheets, scanning them for details. Since none of them were really there for a majority of the action they only have brief moments of video tapes, the little info they could get out of the captured villains, and the statements of the students themselves. But out of the said statements, the best ones they can seem to rely on are those that participated in the final battle as well as Iida’s and Asui’s.

Snipe drops his papers onto the conference table. “So what you’re saying is that we know next to nothing… I reckon we oughta learn fast or the leader of these varmints, Shigaraki, decides to have another go. What a pain.”

Yagi Toshinori scoffs. “Leader, huh…” 

From the seat beside him, Principal Nezu peers up at the weakened All Might with intrigue. “Something on your mind, All Might?”

“It's just that nothing about this feels normal, the attack was too bold. It was such a daring attack, and not just in the meticulous planning, but no sane adult would ever attempt it.” Toshinori browses the statements before coming upon the sections where the students discussed Shigaraki. “And according to these notes, although he didn’t say anything particular about his own Quirk, he was shooting his mouth off, bragging about that guy Nomu’s Quirk…Quirks.” He corrects. “And when things didn’t go his way? He started throwing tantrums.”

Toshinori cups his chin. “Well…the bit about Nomu having two Quirks could have been a way to provoke the students…” Not like it did any good in the end all things considered.

Principal Nezu has something to add. “Even so, it seems counterproductive and utterly foolish in a battle to reveal one’s Quirks and waste the element of surprise.”

And that is exactly what Toshinori’s trying to get at. “Bragging about the toy he brought along. The poor lack of planning. And simple-mindedly thinking everything would go his way. If we think about how the attack was carried out, it seems clear that this Shigaraki character couldn't quite hide his childish nature. That sense that he does whatever he wants… He’s a man-child.”

Vlad King huffs in response to the statement. “A child with incredible power though.”

Vlad King is a very tall man with a muscular build. He has short pale gray hair; he has a wide mouth with two prominent lower canines. His hero costume consists of a dark red skin-tight suit with a very low u-shaped collar. He wears white over-the-knee boots and thick vambraces over his lower arms, a thin wire snaking from one of the two small protrusions on the left one to the back of his neck, red gloves, and he wears an orange mask over his eyes.

Midnight tries to offer up a reason. “Maybe he never received General Quirk Counseling in elementary school…”

Vlad King is quick to brush it off. “So?! What does that matter anyway?!”

Tsukauchi interjects, with the intention of clearing some things up. “We apprehended a total of 72 villains and 23 mutated animals, not to mention Nomu.” But this is the real kicker. “They were all just back-alley thugs, but… What worries me is that this “man-child” got them all to follow his crazy plan. They viewed him as a real leader.”

Now that is a real puzzler. And with it the detective has the heroes’ undivided attention.

“Nowadays, our society is saturated with heroes. So maybe small-time villains like them, who always get kicked around are drawn in by that sort of pure, simple-minded villainy.”

Toshinori can’t help but think how there are in fact many individuals out there in the world that can’t resist the urge to use their powers. And that often results in many individuals turning to villainy.

Vlad King huffs. “Guess that makes sense.”

Snipe leans back in his seat. “There are plenty a’ people out there lookin’ for a cause to get behind.”

Midnight’s gaze falls to the files in her hands. “So, what do we do to stop them?”

Tsukauchi looks over his notes. “Well thanks to you heroes…thanks to your students, we can focus on our investigation. We’ll expand our search and devote our efforts to apprehending the perpetrators.”

Nezu loses himself to his thoughts. “A man-child, huh…?” His little musing draws in everyone else’s attention. “In some ways, he shares common ground with our students. They both have so much potential.” Nobody likes what the principal is getting at. “And like our students, I suppose it is possible, someone is guiding him trying to nurture his malice and villainy.”

Toshinori sighs, not liking that though one bit. “I don’t wanna think about what that could mean…” 

The other staff members feel similarly. What Principal Nezu is implying is a rather hard pill to swallow; basically in other circumstances, their own students could have very well been led onto the same path of evil.

With a shake of his head, Vlad King goes through a section of the files, and something else peeks his interest. “He’s not the only one that could have turned out differently, now is he?”

Tsukauchi looks over and notices which file has Vlad King’s intrigue. “I believe you are referring to the villain known as Nue, or rather Henzu Uuichi. Unlike the other two we actually have quite a bit on this one.” Tsukauchi flips through notes before locating his own notes of the villain. “Abused at a young age, he ended up in the foster care system, after that he began building a record of various offenses from minor to incriminating even ending up in juvie a few times. Apparently, his Quirk is called Osmosis it’s apparently an Emitter type that allows him to absorb matter of nonliving things and fuse it to his body.”

Midnight raises an eyebrow. “Osmosis?” That can’t be right, they all saw the video tapes, and that Nue guy clearly had some other kind of Quirk. “Then how do you explain how he was transforming much like Midoriya?”

It’s hard not to notice a child with the capability to access multiple types of powers. Heck this isn’t even the first time Midnight has seen people with Quirks that allow them to stockpile other people’s Quirks. But from what she’s hearing, this Osmosis Quirk can’t possibly do that.

Tsukauchi has an answer for her. “Well, for full disclosure. Izuku Midoriya, and by extension Katsuki Bakugou and Ochaco Uraraka, have a bit of history with the villain in question.”

The heroes all sit up a little straighter in response to the news, although All Might and Nezu are the exceptions since they were already aware of this.

Vlad King growls. “Are you saying they’re all friends with this punk?!”

“No, nothing like that. The only one that seemed to have a good relationship with Uuichi was Midoriya but according to the young man their friendship broke apart about a year ago.”

Snipe presses his finger against his papers. “That still doesn’t explain why their abilities are so similar.”

“We have a working theory, courtesy of Mr. Midoriya.” The detective tries to recall what Izuku had brought up the other day. “From what we were told, Mr. Midoriya’s support item is somewhat directly connected to his Quirk. At some point Uuichi tried to take the item while using his Osmosis, and as a result he accidentally absorbed Midoriya’s Quirk, One Man Army.”

All Might’s brow furrows in response, that can’t be right. There are far too many flaws with this theory, but then again, they don’t have much to go off of.

The detective picks up on Toshinori’s unconvinced expression. “However, I must disclose that this is only a working theory. I cannot deny or confirm whether any of this is true.”

Midnight leans back in her seat. “Just another question I suppose.”

Snipe holds up his papers. “What of this Tetrax fella? The one that escaped during the skirmish.”

Tsukauchi nods before replying. “We have virtually nothing to work with, he all but disappeared.”

Vlad King slams his fist against the table. “Don’t be ridiculous! There’s got to be something!”

“There isn’t…he had his face concealed the entire time, so nobody knows what he looks like. It’s also unclear what his Quirk was, we can only speculate that it was some kind of durability Quirk.” But even that’s a stretch. “We literally have no details on this intruder.” Hell they can’t even say if Tetrax Shard is the guy’s real name or an alias.

“Are you serious?! Can you at least tell us why he was there?!”

“I can.” Tsukauchi flips through his papers until he finds the ones he wants. “According to Shoto Todoroki and Ochaco Uraraka, Tetrax Shard was after Izuku Midoriya’s Omnitrix.”

Principal Nezu jolts but keeps his composure before anyone could notice.

Midnight raises an eyebrow in confusion. “I’m sorry…?”

Tsukauchi adjusts his tie before continuing. “Let me elaborate, for some unknown reason this Tetrax fellow was after Midoriya’s support item, his watch, also known as the Omnitrix.”

“Cool name.” Remarks Snipe. “But…why would a villain be after a child’s support item?”

“That…is unclear as well. Possibly to sell it on the black-market…” But like everything else, that is only a theory. For all they know, they wanted the Omnitrix because it looked cool. But whatever the reason, it must have been worth breaking into the U.S.J. to go and take it from a group of heroes. “We have already put out a country wide search for Tetrax, as well as all the villains who escaped. Hopefully we can locate them and get some answers.”

Principal Nezu cups his paws together as he sorts-through his thoughts. _‘Good thing we sent Tetrax off world, if he stayed there could have been a chance for him to be discovered… But what concerns me is that there will be more agents coming here to pursue the Omnitrix. I best make sure we are ready and prepared to defend ourselves and our secrets.’_ Nezu claps his paws together to gather the other heroes’ attention. “I think it’s time for a tea break.”

Toshinori gives his superior a questioning look. “Sir?”

“The answers are not going to drop into our laps just because we want them to, and sometimes a quick tea break allows one to take a step back and look at the issue from a different angel.” He quickly checks his watch, taking note of how late it really is. “Besides we might as well take a break while we can. After all, after this meeting we have much more to discuss.” He pats the stack of folders sitting beside him, and within it are the potential plans for hosting their next school event.

Tsukauchi offers a friendly smile. “Very well Principal.”

With that, the other teachers take their leave. They either make their way to the break room where Nezu will prepare them some tea or they head on outside for some much-needed fresh air.

Before Toshinori can leave, his old friend intercepts him. “All Might.”

“Tsukauchi, is there something else I can help you with?” Toshinori steps back into the Conference Room allowing Tsukauchi a chance to seal it closed.

“More like, what I can help you with.” Tsukauchi turns and hands Toshinori a separate file.

He takes it and opens it up, and the first thing that pops out is the single photo of Izuku Midoriya but also the stack of papers within the folder.

“You found all this already?!”

Tsukauchi smirks. “What can I say? I work fast.” He gestures for them to sit down, which they promptly do. “But in any case, this is what I was able to scrounge around about our young friend.”

And it's a lot, it seems, there’s a pile of papers. “You did all this while also investigating into the League of Villains?”

“I did, in fact it wasn’t as difficult as you might think, and don’t be too excited most of the papers are his physical examinations and report cards. Although…there were some things that I found that were just…odd.”

“Like what?”

Tsukauchi reaches over and grabs a few papers from within the pile. “For one thing, Midoriya updated his Quirk Registry less than a year ago and before that he was in fact registered as Quirkless. And just to make sure I looked into his old medical records and even that confirms that he was in fact Quirkless.” Admittedly, Tsukauchi was unable to get into contact with Izuku’s original doctor, he instead had to go through several different channels to get his physical and health reports.

Toshinori slouches back into his seat as if in defeat. “He…he wasn’t lying to me then…he was Quirkless.” Izuku Midoriya was Quirkless and now he isn’t. Just how can that be? There’s only one other way someone can gain a Quirk. “Does that mean…?”

Tsukauchi understands Toshinori’s concern. “Does it mean that monster’s back? I don’t know for certain.” He pulls out another sheet. “But…this next piece might interest you too.”

“What is it?”

“I decided to keep digging into Midoriya by investigating his family.”

Instantly a rush of panic fills Toshinori’s heart with dread. “Is everything okay in his home?” Oh god, is he living in an abusive home? 

Tsukauchi is quick to brush off his worry. “Nothing like that, as far as I can tell he grew up in a pretty stable home…except for one factor.” Tsukauchi’s eyes fall back to the file. “During my research I tried looking into his father…and I came up with some rather suspicious findings.”

Toshinori isn’t sure how this is at all important, but he trusts Tsukauchi. So, if he thinks it’s important then he’ll hear him out.

“His father, Hisashi Midoriya…was a student here in the U.A. hero course.”

Now that is interesting. “Really?” Toshinori can’t help but think which of his fellow heroes could be Hisashi Midoriya.

“Yes, but after receiving his hero license he just fell off the grid only appearing in a few instances here and there.” Tsukauchi cups his chin in thought. “It was almost as if he was staying away from the hero spotlight.”

“Like Eraserhead?”

“Perhaps…but unlike Eraserhead he never actually reported any situations he resolved or participated in. And the few times he did report an incident, the suspect often or not escaped…it got so bad that there was even an investigation into Hisashi Midoriya because he was accused of aided the very criminals to escape. But when they tried to keep a close eye on him, they came up empty.”

Now that is really interesting. Toshinori can’t help but feel a bit sorry for the man. Even if he graduated from such a prestigious school as U.A. there is no guarantee that every graduate will make it as a hero. So it is possible that Hisashi Midoriya had little success as a hero and possibly fell into the wrong crowd, possibly even caught up in some less than savory deals and characters.

“Do you think he was caught up in some kind of criminal activity?”

“That’s what I’m getting to.” Tsukauchi goes through and finds another sheet of notes. “Shortly after Izuku Midoriya was proclaimed Quirkless, his father basically disappeared.”

“He…walked out on him?”

“Possibly…but what I mean is…there are no more records of him in the last decade.”

Toshinori’s eyes widened in shock. “No records for an entire decade?”

“Not even a receipt, he all but disappeared.”

“Did he go missing? Is he dead?”

“I don’t think so, the Midoriya household is receiving a steady income suggesting that he is in fact supporting his family. But through what means is unclear, because whatever it is.” Tsukauchi’s gaze hardens as he meets Toshinori’s own. “It is not hero work.” 

“What does this all mean?”

“I have a few ideas.” Tsukauchi puts down his notes. “Unfortunately, the sad truth of the matter is that not everybody has what it takes to become a professional hero, even if they graduated from U.A., heck some don’t even break the double digits.” The competition is far too stiff, and the fact that people can still make mistakes. For all they know Hisashi Midoriya was a gambler, fell into debt, and is now paying it back somehow. “Considering that as well as the skeptical reports, we can only assume that Hisashi Midoriya was involved in something that he didn’t want the public, police, or heroes to know about. And with the combined fact that he disappeared shortly after his own son was diagnosed as Quirkless, there’s just one theory that makes sense to me.”

And unfortunately, it’s one he rather not even consider a possibility, but under the light of everything so far, he has to consider it. “I think that shortly after graduating U.A., Hisashi Midoriya somehow got involved with him.”

Toshinori gasps holding his hand up to his mouth in an attempt to cover his shock. “But…why would he?”

“My guess, he was a failing hero and probably got involved with a dangerous crowd at the time which led him to that monster. And after his own son was declared powerless, he must have cut a deal with him to give his son a chance in life.” Even Tsukauchi knows how depressing a life is for someone that is Quirkless, as a detective he often gets cases where a Quirkless or weak-Quirked individual couldn’t take the pressure of life anymore.

Toshinori, however, is having a hard time accepting this possibility. “No…”

This cannot be right. But it just fits almost too perfectly: a failed hero, a boy suddenly gaining a powerful Quirk, a father doing what he can for his son, even if that means making a deal with the devil himself. But it fits, it all fits! Hisashi Midoriya must have come into contact with him and has been gone all this time to work off his deal so Izuku could be granted a Quirk.

But that just leaves a few more questions. “And young Midoriya…?” Is he involved somehow? Is he aware of his father’s actions?

Tsukauchi frowns, shaking his head. “Well, from what you’ve told me. Mr. Midoriya is a fine young man with the aspirations of becoming a hero, which no one can doubt after recent events.” They all saw the videos, that kid really held his own against the villains. Even if the videos couldn’t show everything. “So, my guess, may be that he actually believes that he is in fact a late bloomer and is completely oblivious to his father’s dealings.”

Toshinori hates it but he truly hopes that is the case. It would be better if young Midoriya remained unaware of all of this. No need to worry the youth while he pursues his dream, the dream that All Might himself denied the boy. But now is his chance to make things right, even if young Midoriya’s Quirk came from an unnatural means it doesn’t mean the boy cannot become a hero. And he will see to that. He will try to keep himself close to the boy, act as a fellow mentor and friend he can reach out to, to ensure he doesn’t fall to villainy like his father. He’ll protect him and his classmates from that monster.

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After a few days off from school, Class 1-A is back at U.A. and now with the threat having passed by them are back to their usual fun selves.

“You guys!” Tooru Hagakure turns to her neighbors, Mezo Shoji and Mashirao Ojiro. “Did you watch the news last night?”

Ojiro gives a quick nod. “Yeah.”

“It was so cool that we got a few seconds of screen time!” Her tone drops as she holds an invisible hand to her chest. “Though I bet nobody noticed me hanging out in the background.”

Despite the apparent disappointment in her voice, Shoji is a bit less than tactful in his response. “Probably not.”

Ojiro, shocked by Shoji’s blatant disregard for her feelings, tries to offer up his own reassurance. “I-it is difficult to stand out when you’re just gloves.” He’s probably not helping as much as he thinks he is. 

A grinning Denki Kaminari leans back in his seat so he can talk to his own neighbors. “We’re totally big deals. Those news channels love us, we’re basically celebrities.”

Eijiro Kirishima is still in disbelief of it all. “Yeah, it’s kinda crazy, right?”

Kyoka Jiro is ready to brush away their delusions. “Get over yourselves. The hero course that pumps out pros was attacked, and that’s what they care about.”

Hanta Sero folds his arms and rests them onto his desk. “Who knows what woulda happened to us if the teachers hadn’t shown up.”

Minoru Mineta bursts into tears from across the room after hearing Sero’s comment. “Why’d you say that?!” He flails his arms about frantically as tears leak from his eyes. “I’m gonna pee myself just thinking about it!!”

His crying gets to one of the most anger prone students of the class. “Oh, shut up!!” Snaps Katsuki Bakugou. “Grow a pair, will ya!!”

Rikido Sato leans forward into his seat so he can talk to Fumikage Tokoyami. “Did you guys see Midoriya and the others fight that bird guy?” He thrusts his fists forward as if to reenact the fight. “That dude was super strong, and they still destroyed him!”

Tokoyami smiles while reminiscing about the U.S.J. attack. “Yes, their strength is truly a thing of wonder.”

In response to the praise, both Izuku and Ochaco’s faces blush red. Whereas Bakugou grins satisfied with the fact that his classmates have finally recognized his superior fire power. Even Kirishima smiles sheepishly in response to the praise.

Shoto Todoroki, however, is not taking the praise as well as his other teammates. Instead his gaze is cast downward towards his left arm. His gaze hardens as he clenches his left hand as he makes a silent promise to himself.

With no warning, Tenya Iida bursts into the room. “Attention! Homeroom class is about to begin!” He races to the front podium where he throws his hands out in a dramatic fashion. “Everyone stop talking and take your seats!”

The entire class falls silent as they watch their Class President make a fool of himself.

Kirishima tries his best to help his Class President. “Uh, we’re all sitting…”

Sero adds in. “Yeah. You’re the only one standing.”

Iida begrudgingly plops down into his seat with a disgruntled grimace that makes his neighbor, Koji Koda nervous. “Dang it!” He’s actually shaking in frustration for failing to properly do his job. 

Ochaco tries to comfort him, but she knows he’s only upset because he’s trying to do his best. “Don’t sweat it.”

Meanwhile, Mina Ashido pushes back on her back rest, leaning back on her chair. “Hey, Tsu. So-woah!” Her seat falls back a bit but Tsuyu Asui manages to catch her and push her back up. “Who do you think’s gonna teach class today?”

Tsuyu presses a finger to her cheek. “No idea. Mr. Aizawa’s still in the hospital recovering from his injuries.”

Suddenly the classroom door scrapes open, drawing in everyone’s eyes forward.

“Morning class.” A heavily bandaged Shota Aizawa gives a muffled greeting from the doorway, his entire face is wrapped in bandages while both of his arms hang in casts over his chest.

The students cry out all at once. “Mr. Aizawa, what are you doing here?!”

Kaminari is almost appalled by the amount of resolve his teacher has. “Whoa! What a pro…”

From behind him, Kirishima is having the opposite reaction, he is in fact in awe of Aizawa’s ability to shrug off the pain.

Iida’s arm shoots up as Aizawa limps his way to the podium. “Mr. Aizawa! I’m glad you’re okay.”

Ochaco isn’t so sure about that, to her their homeroom teacher looks like a living mummy. “ You call that…okay?”

Aizawa’s muffled voice responds. “My well-being is irrelevant. What’s more important is that your fight isn’t over yet.”

Bakugou leers at their teacher. “Our fight?”

Izuku stiffens in his seat. “Don’t tell me…” 

Ochaco jolts up in fear. “More villains…”

Aizawa’s red eyes leer through his bandages, and with as much seriousness as he can he finishes his statement. “The U.A. Sports Festival is about to start.”

The students burst into an outcry. “Ugh!! Why would you scare us like that?!”

Kirishima, however, bursts out of his seat in excitement. “Let’s go kick some ass!!” He’s really roaring to go.

Kaminari is quick to spring out of his own seat, he slaps Kirishima’s head pushing the red-head back down to Earth for missing an important detail. “Wait a second.”

Jiro takes the opening to air everyone’s concern. “Is it really such a good idea to hold the Sports Festival so soon after the villains snuck inside?”

Ojiro agrees. “They could attack once we’re all in the same place.”

Shoji adds in his own thoughts. “Especially considering that the leader got away scot free and they have that warp gate villain, too.”

Aizawa is somewhat glad his students realize the logical issue, but he also understands why they can’t simply cancel this event. “Apparently, the administration thinks this is a good way to show that the threat has been handled and our school is safer than ever.” He thinks back to the meeting and how adamant Principal Nezu was about this, even promising a new kind of security measure into the school grounds. Whatever that means? “Plus they’re beefing up security compared to past years.”

He eyes his students; they need to understand the real reason why the Sports Festival isn’t going to be canceled. “This event is a huge opportunity for all students at U.A. It’s not something we can cancel because of a few villains.”

Mineta, the ever-panicky runt, still isn’t sold on this. “Uh. I’m sorry, but why not? It’s just a sports festival.”

That surprises Izuku of all people, who turns in his seat to make sure Mineta understands what he’s implying. “Huh? Mineta, don’t you know how important this competition is?”

“Of course I do! I just don’t wanna get murdered.”

Aizawa decides to elaborate on the situation. “Our Sports Festival is one of the most-watched events in the entire world. In the past, everyone obsessed over the Olympic games, but then Quirks started appearing. Now, the Olympics have been drastically reduced in terms of scale and viewership. For anyone who cares about competition there’s only one tournament that matters. The U.A. Sports Festival.” Although Aizawa does think that the loud cheering crowds are more annoying than they need to be.

Momo Yaoyorozu agrees with their teacher’s statements. “That’s right. And top heroes everywhere will be watching.” She raises her clenched fist showing her determination. “This is where we get scouted.”

Mineta sweats nervously. “Sure, unless you’re dead.”

Kaminari smiles, trying to explain further. “She’s right. After graduating a lot of people join pro agencies as a sidekick.” He gives a thumbs up and his own winning smile to help elevate anyone's worries.

Jiro however is there to deflect his ambitions. “Yeah, but that’s as far as some people go. They miss their chance to go indie and stay eternal sidekicks.” She considers Kaminari for a second. “Actually, that’s probably where you’re headed. You’re kinda dumb.”

Kaminari winces feeling absolutely dejected and shamed. His face contorts itself into a nasty grimace as his sense of self-worth takes a nasty nose dive. 

Aizawa continues on. “It’s true that joining a famous hero agency can garner you greater experience and popularity.” Such as joining Best Jeanist’s or Endeavor’s agencies would instantly garner anyone a place in the spotlight. “That’s why the festival matters. If you wanna go pro one day, then this event could open a path for you.”

Bakugou grins wickedly in response, he’s ready to show the world what he’s got and that he’s the best.

“One chance a year.”

Ochaco’s brow furrows as her fists clench together in anticipation.

“Three chances in a lifetime.”

Izuku grips his Omnitrix as if readying himself for a fight.

“No aspiring hero can afford to miss this festival.”

Todoroki looks somewhat bored, despite the growing anticipation in the room

“That means you better not slack off on your training.”

Class 1-A responds in tandem. “Yes, sir!”

“Class is dismissed.”

Izuku reaches for his books so he can prepare himself for English class but Aizawa isn’t exactly done yet.

“Midoriya, Ashido meet me in the hallway.” And with that their homeroom teacher limps out of the classroom.

Now that’s odd whatever could he need them for? Well there’s only one way they’ll find out so both Izuku and Mina pop out of their seats and join their teacher in the hallway.

As they exit the room, Present Mic arrives and closes the door behind them leaving the odd trio alone in the hallway. 

Izuku nervously fidgets with his hands. “Is there something we can do for you Mr. Aizawa?” What reason could he have called them both out here for?

Mina seems to be just as confused. “Yeah, why’d you call us out here?”

Aizawa leans his back against the wall before responding. “We wanted to have a few words with the two of you.”

The kids tilt their heads to the side. “We?”

“Howdy!” A new voice shouts out in a friendly greeting.

Izuku and Mina immediately light up, as giant grins spread across their features. “Thirteen!”

Mina is so happy that she has tears in her eyes. “You’re alive!”

Izuku is almost shaking with relief. “I’m so glad you’re okay!” He had heard about Thirteen’s injuries and fight against the mutant serpents from the rest of the class.

But Thirteen seems fine, they’re walking around albeit slowly, but they appear to be in one piece. Even their hero costume has been fixed up. 

Thirteen smiles from underneath their helmet. “Of course I’m alive. I mean why wouldn’t I be?” With a wave of their hand, they pat their chest. “All that happened to me was that my back got severed, my skin was burned with acid, and I got laced with…venom…” Their voice trails off as it finally dawns on them why everyone else was so worried. “Oh…I see why you’re all so concerned now.”

Izuku can’t take it, how could Thirteen go through all that and still be here acting like everything is perfectly fine ?! “How are you even standing?!”

“What? Oh, I’m on some really good meds, and you can’t tell but I’m practically covered in bandages under this thing.” Actually the bandages are really itchy, Thirteen’s been resisting the urge to scratch all day so far and it is a losing battle.

Mina raises an eyebrow. “Really?” Guess she’ll just have to take Thirteen’s word for it.

A thought crosses Izuku’s mind. _‘Now that I think about it…I’ve actually never seen Thirteen outside their costume…’_ Oh, well that doesn’t matter right now. He’s just glad his mentor is back on their feet. “So, what was it you wanted to talk to us about?”

The space hero rubs the back of their head as if embarrassed. “I just wanted to make sure you were all okay with my own eyes.” Their gaze shifts to the pink-skinned girl. “And I wanted to let you both know I was okay.” Their eyes then trace over to Izuku. “And to let you know that I’ve been made **aware** of the whole situation.”

Izuku immediately gets what Thirteen’s trying to tell him. That they’ve been made aware of the situation with Tetrax Shard and the jamming program within Plumber Base. Izuku can only assume that Magister Nezu had filled the hero in at some point. _‘Overall, I’m glad that Thirteen came by to say hello and show that they're okay, but if that was the case then why didn’t they ask for Uraraka to be out here too? Unless…’_ Izuku’s eyes drift towards Mina. _‘Unless they actually asked to see Mina.’_ Which makes sense, even he heard how Thirteen threw themselves at a mutant monster to save her. So, of course as a hero they would want to reassure her. _‘So, then why am I here?_ _Thirteen could have always given me a call?’_ Izuku’s attention goes towards his homeroom teacher who's been silently observing from the side.

Thirteen turns their attention back on Mina. “I heard you looked after me when I was down, and that you were pretty worried about me.” They bow their head as best they can despite the injuries. “You have my thanks.”

Mina sniffs. “N-no…t-thank you *sniff* Thirteen.” She wipes her palms against her face to cover up the leaking tears, for the last few days she’s been secretly bottling up her feeling of worry and grief especially after what had happened. She had witnessed her teacher throw their life on the line just to save her, that’s something that isn’t so easily forgotten or shrugged off.

Despite the tears of relief pricking her eyes, Mina manages a smile. “I’m *sniff* just super glad you’re okay.” She wipes her nose and tries to give her best cheerful grin. “And back on your feet!”

Thirteen chuckles at her sudden enthusiasm. “What can I say? It’ll take a lot more than this to keep me down.” Thirteen's smile stiffens from underneath their helmet. _‘Besides I have a promise to uphold. So, I can’t afford to let some injuries stop me from seeing it through.’_

Aizawa is beginning to get a bit impatient, probably because he wants to lie down and take a nap somewhere, or maybe it’s the fact that Present Mic’s voice is so loud that he can hear him through the walls and it’s beginning to give him a migraine. “Thirteen, I know you wanted to reassure them, but they still need to get to class.”

“Of course, I won’t hold you up.” The space hero turns back to the students. “If you two need anything just let me know.”

Izuku gives the hero a curt nod. “Right.”

Mina gives the hero a big thumbs up. “You got it!”

Thirteen smiles and offers a friendly wave as they begin to head back. “Good luck in the Sports Festival by the way. I’m sure you’ll both do great.”

Mina grins proudly, standing tall with her hands at her sides. “You bet we will!”

Izuku smiles sheepishly with a soft chuckle, he’s not that confident to join in with Mina’s proclamation.

Aizawa cuts into the moment. “Ashido, head on back to class, I need to have a few words with Midoriya.”

“Sure!” Mina waves as she skips back to class. “See ya, Midoriya. And good luck!”

“Why would you say that?!” Izuku calls after her but she just slams the class door closed leaving him alone with their less than sympathetic teacher.

Aizawa pushes himself off the wall so he can stand directly in front of the boy. “Midoriya.”

“W-what is it sir?”

The hero’s piercing red eyes peek out through his bandages, making him look like a malicious mummy that’s ready to put a curse on him. ““If I wasn’t injured, I’d be strangling you with my scarf right now.”

Izuku is rightfully startled by the declaration, and a part of him truly believes that his teacher would not hesitate to do so. “W-what f-for?!”

“I heard what you did at the U.S.J., you fought that Nue villain all on your own.”

Oh, yeah, he did do that. Didn’t he?

“I was made aware that you know this Nue guy and that the villains baited you into a fight.”

Izuku gulps, he really hopes Mr. Aizawa isn’t going to go digging for answers on how he knows Henzu.

“I’m not going to pry into your past but understand this.” His piercing glare somehow became seven times more intense and serious. “What you did was probably the rashest and most suicidal thing you could have done.”

Okay, Izuku really wasn’t expecting that as a response. But truthfully, he probably should have seen it coming.

“If the others hadn’t arrived in time to save you, you’d have been dead and so could have Asui and Iida. You not only put your life on the line but theirs too.” There is no way Aizawa is going to sugarcoat this, this boy needs to understand how close to death he really was. “As a hero, we risk our lives day in and day out, but we cannot act recklessly and without a proper plan otherwise we risk the lives of those around us and our comrades. Do you understand that?”

He does. Izuku understands that what he did was far from the smartest decision he could have made. Heck, if he really wanted to save his friends and Aizawa then XLR8 would have been more than fast enough to get them all out of there and get help. Hell, he could have used XLR8 from the beginning to go get help!! But…he didn’t. He messed up and tried to be the hero… And if he failed…his friends’ lives could have been lost. 

”Y…yes, sir…”

Aizawa can tell that the boy has taken his words to heart, which is a good thing that means they don’t have to waste any more time on the issue. “Good.” The hero turns so he can leave. “One last thing.”

Izuku stands a bit straighter, wondering if he’s going to get scolded for some other reason. 

“Thank you, for saving my life.” And with that, Aizawa begins to limp away so he can take a nap.

Izuku is at first surprised, but he can’t help but smile. During the scolding, he had forgotten that he did in fact save Eraserhead from Nomu’s clutches. Even though what he did was reckless he did save Mr. Aizawa’s life, and that’s something to be proud of. Even so he’ll make sure not to be so stupidly reckless in the future… Okay, he’ll at least try not to. Because a part of him feels like there’s no conceivable way that he can uphold that promise.

Aizawa doesn't make it that far before adding in one last bit of information. “Oh, before I forget. You need to come up with a speech.”

“Pardon?”

“You scored as number one in the Entrance Exam, and its school tradition that the number one spot gives the student pledge during the Sports Festival.” He turns and finally takes his leave. “Try not to embarrass yourself while on stage and in front of millions of viewers.”

If he could see the boy’s face, there’s no doubt he’d break into a fit of laughter. Izuku is in a complete disarray of nervousness, he had totally forgotten that that is a rule here at U.A. And with all the excitement he failed to remember that he did in fact score the highest and thus the speech will be left to him. Just him talking into a microphone, while his face is being broadcasted across the entire world… Sure no big deal? He can handle that… Right?

Aizawa turns the corner officially leaving Izuku alone to stir in his own trepidations. _‘You’re a very capable kid, but if you can’t learn self-preservation it will only end in tragedy for not just you, but for those you leave behind…’_ Aizawa for one understands how hard it is to lose someone like that, to lose someone you care about for making reckless mistakes and hesitating when you need to step up. Hopefully, this boy can succeed where he had failed to learn that lesson too late. 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

As the lunch bell rings, Cementoss exits Class 1-A so he can enjoy his own lunch while the students break off into individual groups so they can chat.

Kirishima gives his classmates a wide grin. “That villain stuff sucked sure, but I’m pumped for these games!”

Sero bumps the thrilled lad with his elbow. “We put on a good show, and we’re basically on the road to bein’ pros!”

Sato smirks from his seat. “Yeah, this is why I’m even here in the first place.” He slams his fist into his palm to exaggerate his point.

Tokoyami nods while perches atop a nearby desk. “We get so few chances. We have to make the most of this.”

At the front of the room, Hagakure excitedly bounces off the balls of her feet. “Oh man, Ojiro. I’m getting kind of nervous about the festival. I have to come up with a way to get noticed!”

Ojiro offers up a kind, but sheepish smile. “Uh, sure.”

“Maybe with a cheer!” Hagakure begins to create a cheer while Ojiro comments.

“Maybe you should be looking at a shinier costume or something? Otherwise you’re gonna have to try really hard.”

Yuga Aoyama smirks while twirling around the front of the room. “My what’s a boy to do? I stand out even when I’m standing still. That means the scouts won’t be able to take their eyes off me!” He spins around in dazzling fashion holding out his hand towards the Koda. 

In response, Koda steps back in fright of the overbearing classmate.

Aoyama leans in a little too close for Koda’s comfort. “Don’t you agree?”

Koda frantically nods his head, not because he agrees, but so Aoyama would leave him alone a lot quicker.

Kaminari takes a seat upon Shoji’s desk while Jiro and Yaoyorozu join in on their conversation. “You’re so lucky, Shoji. People are bound to notice your unique Quirk.”

Shoji isn’t so sure. “Sure, but what matters is that I show them how useful I can be.”

Jiro releases a small chuckle, before pointing a finger at Kaminari “No doubt you’ll make a scene, too.” She remembers how dumb Kaminari gets when he uses his electricity too much and fries his brain.

Kaminari on the other hand doesn’t find it at all amusing. Instead he growls at her in annoyance.

In the meantime, Izuku is observing how everyone is trying to get themselves psyched up for the Sports Festival. “This is gonna be nuts! Everyone’s so excited.”

Iida springs out of his seat. “Well, yeah, of course we are. We enrolled at this school with the sole aim to become heroes.” He throws his arms at the side while pumping his fists rather slowly up and down and swaying from side to side in an attempt to look like he’s excited. “So, naturally we’re all getting fired up.”

Mina and Tsuyu find his actions rather amusing. “Wow, Iida. Those are some interesting moves. Kero.”

Iida ignores her, but thankfully he stops whatever it was he was doing. “You have to be excited, too, right, Midoriya?”

“Well, yeah, of course I am.” Izuku’s shoulders droop for a moment. “And also nervous.”

“Deku! Iida!

The two boys in question turn to face their friend Ochaco, but what they see is something totally unexpected.

Ochaco’s entire demeanor is so much more intense than it usually is with a dark intense aura emanating around her, a dark scary grin is plastered onto her face. It’s so maniacal that it could rival Bakugou’s own wicked smile. “Let’s do our best in the Sports Festival.” It comes off more as an order than a friendly suggestion.

Izuku and Iida are both taken back by her out-of-character demeanor. “U-Uraraka, w-what happened to your face?!”

And they’re not the only ones, as Mina pops herself into the discussion too. “Seriously, what's up? You’re normally, way more laid back than this.”

Perhaps she’s just excited…but this is too intense for mere excitement. 

Ochaco stomps her foot to the side while shooting her fist into the air. Her shining glare pierces through her group of friends. “EVERYONE!!! I’M GONNA DO MY BEST!!!”

“Yeah!!” Iida and Midoriya mimic her stance as do Mina and Tsuyu.

Ochaco reels around to face the rest of the class who didn’t participate. “I SAID I’M GONNA DO MY BEST!!!”

However, instead of getting the other groups involved she instead shouted right into the face of one annoyed Katsuki Bakugou.

“Shut up will ya!! Nobody wants to hear your pathetic promises!!”

Ochaco is incredibly offended. “Pathetic?! The only pathetic one is you!!”

“What did you say?!”

As the two are drawn into a shouting match, the rest of the class watch on in a combination of interest and concern.

Sero frowns at the sight. “Is she okay?”

Kirishima shakes his head. “I don’t know… She kinda looks like she’s losing it.”

In a desperate attempt to break up the fight, Izuku grabs Ochaco’s shoulders and tries to pull her away before punches, or explosions, are thrown. “Sorry, Bakugou, she's just really excited.”

Without looking, both of the hot-heads turn on the cinnamon roll. “Shut it, Deku!!”

“S-so, mean!” Izuku whines. “Fine, well I’m heading to the Support Course.”

Iida questions him before he can leave. “The Support Course? Whatever for?”

“Oh, I wanted to talk to them and see if they’d fix my hoodie.” Izuku holds up his torn hoodie, the very same one that Ochaco gave to him.

As if on cue, Ochaco reels around so fast that it takes a minute for Bakugou to realize that she’s ditched their match. “I’ll go with you!” She states all too innocently as if a second ago she wasn’t yelling her head off.

The entire class has the same thought in response to her sudden change in attitude. _‘What a 180!’_

A sweatdrop forms on Izuku’s head. “Um, sure. I don’t see why not.”

The two make their way for the exit leaving behind an annoyed Bakugou who’s grinding his teeth together in frustration.

The rest of the class follow their example and head on out for lunch, from his desk Todoroki eyes the doorway where Izuku and Ochaco just disappeared from.

Izuku holds his hoodie a little closer as they move. “So, why do you need to go to the Support Course?”

Ochaco digs into her pocket until she pulls out a folded piece of paper. “I wanted to talk to Mr. Power Loader about this.” She hands the paper to Izuku. 

He unfolds it and examines the drawing and notes she’s jotted down on it. “Is this?”

“Yup, my design for a support item. I got the idea after what Tetrax said, so I brainstormed some ideas, and this was the best one.” And she’s rather proud of it, it took her hours to come up with a cool design.

The design is a not so simple one. Basically it’s a drawing of her in an awesome in her very own over the top battle suit. With lasers, missiles, and rockets she can fly around all she likes. She figures that with her Zero-Gravity she could make the armor weightless and thus moving it around wouldn’t be that much of an issue.

Pretty soon the two of them are nearing the Support Course’s Development Studio, they can already see the doorway up ahead.

As they approach, they can almost hear muffled shouts coming from within the room. It sounds like someone is shouting about shutting something down and quickly, followed by a lot of bangs and crashes of metal against something.

The two stop just a few feet from the door, they both eye the door wary unsure if they want to get involved with whatever’s happening within.

Ochaco doesn’t remove her eyes from the door in case something bursts out. “Wh-what do you think is happening?”

“Don’t know…maybe an experiment gone wrong?” His mind reels back to when one of the Megawatts took over a robot. “Maybe it’s a robot going out of control…” 

“No way. Why would someone have something so dangerous in a school building?”

Suddenly, something big and fast crashes through the Development Studio door smashing it to bits as the sounds of wheels screeching against the tile pierces their ears. “Target sighted! Preparing to eliminate!”

Ochaco and Izuku are taken back by the sudden appearance of what appears to be a villain bot, the very same one used in the Entrance Exam and if they recall correctly it appears to be a 1-Point villain.

The 1-Point bot’s tires spin before it races forward. “Prepare to be eliminated!”

The bot swings its large metallic arm forward.

As if on instinct, Ochaco and Izuku jump back just in time to avoid getting their heads smashed in. Out of reflex Izuku activates the Omnitrix and disappears behind a veil of green light. As he transforms Ochaco quickly presses her hands against the robot’s arm making it weightless.

“Die!” The bot takes another swing at her, but she ducks down just as the robot begins to float upward.

Acting quickly, she slams her palm upward propelling the robot up and away from them both. The bot glares down and aims it’s gatling gun at her, but a slender black tendril wraps around its arm and redirects it.

“I don’t think so.” Feedback’s other tendril and tail lash out, his plugs pierce through the bot’s metallic exterior and the bot’s battery is drained away in mere seconds.

With the danger gone Ochaco releases her Zero-Gravity and the bot comes crashing down onto the tile floor, and the students allow themselves to relax taking deep breaths to slow their racing hearts.

An angry Power Loader steps out of the room as he shouts back at someone else within it. “Dammit, Hatsume!! Look at what you’ve done!!”

A rather feminine yet maniacal laugh rings out. “Hahaha, it’s all in the name of progress!”

“Progress!! What progress!! I told you to leave that thing alone!! You’re only making more work for me!!” Power Loader sighs before turning his attention on the Hero Course students.

Power Loader is a short, skinny man. He has spiky ginger hair, his hands appear to be the largest part of his body, disproportionate to his rather small frame, and, due to his Quirk, he has an orange L-shaped piece at the end of each finger. His hero costume consists of a large yellow helmet in the shape of a rectangular excavator claw. He’s shirtless while also wearing a pair of large, fingerless gray gloves with metal guards that extend down his arms, as well as a pair of plain cyan pants.

“I am so sorry about that; we had a bit of a malfunction.” He turns back to the room. “And it wasn’t the robot that was malfunctioning!!”

“Hahaha!”

He sighs before continuing. “Anyway, thank you for handling the situation. You two must be in the Hero Course, is that correct?”

Feedback blinks in confusion, wondering who the hero was yelling at, but with a shake of his head he forms a reply. “We are, sir.”

“Figured, the way you two reacted I can tell you’re from Class 1-A. Am I right?”

Ochaco nods. “You are.”

“Knew it, I heard about how well you guys fought off the villains.” His eyes drift over to the depowered robot. “And judging from what I just saw I can tell that the two of you are going to be worth keeping an eye on.”

The two teens smile in appreciation. And it’s true, they really did take out the robot rather efficiently. Perhaps they’ve just grown that much or…perhaps they’ve learned to not hesitate in such situations anymore. The same could probably be said for their classmates, too. All in all the Sports Festival is really going to be something.

Power Loader gestures for them to step inside, they happily oblige since they are here to see him.

The Development Studio is a complete mess with overturned tables and chairs, papers scattered across the floor, and a few broken and smashed up pieces of machines and metal lying about here and there.

There’s someone else in the room too. And it appears to be a girl around their own age with salmon-pink hair styled into thick dreadlocks. She has her back to them as she’s too busy working on some other machine with a welding torch.

Power Loader scowls at the sight of the girl. “Are you seriously working on something else already?! Shouldn’t you be cleaning up this mess?! Which by the way you caused!!”

The girl simply laughs off Power Loader’s scolding. “No time! With the Sports Festival soon on the way, I need to be ready to show off my super cute babies!”

Feedback and Ochaco blink in confusion. _‘Babies?’_

Power Loader sighs in frustration, but ultimately let’s it go for now so he can attend to students who aren’t as destructive and overbearing. “So, what can I help you with?”

Feedback is happy to answer. “We wanted to get some support items.”

Ochaco holds up her design a little higher as she nods her head in excitement. “Right, my name is Ochaco Uraraka and my Quirk is Zero-Gravity so I was hoping I could get an item that-”

In a blink of an eye, a swift hand snatches her design right from her fingers.

The pink-haired girl looks over Ochaco’s design with a grin that should be on a mad scientist. “Why of course! I’d be happy to make them for you!”

“Hatsume!! I never agreed to this!!” Power Loader roars.

“Not yet you haven’t!” She states all too happily like she doesn't fear any repercussions. She smiles up at the Hero Course students so they can get a proper look at her. “The name’s Mei Hatsume, inventor extraordinaire and your future supplier for gear and other support items!”

“They haven’t agreed to anything either!!”

Mei Hatsume is a reasonably short girl with quite a mature build. She has salmon pink hair, which is shoulder-length, and styled into thick dreadlocks. Her eyes are wide, and their irises are yellow in color with a cross-aim in the center, making them look somewhat like scope lenses.

Hatsume ignores her teacher’s scolding, before leaning in uncomfortably close to Ochaco’s own face. “Either way I’d be more than happy to help you by making you one of my glorious babies!”

A light blush forms on Ochaco’s face. “B-babies…?” 

“You betcha!” Hatsume finally backs off allowing Ochaco a chance to calm her nerves. “Although your design is absolute trash.” She unceremoniously crumbles the paper up before tossing it aside like regular trash and not something Ochaco had spent hours working on.

The gravity-wielder's jaw drops open in astonishment of the brutal honesty of the girl.

Power Loader picks up and unfolds the sheet so he can have a look. “Hm, she’s actually right. Although you have the right idea, this design will only hinder your maneuverability.” And considering how her Quirk works it will also hold her back in a fight.

Hatsume grins, holding a hand to her chest as if giving a grand speech. “That’s right, which is why I will oversee its production!”

“You will do no such thing!!” Power Loader snaps. “Did you forget how you made that Villain Robot go berserk?! I told you to leave it alone, but the moment I turn away you’re playing around with it!!”

“Hahaha, that’s okay! I was just trying to improve it.”

Power Loader grabs at his head, trying to prevent himself from outright attacking this stupid girl. “You know what…go ahead. Maybe it’ll keep you distracted for a while”

“Hooray!!” Hatsume immediately runs back to her work station where she shoves away her previous work and begins grabbing every sheet of paper so she can come up with her own design. 

Meanwhile, Ochaco and Feedback have been watching on while at a complete loss for words. _‘What just happened?’_

Ochaco shyly presses her fingers together. “So, if that’s all. I guess I’ll be heading off to lunch.”

“You might as well.” Power Loader agrees. “And don’t you worry bout a thing, we should have this item good and ready by the end of the Sports Festival.”

“Thank you.” Ochaco bows, before turning to her friend. “I’ll see you later, alright?”

Feedback smiles down at her. “That’s fine. I still need to put my order in, too.”

If he was paying attention, he would have noticed Hatsume jolting up in excitement.

Ochaco waves back at them as she walks away in haste just in case that Hatsume girl causes anymore issues.

Power Loader looks up at the much taller being. “So, what is that you need?”

Feedback turns to him and grins excitedly as he grips his hoodie. Hopefully, he too will get the exact upgrade he needs to perform as a hero.

Meanwhile, Ochaco has finally made it down the hallway and as such is now a safe distance away from the Development Studio and Mei Hatsume. Despite the girl brushing off her hard work, there’s still a good amount of excitement in her heart, hopefully she’ll soon have what she needs to conquer the skies!

**“HA HA HA HA HA HA!!”** An all too familiar presence runs in from out of nowhere, appearing before Ochaco in spectacular fashion. **“YOUNG URARAKA IS HERE!** ”

Ochaco is somehow calm, as if expecting such a thing from All might whereas others probably would have jumped back in fright at his sudden boisterous appearance. “Hi, All Might. What are you doing here?”

**“LUNCH.”** He holds up his own little bento box as he crouches down holding his hands together. **“YOU WANNA EAT WITH ME?”**

Ochaco spit-takes. “That’s adorable!”

**“IS THAT A YES?”**

It is and so the two make their way to the U.A. break room. Unbeknownst to either of them a third party is quietly observing from the shadows.

Todoroki leers at their retreating forms with mild intrigue. _‘All Might and Ochaco Uraraka, huh?’_

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Toshinori takes a seat on the couch as he prepares a batch of tea for himself and his student. “Even though it’s shameful that I couldn’t be there. I can’t stress enough how proud and impressed by you I am.”

Ochaco smiles shyly from her seat opposite of the weakened All Might.

“But I am happier knowing that you were able to walk away with minimal injuries.” Not to mention zero casualties on their side, but he doesn’t want to think about how close they were for that to occur.

Toshinori pours them each a cup before sliding it across the coffee table. “I brought you here to talk about the festival. The problem is you still can’t fully control One For All yet. So then, what’s your plan?”

Ochaco grips her cup in though. “Ah! Wait. I did once!” She did control One For All, when she protected Deku from Nue. “When I landed a smash on Uuichi, there was no backlash at all!”

Her right arm was totally fine, no swelling, it wasn’t broken, and she was even able to use her Zero-Gravity Field later on without that much of a struggle. Although her stomach was a bit queasy afterwards.

Toshinori's head jumps up a bit in astonishment. “Oh, that’s right, you did mention that. What was different about that smash?”

“Um, well…” Her tone falls becoming somber. “Maybe it’s because I knew I had to do something. We were facing real-life villains and I knew they would have killed my friends if I did nothing. And I wasn’t really thinking when I threw myself at Uuichi.” She folds her arms together trying to think of a better explanation.

Toshinori holds his chin. “Hm…sounds like you succeeded in subconsciously putting on the brakes so you wouldn’t have to kill anyone.” At least it’s some kind of progress. “Maybe you need to search your feelings and find that drive once again. And with it you could use it to help you control your power’s output.”

Taking a sip of her tea, Ochaco considers her mentor’s advice. It had to be the feeling of protecting others that drove her to controlling One For All. So if she can draw on that feeling, on that sense of duty, she can properly wield One For All without injuring herself.

Toshinori gets up, walking over towards the window where he’s greeted by his own reflection. “To be frank. I don’t have much time left as the world’s Symbol of Peace. Soon I’ll have to put that title to bed.”

That fact is truer than ever, especially if he considers how differently things could have played out if he was at the U.S.J. from the start. If he was, he’d definitely would have over exceeded his time limit and the villains could have very well have finished him off once and for all. But he’s been given a chance and he is not going to waste it. He needs to use his time left as the Symbol of peace wisely by ensuring that his successor can take his place before evil can take a foothold and rise up.

“The U.S.J. incident is proof that there are some villains out there that have taken notice.” Taken notice that he’s not around as much as he used to be, that he’s become weaker. His gaze falls upon the city below U.A. where countless innocents live their lives. “Someone has to step up and keep the people safe.”

Ochaco stands up from her seat to face Toshinori. She’s no fool, she understands what he’s asking of her.

The Number One Hero turns to her, holding up his hand and clenching his fist with unflinching resolve. “I gave you my power for one reason: because you will be the hero who takes my place.”

Ochaco’s mind flashes back to all those moments when her parents couldn’t provide enough for themselves. They always sacrificed their own wellbeing and happiness so she could have a chance in life. And to thank them she really wanted to make a lot of money as a hero to give them the life they deserve. So they can live their lives with smiles on their faces, free of worry and fear. And not just them, but her ultimate dream for everyone. Is it naive? Sure. But those that make it a less than worthy dream to pursue? Absolutely not. She will become a hero that can make everyone feel safe and happy with her presence alone.

“Do you still feel the same way when we met? Do you still wanna be a hero?”

Ochaco looks up at Toshinori with an intense and determined aura. She nods promising that she still has the same drive as before, no she is in fact even more driven than before to succeed, 

“Excellent.” Toshinori grins. “The time has come for you to prove it. This Sports Festival, it’s something that the pros--no, the entire county will be watching very closely. I want you to think of this Sports Festival as your debut. You are the fledgling Symbol of Peace. The next All Might!” His gaze pierces through her own. “Ochaco Uraraka.” Their eyes lock and Ochaco can almost feel herself being pulled into his sapphire eyes, his gateways to this soul of bright racing colors that shine with the power of One For All. “I want you to introduce yourself to the world and proudly say “I am here!!””

Ochaco’s previous intensity returns from before, her shining gleaming in exhilaration as she grins madly up at the hero. “All Might…” She threw her fist into the air. “I’M GONNA DO MY BEST!!!” 

“S-scary…”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Izuku steps over the rubble of the smashed door. “Thanks for the help, I greatly appreciate it.”

Power Loader sees the boy out. “Any time, Midoriya. I’m glad we can be of help. And don’t you worry you’ll have your hoodie back as good as new, if not better in no time.”

Hatsume pops her head out as she waves about the schematics for Izuku’s design. “And I’ll be sure to make this design a top tier support item!” With that she pops right back into the studio.

“Hatsume!! I didn’t say you’d be working on this one, too!!” Power Loader jumps back into the room before she blows something up or destroys a section of the school.

Fearing for his own safety, Izuku retreats down the hallway to safety.

“Ah, there you are.”

Izuku turns and smiles. “Oh, hey Thirteen!”

Thirteen smiles as they approach Izuku. “Hey, Midoriya. Sorry we couldn’t speak properly before.”

“It’s alright, I understand why.” Mr. Aizawa and Mina were right there so they couldn’t exactly discuss Tetrax and Vilgax so casually. “And I am really glad to see that you’re okay.”

“Me, too.” Thirteen gestures to the nearby empty classroom. “Anyway I wanted to talk to you real quick.”

Izuku steps inside. “About what?”

Thirteen steps inside and shuts the door behind them. “Well I just wanted to make sure you aren’t nervous for the Sports Festival.”

Izuku rubs the back of his head shyly. “Yeah…I’d be lying if I say I wasn’t.”

Not to mention he now has to prepare a big speech to the entire world, no big deal he’ll only be humiliating himself in front of every single hero in existence. No reason to be worried, right?

“Why, though? You’ve already faced far worse things than the Sports Festival if anything, I’d figured you’d be more excited.” Thirteen flexes and raises their arms in excitement. “You can really make it far, heck I bet you could win it all if you wanted, too!”

“I guess…” Izuku states with the least amount of confidence he could.

Thirteen flops so hard on the ground that their helmet nearly cracks.

Izuku quickly tries to remedy the situation. “Ah, b-b-but it’s not like this is my last chance to get scouted! I mean, aren’t I just going to be recruited by you and Principal Nezu?”

“About that.” Thirteen picks themselves back up. “We both agreed not to scout you.”

“What?!”

“Relax, what I mean is. You should take this opportunity to get some…” Thirteen leans in close, covering their mouth despite it being hidden by a helmet. “real world experience.” What they mean is; Izuku needs some Earth experience, some human hero work.

“Oh, I see your point.” 

“Right, this is a great opportunity for you…also for us.”

“Huh?”

“Midoriya, you have to understand this.” Thirteen grips the boy’s shoulder. “When you use your powers in front of everyone what are they going to see?”

“Um, they’ll see me transforming into…” And then it hits him. “Aliens!!”

“Right.”

“Oh, my God! I didn’t even consider it. Oh, what am I going to do?! What if someone finds out?! What about my old classmates, they might go online or to the press and tell them I’m supposed to be Quirkless!! And they’ll definitely see it since the U.A. Sports Festival is broadcasted across the world!!”

“And space.”

“Yeah and space… Wait… WHAT!?!”

Thirteen shrugs like it’s no big deal. “Yeah, Nezu likes to broadcast the Sports Festival into space. It apparently helps deter any wannabe invaders, because if they see how strong our children are then they’ll be too afraid to take on adult humans.”

“What about this Vilgax guy?! Won’t he see it?!”

“Nope!” Thirteen states a matter-of-factually. “Nezu uses the Plumber’s own secured communications network to broadcast the event to the Plumbers and they in turn broadcast it to selected planets. So, I wouldn’t worry too much about Vilgax. And besides even if he knows the Omnitrix is still on Earth he can’t exactly track you down anymore.”

Besides, even Vilgax has to think twice about coming down to Earth and attacking. Not even he’s capable of taking on Earth’s heroes alone. Although Thirteen would rather they deal with the issue directly, but with things in such a state as they are. They can’t do anything without risking an intergalactic incident.

Izuku’s shoulder slump down. “Oh, okay… But that doesn’t make me feel any better.” In fact he feels worse, there’s so much more pressure now. Now the population of the planet seems like a tiny crowd of people he’d have to talk in front of, but now he has an entire universe to perform in front of?! Yeah, that’s comforting.

Thirteen can almost sense the distress radiating off the boy, Izuku’s pokerface is just that terrible, either way they need to reassure the boy. “Midoriya. You want to be a hero, don’t you?”

“Of course.” Izuku replies with little to no hesitation.

“Well, aliens need heroes, too. And Nezu and I both believe that through your participation in the Sports Festival you will inspire a great deal of others out there in the cosmos to stand up to tyranny and villainy.” Yes, he will inspire others to stand up for what’s right whether that means defending their homes or joining the Plumbers. And hopefully the Plumbers of Earth can get some much-needed reinforcements to help out with their responsibilities. “You will be the one to inspire them, to bring about future heroes that will work in unison to protect not just Earth but all worlds.”

That’s not exactly comforting, but…it is something to strive for. Thirteen really isn’t asking for much, all they’re really asking Izuku to do is to do his best and give it his all. “I’ll…I’ll try.”

“And that’s all I ask.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Mina throws her head back as she tries to shake off the stress of the day. “What a day!”

Kaminari scratches at his head, ruffling up his hair. “My brain is fried.”

Jiro chuckles. “I bet it is.”

“Would you just leave me alone, Jiro?!”

While the students begin to pack it up for the day, Iida and Tsuyu approach Izuku.

Iida stands before him trying to be as polite as he possibly can hold himself. “Hey, Midoriya.”

“What’s up?”

“We don’t mean to pry but we just can’t help but wonder, so please don’t think ill of us.”

“I won’t.” What is it they want to talk about?

Tsuyu finally pipes up. “How did you know that Nue guy?”

Unfortunately, Tsuyu was a bit too loud when she asked and everyone in the class overheard.

Kirishima immediately let’s it be known that he overheard them. “Oh, yeah. Didn’t he know you too Bakugou?”

Bakugou scowls, leaning back in his seat like it’s no big deal. “Yeah, I knew him. And honestly I can’t say I’m surprised how he turned out.”

“Harsh man.”

“Midoriya?” Tsuyu tries to refocus the conversation.

Izuku jolts up in his seat. “Oh, uh, we actually used to be friends.”

Shoji peers at Izuku with a questioning look. “You…used to be friends with a villain?”

Sero is in just as much disbelief. “Man, and here I thought you were a modeled citizen.”

Izuku takes a bit of an offense to that. “Hey! He wasn’t a villain before!” He then slumps back into his seat. “Well…he did get in fights…and detentions…I know he was in juvie for a time…and-”

“We get it.” Interrupt the entire class.

“S-sorry! Anyway…we were friends…but we had a falling out.” That’s definitely an understatement. “And after that we never spoke to each other again, hell he even stopped coming to school.”

Bakugou’s eyes pop open for a minute. “Oh, so that’s why he stopped showing his face. I just figured he got sick and tired of everybody.”

Sero raises an eyebrow at Bakugou. “I’m honestly surprised you didn’t get along with this guy when Midoriya could.”

“Shut up, Elbows!!”

Tsuyu's eyes cast themselves downward. “It must have been a pretty nasty break up if he beat you up as badly as he did.”

Izuku nods slowly. “Yeah…I’d rather not relive any of those moments.”

Iida holds his hand over his heart as he addresses the greenette. “Midoriya. Thank you for indulging our curiosity. And you should know that we don’t think any less of you.”

If anything he holds even great respect for his classmate, and he never really questioned his loyalty; he just wanted to satiate his curiosity. After all there’s no way Izuku Midoriya of all people would purposely get involved with such a terrible crowd especially after he so willingly threw his life on the line for them.

“We know you’re not someone that means ill-will to anyone. Honestly, I can almost wager that your relationship with this villain was more of a toxic one, and glad to see you here, seeking out a much brighter future than your so-called friend.”

Izuku appreciates the sentiment. “Thanks.”

Kirishima grabs Izuku’s shoulder and gives him a bit of a shove. “And besides, the way you took that guy was totally badass!!”

Izuku blushes under the sudden praise.

Ojiro’s tail rises up as if interested. “What do you mean?”

“Oh, you guys should have seen it! Midoriya charged in and transformed into this super cool crystal guy and totally demolished that villain like he was nothing!! It was a total one-hit K.O.!!”

“No way?!”

Mina awes. “Woah!”

Hagakure excitedly waves her hands about. “Can we see this transformation?”

Izuku is at first startled by the sudden enthusiasm, but he doesn’t see the harm in showing them. “Uh, sure I guess I can.”

Izuku gets up and stands at the front of the room while dialing up the correct alien as his classmates await with bated breath.

With a deep calming breath Izuku presses his finger down on the dial.

“Diamondhead!” Diamondhead appears before everyone standing taller than Shoji allowing everyone to awe at his crystalized body and commanding demeanor.

“So, cool.” The class awes.

Aoyama applauds. “I must admit, you have quite the sparkle.”

Tsuyu frowns. “Diamondhead?”

Diamondhead nods. “Yeah, it’s this guy’s name.”

“Lame.”

Diamondhead gives her a deadpanned look; will she ever appreciate the names for his transformations? “It was Bakugou’s idea.”

“Huh?!” The blonde in question scowls. When in the hell did, he come up with a name for stupid Deku?

Todoroki glares up at the crystal being with a skeptical look. “How did you get a new transformation anyway?”

“Um…I don’t know…”

Todoroki’s glare hardens in response, he definitely is not buying that excuse. But he isn’t going to pursue an answer. It’s not his business after all.

Kaminari lets out an exasperated sigh. “Ah, this is so not fair! Why does Midoriya get the cool upgrade just before the Sports Festival?!”

Sato slumps in defeat as well. “Yeah, you said it.”

Tokoyami nods in agreement. “This world is full of mysteries, and our dear classmate just happens to be one of them.”

Yaoyorozu approaches the living crystal with an intrigue but suspicious look in her eye. “Midoriya could I have a closer look?”

Diamondhead holds his crystallized arm out so Yaoyorozu can have a look. “Um, sure?”

If Diamondhead could blush, he definitely would as Yaoyorozu’s strokes his arm as she examines the being’s lack of flesh and skin.

Mineta can be heard whining in the background. “No fair, why does Midoriya get the attention?”

Tsuyu’s tongue immediately lashes out across the room and slaps the little shit.

Yaoyorozu, thankfully, seems to have ignored Mineta’s whining as she continues to examine the crystal. “Can I take a shard?”

“Oh, uh, s-sure.” Diamondhead produces a small shard in between his fingers before dropping it into Yaoyorozu’s waiting palm. 

Jiro curiously watches as Yaoyorozu examines the tiny shard. “Why would you want that thing?”

Hagakure tries to give her own explanation. “Well, who doesn’t like diamonds?”

Yaoyorozu, however, denies that statement. “Well I’m not so sure if this is diamond.”

Diamondhead would beg to differ. “Excuse me?”

“Oh, it’s just that my family owns quite a bit of diamond encrusted jewelry at home. So, I’ve developed quite a keen eye for such things. I even learned how to produce diamonds myself so I could practice with my Quirk.” Yaoyorozu says this in an absolutely friendly and innocent way, so no one can really hate on her for essentially flexing her wealth at them.

Except for maybe Ochaco. _‘Did she just tell us she’s rich?’_

Yaoyorozu turns back to her transformed classmate. “I’d like to study this crystal if you don’t mind, Midoriya. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen.”

“Uh, okay. I don’t have a problem with it.” Besides he has to admit, he’s a bit curious to see what she finds out as well.

Ochaco claps her hands together gathering everyone’s attention. “Well I think we all had a rousing day, and so I think it’s time we all head out for the day.”

Sero grins. “Yeah, good call.”

Shoji nods. “Yeah, I’m ready to go home.”

Diamondhead grabs his bag before cupping his chin as he remembers something. “Same I promised my mom; I’d help with some chores today.” Huh, maybe he should get Ditto or XLR8 to help out again?

After grabbing their things Ochaco, Iida, and a still transformed Izuku are the first ones to approach the door.

Ochaco is the one to swing it open, but what she finds is not at all what anybody was expecting. “U-um, why the heck are you all here?!”

Standing before them, blocking the exit, is a huge crowd of U.A. students all of which are observing the class with wonder and curiosity. Some even have their phones out to record Class 1-A.

Iida, like the Class President he is, addresses them. “Do you students have some sort of business with our class?”

Mineta runs up to his side. “Why are you blocking our doorway?!” He begins to panic grabbing onto Diamondhead’s leg. “Don’t let them hold us hostage!!” He cries up at the much larger being.

Diamondhead almost feels pity for the little creature. “Calm down, will ya?”

Bakugou stomps forward, as if there is no crowd of onlookers before them. “They’re scouting out the competition, idiots.”

Ochaco steps aside as Bakugou approaches the crowd. “Bakugou.” She warns, he better not do something mean.

While she’s thinking this, Diamondhead is silently praying that he won't explode anybody.

Bakugou eyes her as he comes to a stop, originally, he was just going to shove right past these fools, but he’ll indulge them for now. “We’re the classroom that survived and took on a real villain attack. They want to see us with their own eyes.”

The crowd backs away nervously as Bakugou seems to be able to glare at each and every one of them. “At least now you know what a future pro looks like. Now move it, extras!”

And that was it, that was the last straw. As Ochaco’s fist finds itself embedded into Bakugou’s gut.

“WHAT THE HELL!?!”

“You know what!!” Ochaco shouts back. She can’t believe that this idiot would outright call a group of people extras, like they don’t matter!! You can’t say that to someone when you don’t know who they are!! “You need to fix that attitude of yours!!”

The two soon find themselves in a deathglare competition, which doesn’t serve a purpose other than to make the crowd a bit fearful for their own wellbeing.

Class 1-A’s President tries his best to calm the situation. “Stop! You two mustn’t fight like this!”

“So this is Class 1-A.” An unfamiliar voice calls out from within the crowd, as someone new pushes himself forward through the crowd. “I heard you guys were impressive, but you just sound like an ass.”

“Huh?” Bakugou growls at the newcomer. 

“You know it’s true.” Ochaco huffs.

The newcomer steps to the front of the crowd. The young man has messy, indigo-colored hair that flares out in large tufts around his head. His eyes are dark purple and half-closed with very dark eye bags underneath them much like their teacher Mr. Aizawa.

He’s holding the back of his neck as if to show that he isn’t at all scared of the wannabe heroes. “Is everyone in the Hero Course delusional or just you?”

As Bakugou glares at his new target of hate, everyone else, including Diamondhead, is frantically shaking their heads in denial of the accusation.

The indigo-haired teen frowns. “How sad to come here and find a bunch of ego maniacs. Well I guess except for her.” His eyes look over towards Ochaco, since she willing tries to put her own classmate in his place. “Although she appears to be a violent type as well.”

Ochaco’s visibly shaken as all color drains from her face. _‘I’m…violent…?’_ That’s not supposed to be her image, she’s supposed to be the never giving up bubbly type, not…violent…not be like…Bakugou.

The aggravator sighs before addressing the entire class as a whole. “I wanted to be in the hero course, but like many others here I was forced to choose a different track. Such is life.”

“Tch.” Bakugou tsks. 

“I didn’t cut it the first time around, but I have another chance.” The aggravator’s eyes furrow. “If any of us do well in the Sports Festival the teachers can decide to transfer us to the hero course. And they’ll have to transfer people out to make room.”

Diamondhead, Iida, and Ochaco stiffen before their eyes drift towards the equally surprised and nervous Mineta.

“Scouting the competition?” The aggravator eyes his competition making sure to memorize each of their faces, so he knows who’s an enemy. “Maybe some of my peers are, but I’m here to let you know that if you don’t bring your very best, I’ll steal your spot right from under you.” His eyes land on Diamondhead. “Consider this a declaration of war.”

Iida, Izuku, and Ochaco share the same thought. _‘Where did this guy even come from?!’_

Bakugou leers back at this punk, and if it weren’t for all the witnesses, he’d definitely explode this guy’s ass up to kingdom come.

Somehow someone else from within the crowd manages to break up the tension. “Hey you!” A silver-haired teen with odd eyes pops out from the back of the crowd. He must have just arrived because he can’t seem to pick up on the already present hostility. “I’m from Class 1-B next door to you! We heard you fought some villains and I came to see if that was true!! But you’re just a bunch of brats who think you’re better than us!!”

The trio grimace in response. _‘Crap, everyone hates our class now…’_

The loud student continues with his outcry. “Talk all ya want! It’ll just be more embarrassing when you’re KO’d!”

Almost uncharacteristically, Bakugou doesn't even address the guy; instead he walks right on by as the nervous crowd part away to let him through.

“Don’t you ignore me!!”

Kirishima runs up towards the front of the class. “Dude, where are you going?! You gotta say something. It’s your fault they’re all hating on us, Bakugou.”

Bakugou stops before he can get too far. “These people don't matter.”

“Huh?”

“The only thing that’s important is that I beat them.”

Both Ochaco’s and Diamondhead’s heads shoot up as if struck by inspiration.

With nothing else to say, Bakugou heads on out for the day.

The loud Class 1-B student yells after him. “Hey! I’m coming for you!!”

Kirishima grunts in frustration, as he holds up his fist, and a single tear forms in his eye. “I hate that that was such a manly exit.” Even though the guy’s personality is crap, he can’t help but admire the guy’s fortitude.

Kaminari, however, doesn’t understand his thought process. “Huh?”

Sato cups his large chin. “You said it.”

Kaminari looks at him like he also lost his mind. “Huh?!”

Tokoyami agrees as well. “We have to beat them; he wasn’t wrong.”

Kaminari has had enough. “Yeah sure, but this sucks! He made us everyone’s enemies.”

Mineta’s on Kaminari’s side. “Yeah, that’s right! All of these dumb students will be gunning for us in the festival now!”

Diamondhead thinks back to his conversation with Bakugou back near the start of the year, specifically after their big fight. How Bakugou proclaimed that Deku will never beat him again and how he will ensure his dream of becoming the number one hero and even surpass All Might. No matter what it takes!

“Kacchan…” Diamondhead’s fist clenches.

He thinks back to everyone else and their ambitions: to Iida’s own dream of being like his brother, Ingenium, to Ochaco’s wish to make everyone happy and safe, to what Thirteen hopes he can achieve in the Sports Festival, and even how Mr. Aizawa explained why this event is so important in the first place.

He has to give this event the very best that he can. He can’t afford to hold back, or he will be left behind by those around him. And he’d rather walk alongside his peers than try to catch up to them. He will take on this challenge head on, he will work hard, and in the end, he will walk away as the winner of the U.A. Sports Festival.

But he better work hard because nobody, absolutely nobody, is going to lounge around and let him take the gold without a fight. Because from this point on the entirety of Class 1-A and their competition will be preparing themselves these next two weeks for one of the biggest fights of their young lives. All for the sake of their own individual dreams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that was Ch.19, I really hope you liked it and if you didn’t then that’s okay. Ch.20 will be a bit more original and a bit more on the fun side of things. Yeah so Ch.20 will be the last chapter before we officially begin the Sports Festival. Why? Because I want to. That said, it’s more on the Ben Ten side of things, and no there will not be a new alien next chapter, sorry. But I still think you’ll enjoy it. Also, I’m not sure when I can have Ch.20 up by. It will definitely not be as fast as it took for Ch.19 to be uploaded. 
> 
> *Yeah, I know All Might and Tsukauchi are jumping to some real conclusion. But I’m not a professional writer, and I thought it would be the best way to convey the drama. Plus now All Might sees Izuku more as an unsuspecting victim than an actual threat.
> 
> *Also Tsukauchi’s investigation was strictly looking at records and files rather than conducting interviews. This way he can be a bit more subtle about digging for answers.
> 
> *As for Hisashi Midoriya, not to worry I have a plan on how to handle this character.
> 
> *Izuku’s hoodie will return and will be back for Ch.20. In fact I decided that whenever Izuku is in civilian wear he will almost always have the custom hoodie, much like how Ben always had his own signature jacket, hoodie, and shirts.
> 
> *As for Izuku’s and Ochaco’s support items, they will not be introduced until the Internship Arc so just put a pin on them for now. I do have ideas on what I am going to give them, and no it is not the Proto-tool I am saving that item for…someone else. And if this chapter hints to anything hopefully you can guess who that is. Even if they may not appear for a while.


	20. Last Laugh

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Inko decides that Izuku needs a break so she takes him out for some fun, but a group of villains have something else in mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huh, I was able to get this one out rather fast too. Man, I am on fire with my updating right now. It’s great! Anyway I just want to state that before you start reading please keep in mind that this chapter is mainly supposed to be fun/filler. So, a lot of this chapter isn’t meant to be taken too seriously, mainly because a lot of it won’t have any overall effect on the story. It’s just supposed to be fun. So, please enjoy and I hope you have fun with it.

Lodestar inhales and then exhales, his pincer like hands flex as he leers at the challenge before him. “Here we go.”

He aims his arm forward, standing tall as he towers over this dastardly foe. “Rahhhh!!”

Lodestar releases a magnetic pulse that latches onto his target, he then struggles to flex his arm upward, until finally his target gives out and his arm is flung upward.

Lodestar lets out a victorious shout. “Ha, check me out! ”

Levitating above him is nothing but a large barbell.

“Look at me! I’m doing it!” 

Mezo Shoji sets down his own barbell back onto the bench press before sitting up. “Isn’t that cheating?”

Lodestar is rightfully offended. “What?! Of course not!” Then again… “I think…” He lowers the heavy barbell.

Izuku’s been exercising for over an hour now at the U.A. indoor gym since classes let out for the day. And he needs all the preparation he can get since they only have a total of two weeks to prepare themselves for the Sports Festival. And he’s already been training practically nonstop for nine days straight now.

And he’s far from the only one putting in the effort. Off to the side Ochaco Uraraka is coaching Tooru Hagakure while she tries to do some pull ups.

While Hagakure struggles to hang in there, Ochaco takes the opportunity to run over towards the boys. “Let me give it a shot!”

Without waiting for permission, Ochaco stands over the same barbell, rubbing her hands together in preparation.

Lodestar and Shoji share an amused look, they honestly don’t think she’d be able to lift that thing off the ground.

They couldn’t be more wrong, because Ochaco manages to lift it up with one arm while grinning brightly like the sun.

Lodestar’s jaw drops followed by his own head; it clangs off the ground as Shoji watches on in shock while both of their pride as strong young men take a serious wound.

Ochaco can’t help but smirk a little at their reactions. “How’s this boy?”

Hagakure happily cheers in the background. “Way to show ‘em, girl!!”

From his head’s new vantage point, Lodestar finally notices how Ochaco’s fingers are clearly pressed onto the bar. 

Lodestar deadpans up at Shoji. “And you said I cheated…”

Shoji laughs nervously. “You did…”

Ochaco chuckles realizing that she’s been found out. “Sorry, I couldn’t resist.” She lets go of the barbell, but it doesn’t fall to the ground instead it floats in the air like a balloon.

“Release.” Ochaco presses her finger tips together and the barbell comes crashing back onto the mats as its weight returns.

Lodestar scoops his head off the ground and places it back between his horned-shoulders, he turns his head as if screwing it into place. “Real funny, Uraraka.”

“Hehe, hey it’s good to let loose every now and then. Just because we’re all getting ready and working hard, doesn’t mean we can’t have some fun too.” Then again if her plans go well, she’ll hopefully be having a fun time tomorrow too.

Besides she too has been working her butt off. Just yesterday her and Mina went out to the U.S.J. where Ochaco practiced her Zero-Gravity on all sorts of objects and heavy debris while Mina practiced with her Acid. Heck, even Aoyama ended up joining them, but he had to leave early after a floating rock fell and landed on his head.

“By the way, Deku.”

Lodestar folds his arms. “Yeah?”

“How’s it been going with your own training?”

Lodestar slouches forward as if thinking about it makes him tired. “Man, it’s been exhausting. I’ve spent almost every day working on a different…transformation.”

Lodestar then begins to explain how he’s been going about his training. “As Feedback I absorbed electricity straight from…batteries to test my limit.” In all fairness those batteries were actually the Megawatts that they caught a while back. Apparently Nezu kept them around and is actually paying them to help generate power for the school, so Izuku got special permission to use them for training.

“Then as XLR8, I raced around the U.S.J. for a while.” That was fun, he learned that if he moves fast enough, he can even run on water. Yeah, that was a very surreal experience.

“Whenever I was Grey Matter, I just ran through my own obstacle course.”

Ochaco tilts her head to the side. “Your own obstacle course?”

Lodestar shyly rubs his head. “Yeah, I say obstacle course but it’s more like a little mouse maze I made for myself.” He even used his old toys and other items to make traps and other obstacles while he ran his little course.

Shoji decides to answer for the next one. “Then you wrestled with me as…I think it was Four Arms?”

“Yup.” Lodestar smiles. “Then I flew through the woods nearby as Terraspin.”

That wasn’t as much fun as he thought it would be. He kept crashing into trees the entire time, but eventually he was able to make it through the gauntlet without crashing into anything.

“I practiced with Water Hazard’s water propulsion to fly for a bit, kinda like riding a flyboard.” Now that really was fun…until he crashed at least. 

“Oh, I also figured out how to do this thing with Diamondhead, too.” Yeah, he figured out that he could make blades with Diamondhead’s arms… You know what, that probably would have been really useful during the U.S.J. incident. Oh, well.

Ochaco claps her hands together, just hearing about Deku’s efforts are getting her pumped up for the Sports Festival. “And Ripjaws?”

Lodestar jolts in place as if surprised and worried by that question. “Oh, uh, I challenged Tsuyu to a race while at the school pool.”

Hagakure pops herself into the conversation. “Who won?”

“Um…” Lodestar thinks back to said race, when in reality it was more like a competition to grab a toy fish, and they decided that they could use any means to win. His face still hurts for when she used his face as a springboard to grab the target. “She did…” He presses his hands together shyly while not meeting any of their eyes.

Ochaco has one last question. “What about Ditto?”

“Uh…”

##########(Flashback)#########

“I HATE YOU!!!”

“Oh!! Well next time, don’t steal my monopoly!!”

A group of four Dittos are seated around the kitchen table with a game of Monopoly set up on the table. Originally, Izuku wanted to use the game as a means of improving his multitasking abilities by playing as Ditto, but things immediately went off the rails.

Ditto 1 tries to establish order, by being the adult in the situation. “Ditto, give Ditto your $200. You landed on his property.”

Ditto 3 can’t believe this injustice!! “No! He’s in jail!! I’m not going to give my money to a criminal!!”

Ditto 2 has had enough with Ditto 3’s excuses. “That’s not how you PLAY!!!” He shouts, flailing his arms about in a tantrum.

The fourth Ditto shyly backs away in fright before turning to Ditto 1. “Ditto, why is Ditto screaming?”

Ditto 1 instantly loses his shit. “Shut the fuck up Ditto!! You don’t get to talk after stealing my last RAILROAD!!!”

Ditto 2 wails in frustration. “I WISH I WAS NEVER BORN!!!”

“ME TOO!!!” Cries Ditto 1 as he slams his hands against the table. “YOU THINK I WANTED THIS!?!”

“AaAAAaaA!!!!!”

########(End Flashback)#######

“I…still need to work on Ditto…”

Ochaco eyes Lodestar concerned but she doesn’t pry into it.

With a harsh shake to his head, Lodestar claps his claws together. “Well this has been fun, but I gotta get going.”

He promised his mom that he’d be home early today, and he’s mainly cooperating because ever since the U.S.J. Incident his mother’s been way more overprotective and worrisome then before. Not like he can blame her, after all her own child could have been killed. 

Ochaco blinks up at the taller being. “Oh, okay. I’ll see ya later. I’m not going to stick around that much longer either, I’ve got a long day of work tomorrow.” 

Hagakure is surprised by her statement. “You have a job?”

“Yeah, I needed to make some extra money on the side.” She’s actually had the job for a little while now, it’s actually why she was able to buy a brand-new phone so quickly, too.

Izuku is also surprised by the news, but he can’t dwell on it otherwise he’ll be drawn into another conversation and be late to the train. “Well good luck.” Lodestar begins walking away towards the exit, transforming back into his normal self just as he reaches the doors. “I’ll be seeing you guys later!”

“Kay!” Ochaco waves back at him.

Shoji salutes him away. “Take care, alright?”

“Bye!” Shouts Hagakure.

Izuku waves through the glass wall as he makes his way to the locker room. As he walks through the long hallway, Izuku examines other sections of the indoor gym where other students are doing their own work outs. Such as a trio of older students playing a game of basketball.

One of the buffer teens with blond hair looks like he’s phasing through the floor before popping out of the ground and stealing the ball away from his blue-haired classmate as a weird spinning energy keeps her afloat in the air. All the while their third friend is slouching in the corner as if he’s too shy and embarrassed to even be there.

He spots Tsuyu back at the pool area, and he even sees Kirishima sparring with Bakugou. But what really gets his attention is when he’s just about to enter the locker room. The indigo-haired guy who called out Izuku’s class exits the locker room.

Izuku stops dead in his tracks. _‘Oh, n-no, i-it’s him!’_ This is terrible, he doesn’t want to deal with this guy alone! He’s scary.

Luckily for Izuku, the aggravator eyes Izuku as if annoyed but then continues to walk right past him like he’s no threat to him.

Izuku observes him as he walks by; the teen’s sleeves are rolled up showing off his rather lean biceps. Seriously, they must have been well hidden under his school uniform, there’s no doubt he’s been putting in his own effort. Clearly, he’s trying to uphold his promise to Class 1-A and fight his way into the Hero Course.

Izuku finds that rather admirable, sure he’s kinda scary, but…if someone is willing to work that hard to be a hero, then how bad can they really be? 

“G-good luck!”

The teen stops, shifting his head so he can observe Izuku. “Who are you?”

“Oh, I, uh, uh…” That’s right, he was Diamondhead when they first met so he wouldn’t recognize him. 

The guy seems to have lost patience and doesn’t bother to wait for Izuku’s answer. After all he needs to continue training, every second he wastes is another second for Class 1-A to pull ahead.

Izuku watches as the teen strides forward with purpose. _‘I have to keep going. I have to work harder if I want to succeed!’_

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

After a quick train ride, Izuku makes it home with enough time to spare. “Hey Mom, I’m home!”

“Izuku!!” Inko Midoriya barrels out of the kitchen and right into her son. He barely has enough time to register the crushing hug before she begins to frantically examine him for any sign of injury. “Are you okay?! Are you hurt?! Did you have any run-ins with villains?!”

“M-Mom, I’m fine.” Izuku smiles down at his loving mother while prying her hands away from him. “Promise.”

“Oh, okay. But you’ll tell me if you are, right?!” Tears of worry well up in her eyes as she begs the question.

Izuku offers up a reassuring smile. “Of course.”

Inko is happy to accept that answer, as she wipes away her tears. “Alright, I bet you’re hungry. So, let’s get some food in you.”

“Sounds good.” Izuku takes his shoes off as Inko makes her way back to the kitchen.

He really can’t help but have appreciation for his mother. And even though her worrying can be a bit annoying he just can’t bring himself to tell her otherwise. She’s his mom; she's always going to worry about him. Besides she’s already done so much for him, especially be there for him so he doesn’t really have a right to complain.

Pretty soon the two of them are seated and enjoying their freshly cooked dinner. But throughout the meal, Inko keeps throwing Izuku worried and concerned looks as if at any moment he’s going to break down in front of her.

“So, how’s your training coming along?”

Izuku swallows his bite. “Good, I was just at the gym with some friends.”

Inko immediately lightens up. “That’s fantastic sweety! Did you have fun?”

“Um, sure. I guess.”

“You…guess?” She’s worried again. 

Izuku immediately picks up on it and tries to alleviate her worries. “Oh, it’s just that, we were more focused on our training then having fun.”

Wrong answer Izuku, because Inko’s expression hardens. “I wish you’d take it easy every now and then, sweety. Especially after your little fiasco the other day…” She’s referring to the Ditto fiasco, she actually had to step in and break them up before they started throwing punches.

Izuku grimaces, smiling sheepishly in response.

“Don’t get me wrong I love how hard you’re working towards your dream, but you really need to learn to relax every now and then.”

“Sure Mom.” He goes right back to eating, chalking up her concern to her normal level of worrying.

“I’m serious.” Sometimes Inko can really be annoyed by Izuku’s stubbornness. He’s always been so determined and hardworking…just like him… But this is starting to be too much, at this rate he’s going to overwork himself into exhaustion. And as the loving parent she is, she cannot allow that. “That’s why we’re going out tomorrow.”

Izuku perks up. “Where’re we going”

_‘Now I have your attention?’_ Inko smiles excitedly. “It’s a surprise, but I promise you’re going to love it!”

“Sounds like fun, Mom. Say when will we be going?”

“Tomorrow, Saturday, at 2 o’clock.”

“Perfect.” That gives him plenty of time to squeeze in a quick training session before they have to leave.

Inko greatly enjoys the rest of the meal, happy that her son is willing to go along with her. It should be fun, and it’s been a while since either of them have gone out, so she’s more than a little excited. She smiles happily as she looks over to the counter where a lone pamphlet lies with the following header: “Circus in Town! A Barrel of Laughs Await You at Zombozo’s Traveling Circus of Laughs!! It’ll be a killer of a good time.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Woo-wo!” Terraspin swirls around the building flying like a helicopter through the back alleys of his neighborhood.

He figured he'd try and get in some last-minute training even this late into the day as Terraspin before he goes out with his mom to whatever it is, she has planned for family time.

*bwAAAAAAAHHHP!!*

Oh, that’s his phone. Terraspin quickly lands before reaching for his phone before it can let loose another foghorn alarm.

“Ne, nuh, ha! Nope.” He struggles to grab his phone with his large flippers and in the end, he can’t even hold it as it flops onto the ground.

He sighs in exasperation before just deciding to read the text message off the dropped phone.

It’s a text from his mom and it reads: [Leaving in 5 minutes, meet me by the car]. 

“Looks like my training is over for now.”

Terraspin struggles to pick up his phone, eventually he has to scoop it up while pushing it against the nearby wall. And after putting it away He takes off back into the sky, zipping through the backstreets and alleys towards home.

He rises higher and higher as his apartment building comes into view. _‘I wonder where Mom’s taking me anyway. A hero convention? Maybe to a movie? Even the zoo or the aquarium would be fun. There’s also-_ ’ Something fast and large strikes Terrapin's side just before he can land. “Ah, drone!!”

Before Terraspin could land a flying drone crashes into his side knocking him backwards and away from the roof. “Help. Help! Help!!”

He flails his arms about as he falls backwards, he tries to maneuver himself around but it’s too late as his hard-durable shell crashes down onto something hard and metallic

Terraspin wobbles back and forth before he's able to dislodge his back from his unfortunate landing-pad.

“Ow, man. People got to be more careful with those things.” Seriously, thank goodness he has such a hard shell. “What did I land on anyway?” He turns around to have a look, it must have been a dumpster or perhaps a group of garbage cans. “Uh, oh.” Nope, it was neither.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Inko sits inside her car anxiously waiting for her son to arrive. “Oh, where is he? We’re going to be late.”

“Ahh!!” Terraspin flees in terror from behind the apartment building, waving his arms up in the air as he tries to run away from whatever it is that’s chasing him.

Just before he gets to the car, he transforms back into Izuku in a flash of red light and jumps right into the passenger seat.

“Izuku?! What’s the matter?”

“Just drive!!”

“What?”

“DRIVE!!!”

“Oh, okay…” Inko eyes her son worriedly as the car begins to roll forward and soon, they’re off for their destination.

As they drive away from the building, Izuku cowers in fear from his seat as he eyes their building.

_‘I wonder what’s got him so scared?’_

Meanwhile, Mr. Baumann exits the apartment complex while carrying a box of groceries he’s been meaning to deliver.

But when he steps into the back alley and finds what’s awaiting him, he drops the box, glass jars shatter under the impact, but that’s the least of Mr. Baumann’s worries. After all, someone smashed in his car’s ROOF!!! It’s totally smashed in, with a huge dent, crumbled metal, and shattered windows.

“IZUKU!!!”

Said boy can almost sense Mr. Baumann’s rage even as they drive further and further away from the building. He can only pray that Mr. Baumann calms down by the time they get home.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

The tent for Zombozo’s Traveling Circus of Laughs stands tall surrounded by a variety of stalls and carnival games.

Izuku adjusts his hoodie as he steps out of the parked car. “Is this what you wanted to do?”

“Yup!” Inko states ecstatically. “It’ll be fun, promise!”

Izuku believes her, after all who doesn’t enjoy a good circus? “Shall we?”

“Of course, and I already have the tickets.”

The two Midoriyas make their way through the crowded street and up towards the circus tent. As they make their way, Izuku can’t help but feel that something is a bit off about the place. The stalls that should have bright fun colors are dreary and dark in color. The carnival games look rundown and the prizes are rather odd: fake shrunken heads, creepy masks, voodoo dolls, and other odd trinkets. There’s also an abundance of decorations of the same creepy clown plastered all over the place, the eyes of the signs and decorations really make Izuku’s skin crawl as if they’re watching his every step.

Inko, however, notices something else about the circus. “With this crowd, you’d think the entire town showed up for the show.” She chuckles as both Izuku and her come across a large crowd of people who are trying to make their way inside the giant tent.

Izuku chuckles. “No kidding.” He’s pretty sure he spotted a few of his old classmates from junior high school.

A part of him feels a bit smug and excited that pretty soon he’s going to get the chance to show them all up. To prove that they were all wrong about him! God, he really can’t wait for the Sports Festival to arrive.

As the two wait in line to enter a carny steps upon a nearby stage swinging his cane around to gather the crowd’s attention. “Step right up! Step right up and see! A fingerless Freak of nature! Whose strength knows no bounds, Thumbskull!”

A large hulking figure steps out from behind the dark-purple curtains and his name is definitely fitting. 

As Thumbskull’s name implies, he has a giant toenail on his otherwise bald forehead. Not to mention, his large size is rather intimidating, and his dark-colored jumpsuit with grey stripes that match his pale skin.

Thumbskull takes a long metal bar and places it atop his skull. He then grips the ends of the bar with his meaty hands and pulls down on the ends; bending the bar into a perfect U-shape.

The crowd applaud as Thumbskull tosses up the bent bar into the air.

An orange-red tendril lashes out and grabs the bent bar while it’s spinning in midair.

The carny takes his que to introduce the next Freak. “And presenting Frightwig!”

Frightwig is a woman with pale skin with black-paint coated on her cheeks and head. Speaking of her head, a series of orange-red tendrils protrude out as locks of hair with little black balls attached to the ends. She’s wearing a black tight-fitting jumpsuit with yellows stripes.

“When this beauty lets down her hair there’s no telling what could happen.”

Frightwig smiles as her hair grips the bar and begins to twist it with minimal effort to the point that she essentially creates a large metal pretzel.

As the crowd cheers, she passes on the metal pretzel, placing it atop a nearby anvil.

“And last but not least, the Freak whose unique skill is as vile as his attitude, Acid Breath!”

Acid Breaths is a wrinkly, pale skin man that stands with a hunched back, and he too is wearing a loose black-jumpsuit with orange stripes.

Acid Breath bends down over the metal pretzel and anvil, he then removes his mask and opens his mouth wide revealing a nasty set of teeth and green gums. And as his name implies, an eerie green smog filters out from his maw and pours out onto the metal objects melting them down and even through the wooden floor of the stage.

The crowd gags but clap out of politeness as the Freaks take a bow.

Inko covers her mouth. “G-gross.” She looks over to Izuku and she isn’t that surprised to see him scribbling away in his Quirk Analysis notebook.

She should have expected that he’d try to jot down everything he could tell about the Freaks’ Quirks. His muttering however is starting to ward people away from them.

“Izuku, come on. The show’s going to start soon.”

“Coming!” Izuku tucks away his notebook as he follows the rest of the crowd.

If he had taken one last look at the Freaks, he would have noticed them watching the crowd disappear into the tent with suspicious smirks on their faces.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

It seems like Izuku’s weird vibes about the circus were more unfounded then he’d first thought. The show so far’s been pretty fun. He greatly enjoyed the acrobatics show; his adrenaline was really going when a group of motorcycle daredevils came out. Although Inko looked like she was going to have a panic attack from watching all their crazy stunts. That said, she did greatly enjoy the cute puppies that came out to perform a set of fun tricks.

Shortly after that the ringleader steps back into the center just as the lights dim down. “Ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages! Zombozo’s Traveling Circus of Laughs is proud to present the sultan of smiles! The crown prince of chuckles! The grim tickler himself!! The star of our circus, Zombozo the Clown!!”

From the end of the tent a small cartoonish car zips its way into the center ring as slapstick music plays in the background. The impossibly small car comes to a halt and from it out steps a full-grown human, he squeezes out of the car like toothpaste from a tube, springing up at his full height without any issues from being in such a cramped space.

Good thing Izuku isn’t afraid of clowns because Zombozo has to be one of the creepiest clowns he’s ever seen.

The guy is wearing such dark colors, his dark-clown suit and top hat are the complete opposite of what clowns should represent. The only things that suggest that this guy is a clown is his pale skin, face paint, messy red hair, oversized shoes, and dark-blue clown nose. And his grin, oh his wicked grin, is absolutely disturbing with his yellow stained teeth. Finally, cryptic eerie blue orbs are embedded into his sleeves and hat.

Zombozo holds his arms out in greeting to the crowd as they applaud his entrance.

As Zombozo’s car begins to act on its own accord, as part of the act, Izuku reaches into the popcorn bag only to realize that it’s empty. “Hey, Mom. I’m going to go get more popcorn. Want anything?”

Zombozo defeats his rampaging car in comedic fashion making the audience laugh in the process.

“Ha ha, oh, no. That’s okay, you get whatever you like.” Inko can’t seem to take her eyes off the show, she’s clearly having a good time and that fact makes Izuku happy he agreed to come with her.

His mom deserves to be happy and it makes him happy to know that he can spend it with her. “Okay, I’ll be right back.”

As Zombozo finishes his opening act he finally has a chance to address the audience. “Good evening, ladies and germs!! If you love clowns, then this is the place to be! Be sure to keep your **eyes** on me; you’re going to die laughing.” He grins maniacally as the spheres on his arms and head light up enveloping the audience with its eerie blue glow. “That’s a Zombozo guarantee.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Where is that darn popcorn stand?” Somehow Izuku managed to get himself lost amongst the empty stalls and carnival games, and he just can’t seem to find the popcorn stand.

He’s been looking for a little bit now so much so that he’s already made his way back towards the main entrance to the circus’s property. With nowhere else to go Izuku turns right around to head on back to the show, he’ll just have to accept that they won’t be having anymore popcorn. Oh, well.

He barely turns away when the sound of shattering glass hits his ears. “What was that?!”

Being the Hero Course student that he is, Izuku forgets all about the circus and takes off down the street. It doesn’t take him long to find the source of the disturbance, a band of three felons are robbing a jewelry store.

Izuku takes cover behind a nearby car and uses his time to analyze the whole situation. One, the entire street is closed off thanks to the circus being so close and by extension all the businesses nearby have closed up shop for the day. Two, this part of town is so far from the main downtown area that there aren’t a lot of hero agencies around so a chance of a hero stumbling onto the scene is low. Three, each of the felons are disguised in varying clown getups the only real difference he can tell between the three are their disproportionate sizes to each other.

Izuku continues to watch as the biggest of the three clowns enters the busted-up store while the other two head off to do their own things. One of them approaches a nearby car and breathes down on it and a familiar green smoke eats away at the metallic surface. The clown reaches in and pulls out a purse. Finally the thinnest of the clowns walks over towards an ATM machine that’s been built into the brick wall of the Jewelry Store. Their clown costume consists of three pink-sleeves that stretch from their head and wave behind them as if alive.

The clothed tendrils lash out and pierce right through the bricks and with a sharp tug the ATM is priced right out of the wall.

The skinny clown laughs in glee as the tendrils hold up their prize. “Hahahaha! It’s payday!” Judging from the clown’s voice, Izuku can instantly tell that it’s a woman hidden under the very concealing and baggy clown costume.

Izuku easily puts two and two together, those clowns are actually those Circus Freaks he saw earlier. A group like them are not forgotten that quickly as they would think. _‘They must be using the circus as a way to get around and commit crimes without any witnesses. Is the rest of the circus in on it? Or is it just them?’_ Izuku shakes his head. _‘It doesn't matter, they need to be stopped first. Answers can come later.’_

But there’s another issue, there are no heroes around and even if he calls the police it’s going to take them a while to get here anyway. And by then these guys might be long gone.

So there’s only one thing he can do.

Izuku grips the Omnitrix. _‘Looks like it’s up to me.’_ He stops dialing up an alien when a sudden thought occurs to him. _‘Maybe after I report the robbery to the police.’_ This way by the time he stops them the police and the heroes will get here.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

The biggest of the disguised clowns, mostly likely that Thumbskull guy, notices a bright green flash from behind a nearby car after placing his loot inside their escape vehicle.

“What was that?”

He approaches the car, leaning over it to have a look only to be met by the sight of jagged fangs lunging at him.

“Wha!!” Thumbskull jumps back in fright just as a pair of powerful jaws snap shut.

Ripjaws growls and bares his teeth as the Freak backs away in fright.

“Good fishy. No reason to pick a fight.”

“I think there is.” Ripjaws smirks before jumping up and over the car, he throws his webbed-feet forward and just as he lands on Thumbskull, slamming him into the ground.

The fishman moves fast, faster than a fish-out-of-water should, right towards what he assumes are Acid Breath and Frightwig.

Acid Breath doesn’t react fast enough to fire off his Quirk when Ripjaws grabs his head and slams him face first into the asphalt.

“Too slow. Woah!” Ripjaws leaps away as Frightwig lashes out at him with her three-clothed tendrils.

Assuming that there are more tendrils inside the sleeves than he can see, Ripjaws opens his maw and catches one of the strands while using his free hands to catch the others midair. With his built-up momentum, he spins himself around and with it pulls the disguised Frightwig along before she’s tossed away, skidding across the street.

With the Freaks currently down, Ripjaws makes a move for their escape car, a van. He digs his claws into the side and tears the metal away like tinfoil revealing the stolen goods and money. He even bits down and rips away an entire wheel ensuring that they can’t escape.

Thumbskull doesn’t like that. “Hey, that’s our stuff!!” He doesn’t recognize this guy as a hero, so it must be another villain.

Acid Breath glares up at the fishman. “No, fish is going to steal my loot. Get him!!” Acid Breath takes a deep breath before releasing a steam of acidic gas.

The experienced hero student sees the attack coming from a mile away giving him plenty of time to get out of the acid cloud’s way by jumping on and off the van to gain some height.

The acidic breath melts away at the van and by extension all the stuff they stole.

“Now that wasn’t too smart.” Ripjaws lands right between the Circus Freak Trio.

He body checks Acid Breath from behind, and spins around to deliver a side kick that strikes Frightwig’s side, and while still in motion he delivers a swift backhand into Thumbskull knocking him away, too.

“You guys really need to clean up your acts.” Ripjaws grins from his little joke. “I mean for real; you all need to stop clowning around, Ha ha ha!”

Frightwig growls up at Ripjaws as she’s the first one to get back on their feet, which is a mistake. Because now she’s the first one to have the fishman’s full attention. “What’s the matter? Haven’t you seen someone as freaky as me before?”

“Believe it or not…yes.”

Part of Ripjaws wants to know, but the other part of him wants to end this. He charges right back in but Frightwig is ready as she lashes out at him with her sleeved-tendrils creating a temporary barrier between her and the Piscciss Volann. 

In the meantime, Thumbskull and Acid Breath are back on their feet.

Thumbskull looks to his teammate for guidance. “Should we call the boss?”

“Are you crazy?!” Acid Breath snaps. “He’s busy feeding.” They need to finish this guy off on their own. “Come on!! It’s time for a fish fry!!”

Acid Breath rushes in and this time he’s ready letting out a large puff of green eerie smog at Ripjaws’ back.

Ripjaws can almost sense the oncoming attack, good thing too because he vaults himself to the side allowing the acidic smog to float on by. The cloud continues with its trajectory and melts away the side of the jewelry store.

The morphed Izuku grimaces at the fight. “I’m so glad I don’t have nostrils.” He can only imagine how bad that Acid Breath’s breath is, and he doesn’t want to imagine it.

He doesn’t have much time to collect himself as Thumbskull is soon upon him. Ripjaws barely has enough time to sidestep Thumbskull’s powerful fist as it smashes into the asphalt. “Dammit, you would have been roadkill.”

“And you’re fish food! Roahhh!!” Ripjaws pounces at Thumbskull but Frightwig’s animated hair wraps around his feet and pulls him down.

Ripjaws gawks in surprise before adrenaline kicks in, making him roll out of the way of Thumbskull’s oversized foot before he could crush Ripjaws’ skull. The Piscciss Volann uses his claws to sheer the hair wrapped around his legs, freeing himself and just in time too because Acid Breath is back and with another belch of horrific acidic smoke.

He needs some elbow room, so Ripjaws jumps up and onto the side of jewelry store, his sharp claws dig into the bricks and with a secure hold he begins to climb his way up the three-story building.

The Freaks watch on in anger as the fishman climbs his way to safety.

Thumbskull chuckles at the sight. “What do you call a fish that can climb?”

Acid Breath, for some reason, humors him. “What?”

“A catfish, Ha ha.” The lughead smiles, proud of his oh-so clever joke. “Get it? Because…cats climb but…fish don’t.”

The other two members of the Circus Freak Trio leer at their comrade through their clown masks, wondering why someone as stupid as him is part of their gang.

Meanwhile, Ripjaws is safe upon the roof; he’s taking deep desperate breaths. He’s been lucky up till now that his lack of water intake has finally started to take ahold. But if he doesn’t do anything soon, he’s going to choke on air.

No, in truth it would have been better if Izuku actually paid attention to which alien he dialed up. That’s what he gets for assuming the Omnitrix would just give him the correct alien every time. Lesson learned.

But right now he has a more pressing matter, he needs water! But where can he get it?!

He scans the street below and spots his oasis, a lone fire hydrant is stationed next to a patch of wild bushes and trees. Maybe he can sneak his way into the woods to get there, before the Freaks notice him.

Before he can enact his plan, Frightwig used her acrobatic skills to leap upon the roof and whip the fishman’s back making him stumble forward.

“You can’t just run away after what you did!” She jumps into the air, twirling her body around while stretching out her hair.

Her whirling hair uppercuts Ripjaws striking him so hard that he’s launched backwards and off the roof.

With sharp reflexes, Ripjaws jabs his claws into the side of the building, stopping his fall.

Acid Breath smiles up at Ripjaws. “You’d look good as a wall mount.” He releases a huge cloud of acid that climbs its way up towards the fishman.

Ripjaws kicks himself off the wall and lands atop a parked car, making its alarm blare out. He grabs at his neck as that familiar sense of choking strikes him. He needs water, and soon.

Frightwig uses her hair to scale the wall before she lands gracefully on her feet. “Aw, what’s the matter? Don’t you have a funny quip?”

Acid Breath grins. “Maybe the big mouth’s bitten off more than he can chew.”

Ripjaws glares at them, and he so would love to put the villains in their place, but first he needs water. No!! He needs to stop them first.

_‘I don’t need it. I don’t need it.’_ But it’s so close, just a few meters away is his key to even breath. _‘I definitely don’t need it.’_ He doesn't need H2O he can get on just fine without it. It’s only ten minutes he can handle that. _‘I don’t need it. I don’t need it.’’_ He chants this mantra in his head over and over as he turns to face the approaching villains.

They can tell that the fight’s in their favor now since they’re taking their time to get to him.

_‘I don’t need it.’_ He continues to chant even as he huffs and puffs from being out of breath.

…

“III NEEED IIIT!!!” Ripjaws’ will power gives out as he whirls right around and practically flies right towards the fire hydrant.

He’s so desperate for the life-giving liquid, he rips away the hydrant with just one bite releasing a geyser of water that crashes right into his gills. “Aw, sweet relief.”

“Got ya.” Thumbskull’s voice laughs out.

Before he knows it a flying car crashes right into the Piscciss Volann, launching them both into the bushes and thorns.

Thumbskull smiles from underneath his clown mask. “I got him!”

“You sure did.” Frightwig smirks.

Acid Breath laughs. “Let’s finish him.”

Before they can the sound of fast approaching sirens are heard in the distance.

Thumbskull gaps. “It’s the cops!”

“And mostly likely heroes, too.” Adds Frightwig.

“We need to go.” Acid Breath begins to run back towards the circus.

“What about the boss? He’s not going to like this.” Asks Thumbskull.

That’s actually a smart observation from Thumbskull of all people. Their boss really isn’t going to like how they’ll be returning empty handed except for heroes knocking on their doorstep. Oh, well the boss is smart enough to draw them away hopefully.

Acid breath frowns. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

The Circus Freaks take off in sprints, or at least the best they can while wearing baggy clown costumes. Leaving behind an unconscious Izuku Midoriya to lie in the thorn bushes.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Hey, kid. Please, wake up. Kid!”

Izuku groans as his eyes blink open. “K-Kamui W-Woods?!”

“At your service.” Sure enough the pro hero, Kamui Woods, is standing over Izuku.

Izuku sits up and notices that he’s lying on the grass, the heroes must have pulled him free of the thorn bushes while he was unconscious. “W-what happened?”

He briefly checks himself over for any signs of injuries, it looks like he got out scot free other than a few scratches here and there. On the plus side, he has his black and green hoodie on, and he’s glad to find that it got out of the skirmish without a single tear. Looks like Power Loader was serious when he said that they laced the hoodie with a good amount of kevlar to help make it more durable.

“We were hoping you’d tell us.” States someone else.

Izuku peers around Kamui Woods and spots two other heroes: Mt. Lady and Death Arms as well as a patrol of police cars overseeing the crowds of people that are leaving the circus tent.

Death Arms was the one to ask Izuku for clarification.

Death Arms is a very tall, muscular man of a wide build, slightly-tanned skin, a square jaw, and spiked-short white hair. As part of his hero costume, he wears a large headband with a yellow and black-striped caution pattern, matching his thick wrist-guards and the belt. He wears a cyan-colored cardigan, which exposes his lower torso and the center of his pectorals. His pants are dark blue and baggy.

Mt. Lady casually checks out her finger nails not at all interested in being here. “Spill kid.”

Izuku’s eyes pop out. “Oh, yeah! It was the Freaks!”

Kamui Woods eyes Izuku oddly. “The freaks? Going to need more specifics than that.”

“The Freaks! The Circus Freaks, there’s three of them. They were the ones that robbed the jewelry store, car, and ATM. I saw them!” Well actually he saw and fought them, but that last part doesn’t matter. “I saw their Quirks and everything, they must have run back to the circus.”

Kamui Woods nods in understanding and heads off to inform the police officers, so they can all investigate and interrogate the said Circus Freaks.

In the meantime, Death Arms eyes Izuku suspiciously. “So, why did we find you pinned under a flipped car?”

_‘Flipped car?!’_ Wow, nice to know his hoodie was able to survive that too. “Um, that big guy, Thumbskull, threw it at me.”

“He threw it at you?” He scans Izuku up and down taking note of unscathed he is,

“Uh, I’m much more durable than I look.” Or at least Ripjaws is.

Soon after the heroes lead Izuku away towards the circus tent where they meet Kamui Woods and the police officers inside. They appear to have approached the Circus Freaks but as well as Zombozo who is explaining the situation.

Zombozo waves his arms about as he hams up his performance. “My dear officers there appears to be a misunderstanding. My valued employees couldn’t have been the ones to perform those heinous crimes, after all they were here performing to the audience!” He throws his hands up gesturing to the now empty bleachers. “If you’d like, please feel free to search the premise. I doubt you’ll find anything out of place.”

Kamui Woods stands tall trying to remain as the authority figure of the situation. “We’ll take you up on the offer.”

The police officers head off to investigate and with any luck they’ll turn up with something.

Death Arms crosses his arms as he looks at the suspicious Freaks. “Do you three have an alibi?”

“Of course.”

“Yeah.”

“We were here, performing.”

Izuku rushes in, he is not going to stand for this. “That’s a lie!”

Kamui Woods grabs Izuku’s shoulder and pulls him back. “Easy kid, let the adults handle this.”

“But they’re lying! I saw them robbing the jewelry store!”

The Freaks glare at Izuku. They don't know what this brat has against them, maybe he did see them take on the fishman.

Zombozo eyes Izuku with intrigue. “Are you sure about that?” He asks with a smile like he already knows the answer.

“Of course I am.”

Zombozo thrust his head forward, grinning madly, right into Izuku’s face, making the teen flinch as well as uncomfortable. “Really? Are you sure you saw them? Or are you just looking for attention.”

“Excuse me?”

“I get it, trust me, I mean I am a clown.” His entire living is about drawing in the attention of others. “And I like a good joke as much as the next guy, but you can’t just go around and throw accusations like that.” He leans in covering his mouth as if sharing a secret. “You may find yourself in a **hole** you can’t climb out of.”

That suspiciously sounds like a death threat.

Izuku backs away so the clown isn’t in his personal space. “But I’m not! They’re villains and I bet you’re in on it, too!”

“Oh, my.” Zombozo feigns being hurt. “You wound me!” He grins wildly. “But I’m a reasonable man. So, I say let’s bury the hatchet!”

Zombozo pulls out a cartoonishly large hatchet from seemingly out of nowhere, holding it over his head as he prepares to swing it down onto the teen’s head.

The startled heroes panic. “No, wait!!”

Izuku grips his Omnitrix just as Zombozo brings the hatchet down on him. But rather than his head getting chopped in two, the rubber hatchet harmlessly bounces right off.

The heroes, police, and Izuku blink in confusion as Zombozo cackles. “Hahahaha!!” He wipes his eye free of tears. “Sorry, I couldn’t resist. I am a clown after all.” He grins widely like that should explain everything.

Death Arms deadpans. _‘Talk about morbid.’_

_‘Creep.’_ Thinks Mt. Lady.

“Excuse me.” Two of the police officers return.

“What is it officer?” greets Kamui Woods.

“We investigated the jewelry store for evidence, and we came upon this video surveillance system.” The officer holds up a laptop which begins to display video footage of a trio of criminals dressed as clowns robbing the store.

The clown costumes are big and baggy, easily disguising any obvious features of the robbers.

The other officer chimes in. “We also took statements from the audience and we can confirm that these…” He pauses when gesturing towards the strange looking Freaks. “circus performers were indeed on stage at the same time as the indicated time of the video.” He points to the video’s timestamp to confirm his point.

Izuku is totally stumped. “What?! That can’t be!”

Zombozo shrugs it off nonchalantly like. “See, what did I say?”

Kamui Woods eyes the video curiously before addressing the boy. “I can see why you were mistaken.”

“What?!” Izuku snaps.

Zombozo smirks. “It’s obvious isn’t it? What kind of villains would commit a robbery, in clown costumes, and next to a circus?” Clearly the villains used the circus to their advantage to frame the circus for their crimes. “The real thieves are still out there. How awful, especially after they tried framing my poor innocent employees.” Zombozo pouts as he pulls down Thumbskull and pinches the giant’s cheek.

Thumbskull nervously smiles, trying to look as innocent as possible. And somehow, it’s working. Mt. Lady cups her chin in thought. “Makes sense to me.” 

Izuku is absolutely stunned. “You can’t actually believe him!!”

“Quiet kid, after all you lied to us.” growls Death Arms.

“Huh?!”

Kamui Woods nods. “He’s right. You said you saw these three robbing the bank, when you really saw three people disguised as clowns.”

“But I know it was them! I saw their Quirks!” Izuku is completely astounded, are these professional heroes seriously considering this excuse!?

“For shame.” Zombozo frowns, shaking his head in disapproval.

Izuku can’t help but feel nervous as a cold shiver runs down his spine.

“Kids these days, always jumping to the wrong conclusions.” Zombozo shakes his finger at Izuku like a parent scolding a child. “I am very ashamed in you, young man.”

“Huh?”

Zombozo grabs at his suit, adjusting his collar. “You see, I provide an opportunity for people with odd mutations such as my precious flunkies.” He gestures towards said flunkies who all smile, but it comes off as awkward rather than comforting. “I give them purpose, a place to stay, and allow them to use their special gifts to bring smiles into this world!” Zombozo grins happily. “Doesn’t that sound nice?”

Kamui Woods agrees, finding the clown’s motives to be quite admirable. “It does.” He drops his kind demeanor as he turns his attention onto Izuku. “As for you. You can’t judge people based off their appearances!!”

“I-I’m not.” Izuku is restored to his usual nervous self. His mind trying to figure out how the tables could have been turned on him so quickly.

“No excuses!” Kamui Woods is really annoyed now. “You’ve not only distracted us from pursuing the real criminals, but you falsely accused these carnies just because they’re different.” He folds his arms and shakes his head. “Shameful.”

“But I-”

Zombozo cuts in before Izuku could defend himself. “Oh, it’s no harm done. This young man was just trying to do his civic duty.” He grins and wraps his arm around Izuku’s shoulders. The boy stiffens up in fright, he can smell the clown foul breath, as Zombozo leans in closer. “Perhaps now he’ll learn not to stick his nose where it doesn’t belong.” For comedic effect, Zombozo squeezes his own blue clown nose, it squeaks in response, but Izuku doesn’t find it at all charming.

The clown, thankfully, releases the boy. “But I would hate to think that you fine heroes wasted a trip all the way out here. So, as a sign of good will. You can all feel free to stick around for our next show! It should be starting in another hour or so.”

“I’d be happy to take you up on that offer.” Kamui Woods accepts the offer, but more likely he accepts the invitation out of politeness.

“Same.” adds Death Arms.

Mt. Lady shrugs. “Sure, why not?”

The clown turns his smiling face to the nervous and stunned greenette. “The offer goes for you, too, boy.”

No way in hell is he going to stick around. But more importantly, how could the heroes just brush him off so easily?! Can’t they see that these guys are up to no good?! They should be hounding them, not him!!

He needs to get out of here, this is all too much.

Death Arms calls out to Izuku as he runs right out of the tent. “Hey, don’t you walk away!” 

At least he’s being attenuative because the heroine of the group is completely uninterested twirling her hair around with her fingers.

Zombozo waves it off. “Oh, let the boy go. He meant no harm, he’s probably just a bit embarrassed.” He chuckles. “Ha, he’s really got to learn to just laugh things off!”

“Right, well anyway.” Kamui Woods rubs his head sheepishly as he turns to Zombozo. “Sorry to bother you.”

With nothing else to say, the heroes and the police officers leave the tent as Zombozo and his Freaks wave them off.

The moment the heroes are gone Zombozo drops his facade. “Meet me in the back.” He growls as he turns to face the cowering Freaks. “We need to have a little chat.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Where is she?” Izuku asks mostly to himself as he circles around the main circus tent.

Things are really not going Izuku’s way. First, he got his ass handed to him by literal clowns. He's been dismissed as a nuisance by his own local heroes. And finally, he just can’t seem to find his own mother.

He’s been searching for her all over the place, even making his way to their parked car to make sure she didn’t leave without him. Not that she would ever do that, of course. But the longer it takes to find her, the more freaked out Izuku becomes.

_‘Come on, Mom. Where are you?’_

This is bad, what if the Freaks got to her?! Hell is she freaking out herself?! She’s been way more wired than lately, and the show’s been over for a while now. There’s no doubt she’d be panicking, crying her eyes out, because she lost her darling baby boy!

“I should call her.” He hastily grabs his phone and begins dialing, hopefully she’s fine and he’s just somehow walking past her without realizing it. “Pick up. Pick up. Pick up.”

The phone’s ringing and he prays that she answers, but the worst happens. “This is Inko Midoriya. I can’t answer your call at the mo-”

“Shit!” He hangs up. _‘Come on, Mom. Where are you?’_

“You morons!! Buffoons!!”

That’s Zombozo’s voice, and he sounds angry.

Izuku scans the area and notices a little back entrance to the circus tent. He tiptoes his way over and peeks inside through the curtains. Inside he sees what appears to be the backstage area of the circus with stored props, makeup tables and mirrors, and other circus-related items. But what really has Izuku’s attention is the mad clown that’s shouting at the trio of circus Freaks.

“Do you have any idea how close we were to being caught?!”

The Freaks cower in fear. “Sorry boss.”

“Sorry?!” Zombozo strikes each of them with one long slap. “Sorry, doesn't make us rich or powerful.” He grabs Acid Breath by the collar, pulling him in so close that Zombozo’s nose is squeezed between them. “You listen here. Because of your blunder we have no loot, and we have unwanted attention by pro heroes!!” He shoves Acid Breath away. “You’re lucky your disguises threw them off.”

Talk about hiding in plain sight: the idea was that if they were caught, none of the heroes would suspect the circus because it would look like they were being set up. Which of course worked out in their own favor.

Acid Breath growls. “But boss!”

“It was that fish freaks’ fault.” Finishes Thumbskull.

“And that brat!” Frightwig adds.

Zombozo scowls at them, silencing them with a single look. “I don’t care who’s fault it is, I just want it fixed!!” The mad clown drags a hand down his face, releasing an exasperated sigh. “At least it’s not a complete loss, that last show was really…satisfying.” He licks his lips as if savoring the taste of a delicious meal.

And Izuku picks up on it. _‘Wh-What…does he mean?’_

Acid Breath tries to look as non-threatening as possible. “Look boss we’re sorry. We screwed up.”

Thumbskull nods looking mighty ashamed as well. “Yeah, we can go rob more stuff.”

Zombozo shakes his head. “No, you can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because idiot! We now have the heroes on guard.” They can’t pull anything otherwise they risk being found out. But they are not the only ones they need to worry about. “That fish freak is still out there too. No to mention that kid.” The clown strokes his chin. “I didn’t like that look in his eye. Like he’s not going to let this go. And that can be very bad for us.”

Frightwig asks the million-dollar question. “Then what do we do?”

“Nothing.” Zombozo states rather simply and calmly. “For now we just act like everything is normal. We put on our next show and then move on. This place is a bust anyway.”

Izuku sighs, relieved that he did effectively stop their potential crime spree.

However, that feeling soon vanishes as Acid Breath brings up some new information. “Hey, boss. What about the hostages?”

It feels like everything has gone cold, even his heart stops beating for a moment. _‘Hos…hostages…?’_

Zombozo acts like the question wasn’t out of place for them. “Just follow procedure. Just be sure to keep them quiet, we don’t need the heroes to find out about our little operation.”

Izuku is literally panicking, sweat buckets as he scrambles for his phone. _‘Oh, God. Please don’t let it be her!!’_

His mind keeps telling him the worst possible outcome, but he refuses to believe it! She has to be okay! She just has to be!

Her phone’s ringing! And it’s close!! Oh thank God! Wait…

Izuku slowly reels around and peeks back into the tent and what he sees shakes him to his very core. 

Izuku watches in horror as Zombozo picks up his mother’s phone off the floor. “I thought I told you morons to get rid of these!” He tosses the phone towards the Freaks.

“Acid Breath, get rid of it! We can’t leave any evidence behind.”

Izuku is absolutely horrified as a feeling of uselessness and helplessness washes over him just as the phone melts away along with any sign of Inko Midoriya’s presence.

Izuku feels like he’s going to hurl as tears leak out of his eyes. He has to get away from here and fast! So, he takes off running his thoughts filled with images of unspeakable terror his mother must be going through. This is the worst thing that could happen!! What’s he supposed to do?! The heroes aren’t going to take him seriously without proof, same for the police. And he’s totally outnumbered by those Freaks. And now, now because he had to get wrapped up in all this his own mother, the only parent that’s been a constant throughout his life, is gone. And he’s helpless to do anything about… he’s back to being the weak, useless Deku from a year ago.

But…he’s not that useless Deku anymore. He’s the Deku that can do anything! If the heroes won’t help him then he’ll just have to take matters into his own hands. Besides it’s his mother that’s in danger, he should be the one to save her!

But maybe not by himself. If he runs into all those circus villains at once, his chances of winning will be too slim. He needs backup, but who? Thirteen is still recovering so they’re out. And Magister Nezu’s been far too busy with preparations for the Sports Festival so fat chance of him even picking up his phone. But there is one person that lives relatively close, and he knows that they will have his back.

So with a lot to lose, Izuku makes a quick call. “Please, please, please pick up.”

“Hello, Deku?”

“Oh, Uraraka.” He’s so happy to hear a friendly voice that he could cry. “I-I’m s-so happy to hear your voice.”

He can almost hear Ochaco blushing from the opposite end. “W-What?! Is something the matter?’

“Y-yeah. Listen I need your help.” His voice drops in sorrow.

“Um, sure with what?”

“Okay, I’m at the circus at the edge of town. Can you make it here within the next hour?”

“…Wait, which circus?”

“Zombozo’s Traveling Circus of Laughs. Why?”

“Hang on.” She ends the call then and there.

Did she just hang up on him? How rude! What’s with that?!

“Deku?”

Izuku freezes up. That didn’t come from his phone. He turns around and comes face to face with his very good friend, Ochaco.

…

“I’M SO HAPPY TO SEE YOU!!” The wielder of the Omnitrix practically throws himself at her, wailing at the top of his lungs as streams of tears flow freely down his cheeks.

Ochaco struggles to free herself from Izuku’s crushing hug. “Woah, Deku?! What’s the matter?!”

Before Izuku can form a reply a second much younger voice interrupts. “Stop crying will ya. Sheesh, and people say that I whine a lot.”

Izuku sniffs peering down at the little girl holding onto Ochaco’s hand. “Oh, I remember you. ML-E right?”

Sure enough, accompanying Ochaco is the little Kineceleran girl that they both met at Mr. Baumann’s store a while back.

“The one and only.” ML-E waves up at Izuku as he finally releases Ochaco.

Izuku eyes the two of them. “Wait, did you two come here together?”

Ochaco smiles. “Hehe, yeah. After I moved into my new apartment, I needed some extra cash. So, I talked to Thirteen and they got in contact with ML-E’s mom for me and I’ve been babysitting for her ever since.” And it’s been great.

“Oh, good for you.”

ML-E thinks so too. “Yeah, she’s great. Ochan is so cool and fun!”

Ochaco is smiling brightly in response to the compliment. “Why, thank you.”

Wow, Izuku can almost see the praise inflating her ego.

“But I can’t be the only one with all the praise.”

Izuku raises an eyebrow. “Why’s that?”

“Because ML-E here is essentially my meal-ticket!!” Ochaco’s smile shines like the sun as she holds up the little Kineceleran like she’s a prized possession. And ML-E is more than happy to be treated as such.

“Don’t say things like that!!” Izuku cries out, looking around to make sure nobody hears and takes it the wrong way.

“But it’s true!! Thanks to her, I’ve been raking in the dough!!” At least for what a babysitting job can get you, but it’s more than enough. “She’s why I was able to get a new phone! And she’s even the reason I was able to afford your hoodie!” She finally seems to notice that he is wearing the very same hoodie. “Oh, it looks like Power Loader fixed it already.”

“Oh, yeah he did.” Izuku grins as he pulls at the hoodie’s end so Ochaco can have a proper look. “It’s laced with kevlar so it's much more durable.” Hang on a minute. “Wait!! No! There was something I needed to tell you.”

Izuku proceeds to explain the whole situation to them both starting at the very beginning. From how his mom wanted to bring him here, to him witnessing the Freaks rob the jewelry store, how Zombozo is totally in on it and is running the gang, and finally how they’ve kidnapped his own mother for some nefarious purpose.

“Oh, my gosh! That’s horrible!” Ochaco gasps as she reaches for her phone. “We have to call the heroes.”

“I already tried that.” Izuku replies. “They didn’t believe me.”

“What?!”

“Boo! Boo!” ML-E boos in response; what kind of heroes don’t do their job properly?

Ochaco worriedly looks around in case the Freaks show up. “So, what are you planning to do now?”

Izuku slumps back against the chain link fence, flopping onto the ground. “I…I don’t know.”

“I thought you guys were heroes.” ML-E states this like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

“Huh?”

“Ochan said you two are hero students or something, right? So, shouldn’t you stop the bad guys?”

Izuku shakes his head in defeat. “It’s not that simple.” How can he properly explain this to her?

Ochaco strikes her chin. “Or maybe it is.”

“Huh?”

“Deku, we’ve fought real villains before. We survived the U.S.J. Incident, I think we can handle a few clowns.”

“But their Quirks are dangerous.”

“And you analyzed them, right?”

“Of course.” he pulls out his Quirk Analysis Notebook and opens it up revealing the notes he was able to jot down about them.

“Then we have enough info to make a plan.” Ochaco reaches her hand out to her friend. “Come on Deku. We can do this?”

“Yeah!” cheers ML-E. 

“What’s the worst that could happen?” Ochaco asks naively.

Izuku smiles up at her. She’s right they’re more than enough to take on these Freaks. Together they'll show them what experienced Space Cadets/Hero Course students can really do. All they need now is a plan. 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

The same carny from before waves his cane around as he herds the crowd inside for the next show. “Step right in folks! For Zombozo’s Traveling Circus of Laughs!! Step right in, we promise you’ll be knocked dead just from laughing!”

Mt. Lady chews away at her popcorn. “It sure is a big crowd.”

“No kidding.” Death Arms marches on taking in the large crowd around them. He notices how Kamui Woods is holding himself. “What’s with you?”

The Arbor Quirked hero is acting like a weight is sitting upon his shoulders. “I was just thinking about that kid. He sure seemed really upset.”

Mt. Lady swallows her food. “I wouldn’t worry about it. Kids like him are just after attention.”

_‘You would know, wouldn’t you?’_ thinks Death Arms.

Kamui Woods chuckles as if sensing Death Arms’ thoughts, but while he’s distracted, he accidentally bumps into someone from behind. “Oh, pardon me. I’m so sorry.”

A blue-skinned raptor wearing a yellow poncho peers around and upon laying his eyes on the hero a look of worry flashes across the reptile’s face. “It’s okay, no harm done.”

The reptile walks away pulling along what the hero assumes is the reptile’s little sister behind him.

XLR8 and ML-E are able to catch up to Ochaco.

“Deku, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” At least he thinks so, his heart’s racing though. Somehow, he forgot that the heroes would be here too.

In all fairness, they did only have twenty minutes to throw together a plan. Basically, Izuku bought them three tickets to get inside, and then he transformed into XLR8 and threw on a poncho to hide the Omnitrix. And since both ML-E and him are the same species, it would hopefully help sell the disguise that they are just a pair of siblings tagging along with a friend on a trip to the circus.

As they near the entrance, they pass up the Freaks’ stage where the Circus Freak Trio are performing their acts once again for the waiting audience. But they seem to be more on edge than last time, they’re constantly scanning the crowd as if looking out for any unwanted intruders, mainly Ripjaws or Izuku.

ML-E points up at them. “Are those the Freaks?”

“Yeah.” nods the older Kineceleran.

Acid Breath, once again, melts away a metal bar and anvil with a single breath.

Ochaco gags. “Ew.”

ML-E however has a different reaction. “Cool!”

XLR8 pulls ML-E along a little faster, the sooner they’re inside the better. Ochaco hurriedly follows along, she just wants to get away from the Freaks, that guy with a toenail growing out of his forehead is disturbing to her.

They eventually make their way inside and just in time too as Izuku’s Omnitrix times out, thankfully the poncho was big enough to cover up most of the flashing red light and his sudden transformation.

The show goes the same as last time with acrobatics and daredevils. But Izuku can’t bring himself to enjoy the show, he’s far too nervous. Although he can’t help but laugh at how similar Ochaco’s reaction is to his mom’s after the puppies came out to perform.

Finally. After what feels like forever Zombozo takes center stage.

With Zombozo distracted on stage, this will be their best chance to search the premise for Inko and the other hostages.

“Alright, let’s go.” Leading them under the bleachers, as the audience laughs away at Zombozo’s act.

From there they sneak their way under the tent sheet and find themselves among the empty food stalls and carnival games.

“This is so cool!” ML-E quietly cheers.

Ochaco suddenly remembers something. “Um, hey ML-E.”

“Yeah?”

“You’re not going to tell your mom about this are you?”

ML-E stares up at her babysitter as if expecting something.

Ochaco sighs in defeat, digging into her pocket, before handing the little girl some cash.

ML-E happily accepts, making a gesture of locking her lips and throwing away the key.

Ochaco, however, greatly dislikes the taste of being blackmailed by a six-year-old.

The trio snake through the thankfully empty stalls, checking each one for any sign of hostages. As Ochaco crawls around a stall she quickly jumps back before she’s spotted by Thumbskull.

The trio sneak a peek, The Freaks look like they’re patrolling the circus grounds. They’re probably keeping an eye out for any intruders, they probably think Izuku or Ripjaws are going to try and sneak back in.

Looks like they’re going to have to be more careful, if they get drawn into a fight, they might lose their chance to rescue Izuku’s mom.

As they quietly sneak behind a carnival tent Izuku is too busy keeping his eye on the Freaks that he fails to notice the wire strung tightly off the ground, and he trips right over it slamming into several boxes that clatter against the ground.

The Freaks spin around and smile when they spot the very intruder they were ordered to find.

“Hahahaha, look who it is boys.” Frightwig smiles wickedly. “Looks like someone wants to see the show without buying a ticket.”

Izuku gulps. “Oops.”

“Get out of here, Deku!” Without waiting, Ochaco charges the Freaks. “I’ve got them!”

The Freaks are definitely surprised by the sudden appearance of another kid.

“Stupid girl!” shouts Thumbskull.

“Get out of our way.” growls Acid Breath.

“Hm, na.” Ochaco states with a smirk as she raises her fists for a fight.

With the Freaks occupied Izuku grabs ML-E and takes off. “ML-E come on!”

Frightwig spots Izuku fleeing the scene. One of her hair-tendrils lash out and swing her up and over the stalls, she twirls in the air, and leaps from stall top to stall top chasing after Izuku and ML-E.

With a flip, Frightwig whips her hair at Izuku’s back. The Hero Course student acts quickly shoving ML-E away as he jumps back allowing the tendril to whip between them.

Frightwig lands between the two, effectively separating them from each other. She leers down at Izuku with a sadistic smirk. “I think I’ll convince the boss to let me keep you. You’d make a good laborer.” She whips her hair. “Or at least a nice little play thing.”

The way she licks her lips makes Izuku very uncomfortable.

Frightwig chuckles at the sight of Izuku’s nervous expression, she is so going to enjoy this.

A little blue blur spins around her feet, as if a mini tornado decided to target her, making her stumble and throwing her back into a stack of boxes filled with soda.

A little Kineceleran laughs at the sight of a grown woman being humiliated by a six-year-old.

“ML-E!” scolds Izuku, what is she doing?! She should be running away not running into danger. That’s his thing!

ML-E doesn’t see the issue. “What? It’s fine. Besides I’m way faster than her, she’ll never hit me.”

Frightwig growls. “Why you little-” Before she can even get back up ML-E speeds over and whacks her with her tail before running back to Izuku.

Izuku blinks as Frightwig rubs her head. “O-okay…just don’t let her catch you. And run back to Uraraka when it gets bad.”

ML-E grin. “Okay!” 

Izuku runs off to a nearby Mirror Maze that’s located next to the main circus tent, if there’s any place they could hide hostages it might just be in there.

He must be on the right track because Frightwig isn’t going to let him just stroll in. “Oh, no you don't’!” She whips her hair out at Izuku but ML-E spins around her feet again and throws the woman off balance.

As Frightwig lands onto the ground, ML-E smiles and blows a raspberry before running away as a little blue-blur.

“Get back here you little shit!!” Frightwig uselessly chases after what she assumes is a little girl with a Mutation type Quirk. 

Meanwhile, a weightless Ochaco jumps atop a small tent to get away from Thumbskull’s fists. She then leaps away to another tent as the one she was on melts away from Acid Breath’s breath. Ochaco releases her Quirk as she slides down the side of the tent and takes off running and just in time too as Thumbskull charges right through, missing her by just a hair.

“Hold still!”

“Ha, you really are a clown!” laughs Ochaco as she sprints away. “Because that was funny!”

Thumbskull growls as Acid Breath chases after her.

Ochaco ducks behind a row of carnival games, as Acid Breath runs on by. She crawls low against the ground until she comes upon a strength test game with an oversized wooden mallet.

She smirks mischievously at the sight of the potential weapon.

Acid Breath continues to scan through the various carny games, but he just can’t seem to find her.

“Looking for someone?”

Acid Breath frowns peering around for the annoying girl but she’s nowhere in sight.

“Yoo-hoo!” A grinning Ochaco jumps down from her perch with a weightless giant mallet in her hands.

Acid Breath looks up, opening his mouth to ready an attack.

Ochaco swings the huge mallet down on to Acid Breath. The mallet smashes right into the side of the Freak’s head, a few of his teeth fly out, as his entire body spins in the air before he crashes onto the ground.

Ochaco presses her fingertips against the huge mallet and then heaves it onto her shoulder and smiles at Acid Breath’s still form. “And then there was one.”

“Rah!” Thumbskull crashes through a food stall.

He takes a few swings at Ochaco, but she twists her body in order to move herself out of the way. She holds out her mallet and swings around, hopefully with this momentum she can take out the hug lug with one hit. She swings around and BAM the mallet collides with Thumbskull’s skull.

“Gah!!” Thumbskull yelps as the mallet collides into his face, he keels over as he holds his head.

With his guard down, Ochaco presses her fingers onto the huge Freak’s shoulder and a pink glow emanates out. Ochaco then swings her mallet like a golf club right into Thumbskull’s chin and because of the Zero-Gravity he gets launched into the air, spinning uncontrollably.

When he gets high enough, Ochaco releases her Quirk and watches as Thumbskull plummets downward landing right into a dunktank of all things.

Ochaco picks up the mallet, admiring how effective of a weapon it turned out to be. “Maybe I should hold on to this… you know, just in case.”

Meanwhile, ML-E continues to zigzag her way from stall to stall, from hiding spot to hiding spot as Frightwig lashes out and misses her every single time.

“Hold still!! You little brat!!”

ML-E pops her head out of a barrel, and tee-hee’s the annoyed Freak.

“Rahh!!” Frightwig lashes out all of her tendrils.

ML-E smirks as the hair appears to be moving in slow-motion, at least to her. She grabs a strand and runs straight for Frightwig, she then spins around her while still holding onto the strand of hair.

“Woah! What are you-Ah!” Frightwig falls over as ML-E finishes wrapping her up in her own hair.

“Woah-woo! That was fun!” cheers ML-E.

“ML-E!” Ochaco comes running, dragging her large mallet behind her. “Are you okay?”

“Yup!”

Ochaco releases a relieved sigh. “Oh, thank goodness.”

ML-E holds her hand out, waiting for Ochaco to hand something over.

The older girl raises an eyebrow. “What?”

ML-E clenches her hand before opening it again.

Ochaco lets out an exasperated sigh as she digs out her wallet and hands over some more cash to the six-year-old. Hopefully this will ensure that she keeps quiet about all this and doesn’t tell her mom that she fought a villain.

But she can’t be too upset, now they’ve given themselves a better chance of saving the hostages and helping Deku. Wherever he is.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Izuku bumps his head first into another mirror. This is really starting to get irritating; he’s been running into nothing, but dead-ends and he’s so turned around he can’t even find the exit. It doesn’t help that this place is so dark and devoid of life, but Izuku just can’t shake the feeling that he’s being watched.

All he can do is keep going with only his reflections to keep him company. The reflection that follows him from mirror to mirror copying his every move…at least until his reflections are replaced by images of a disturbed clown.

“Huh?!” Izuku gasps as he reels back in fright as the reflections of Zombozo smile gleefully at him through the glass mirrors.

“Well, hello again, son!” Shouts the disturbed clowns. “I knew from when I first saw you that you’d be a barrel full of laughs!”

The reflections of the mad clown run off leaving behind the very confused and startled boy.

Izuku chases after them, there just might be a chance that they’ll lead him to the exit or at least the hostages. He’ll just have to be ready to fight off the clown in order to get out. Or he would if he doesn’t hit another dead-end.

“Hey Mr. Serious.” Zombozo’s floating head appears in the mirror in front of Izuku’s face. “How about a smile?” His grin somehow stretches past what’s capable of a human.

Izuku backs away in horror as each mirror surrounding him displays a towering Zombozo of their own. “What is this?!”

“I’m a clown kid, haven’t you ever heard of magic?” As to prove his point, the reflections are somehow able to reach out of the mirrors. “Now why don’t you give me a hand?”

Before Izuku can finish processing, what’s happening the many cold-dead hands grab at him and begin to pull him, throwing him around between reflection to reflection all the while laughing in his face. After being flung around so fast and hard Izuku takes a tumble landing hard on his rear.

Before he can reach for the Omnitrix, the reflections reach out and prop him up before restraining his arms.

“So, what’s your story? Why are you being so persistent?”

“Let go!” screams Izuku as he struggles to free himself but the Zombozo reflections are much stronger than they look. “And give me back my Mom!!”

“Oh, so that’s it, isn’t it?” An oddly colored version of Zombozo steps out of his mirror standing before Izuku with a mad grin and a gleam of mischievousness in his eye. “You want your dear old mommy back! Hahahaha!” Zombozo strolls forward swaying side to side. “You know what! I’ll take you to your mommy!” He grabs Izuku’s head, pulling him by his hair so they can be at eye level. “And when I do…I want to see you smile with joy!” Zombozo’s devilish smile stretches cartoonishly wide before he gives a hard shove.

Izuku yelps as he falls backward except, he doesn’t land on the ground, instead he's plummeting into an endless void of darkness!

“Ahhh!!” screams Izuku. What the hell is going on?! Is this Zombozo’s Quirk at work?! It has to be. “Oof!!” His gut landed right on a trapeze of all things.

Izuku groans as he adjusts himself, but his hand slips. “Woah!” Thankfully he’s able to securely grip the trapeze, although now he’s just dangling there helplessly.

“Hahahaha!”

Izuku peers up to find Zombozo standing atop of the trapeze.

The clown smiles down at Izuku. “You better hold on!” He grins madly as he makes hand scissors and with one snip, he cuts the rope with his fingers alone.

“Yahhhh!!” Izuku screams in terror as he falls towards a fiery ring below.

The fiery ring morphs and shifts becoming a large flaming image of Zombozo’s grinning face. The flaming clown opens his maw as if gulping Izuku up with one flaming bite.

Izuku shields his eyes as he continues to spiral in the air until he crashes onto something thin and sticky.

Izuku peeks his eyes open and finds himself bound to a giant eerie green spider web. And a giant spider is crawling towards him.

The spider lurks above him, but what’s most disturbing about the creepy-crawly is that its head is actually Zombozo’s only it’s upside down amplifying the scare factor.

“Come on, kid! You really got to learn to loosen up! Crack a smile! Laugh a little!” The mutated spider presses his sharp pincers against Izuku’s neck. “It’s what keeps me going.” His grin somehow widens before he rears his sharp pincers back and slashes downward.

Izuku shuts his eyes expecting the worst but instead the spider cuts his own web and Izuku plummets down even further.

Thankfully he lands on what he believes is solid ground as an uproar of laughter echoes around him.

Izuku groans, taking in his surroundings. Somehow, he ended up in the middle of the circus tent and during the show no less because the audience are still seated, laughing away at what they think is a performance.

_‘What’s wrong with them? Can’t they see what’s going on here?’_

A bright spotlight shines down on Zombozo who’s laughing down at Izuku’s prone form. “What a performance kid! You’re really killing ‘em! Hahahahaha!”

The audience laugh along with Zombozo. The clown’s eerie blue orbs glow as the audience laughs leading Izuku to assume that whatever’s going on it has to do with him!

Izuku crawls away from the terrifying clown. He needs to get away and form a real plan! He needs to find his Mom! He needs to stop this psychotic clown!

Zombozo kicks his feet and he begins to float in the air, following Izuku without having to take a step. “Now don’t tell me you have stage fright!”

Izuku glares up at the clown and immediately begins to laugh. “Hahaha!”

He clasps his hands over his mouth to stop himself from laughing, but he just can’t seem to stop. He shakes his head violently and finally he’s able to rid himself of his giggling fit. “What…just…happened?”

“Hahahahaha! You know, you’re a lot of fun.” Zombozo soars into the air, holding his arms out for the continuously laughing audience. “Tell me, do you know what I’m after?”

Izuku glares up at the clown again, only to enter another fit of laughter. With a shake of his head, he's able to stop. “I…don’t know…money maybe.”

“Hahaha! Ah, wrong!” Zombozo slips down to Izuku. “I want what any clown worth his floppy shoes wants; to make people laugh!” He towers over Izuku, and all his features become cartoonishly monstrous with a large head, sharp fingers, and crooked teeth. “ _Then drain their positive energy like a sponge in a pool party!_ ” he deflates back to his normal size. “Is that so wrong?” He asks innocently enough.

Izuku is able to speak, but he doesn't peer up at the clown as he speaks. “There’s more to it, isn’t there?” After all neither the heroes nor the actual audience are reacting; they’ve been laughing nonstop, that can’t be healthy for them.

“Oh, you really are a sharp one, aren’t ya?” Zombozo twirls and flies up into the air and the spotlights follow his every move. “But yes! It’s my Quirk: PsyClown! Isn’t that right, folks?!”

The audience laughs even harder so much so that some of them are coughing and choking from the lack of oxygen intake.

“PsyClown allows me to drain the positive energy of others through their own laughter!” With a pop he comes cartoonishly monstrous again. “ _But that’s not all it can do!!_ ” With a snap of his fingers the upper half of the circus tent lights up.

Izuku looks up and spots a broken trapeze dangling over a hoop of fire, which is positioned over a slashed-up safety net. Izuku puts two and two together, the clown somehow messed with his sense of perception. _‘Can he make illusions?’_

Zombozo flies around among the stage props. “What do you think I do with all this positive energy?! I make it my own to bend the laws of physics to my will!” He rockets down and whispers the following into Izuku’s ear. “But between you and me, my favorite trick is to make mirages. Ha ha ha!” he soars back into the air, throwing his hand out as bright sparkling lights spark in front of the audience.

Izuku glares up at the clown only to spontaneously laugh again! He throws his head down as he tries to catch his breath. _‘PsyClown? That explains why no one can stop laughing. And it explains so much more. Like that hatchet from earlier was definitely real, he must have messed with the object’s elasticity. And those reflections were just mirages and so were the other terrifying imagery I had to go through.’_

Zombozo glides over the audience. “Soon I will have stockpiled enough power and I will be strong enough to do whatever I please!”

He’ll be able to collapse buildings with a little love tap! Make money erupt out of bank vaults! And most importantly. “Not even All Might will be able to touch me!”

Izuku finally jumps back up to his feet. “I’m going to stop you-Hahahaha!!” he covers his mouth and looks away to catch his breath.

Zombozo smirks down at the boy. “Oh, really? Allow me to give you a full demonstration of my power!” A new spotlight snaps on. “Look up will ya.”

Izuku does look up, and his heart drops at what he finds.

His mother is all tied up in a thin rope, dangling high up in the air as an almost lifeless corpse. The only sign that she’s still alive is that every now and then she lets out a weak wheeze that is supposed to be a laugh.

“Mom!!”

“Oh, so that is your mommy.” Zombozo flies up and examines Inko’s features. “I can see the resemblance. But it surprises me that you care about her.”

“What?!”

The crazy clown lowers back down to Izuku’s level. “Do you know how we pick our hostages?”

“Because you’re a sick freak?” snaps Izuku.

“Hahaha! Nope!” Zombozo is pleasantly surprised by the kid’s foul language. “We pick out those that we assumed had come alone! This way no one would be looking for them for some time, giving me the opportunity to completely drain them of their energy!” he whispers this next part. “And their lives.”

_‘No… Mom…’_ He didn’t mean to leave her alone. He just…he just wanted to be the hero… But what does it matter if she gets…if she gets killed? _‘Is this what Mr. Aizawa meant?’_ That if he acts recklessly, he’d put himself and his loved ones in danger? It must be, and he failed to learn his lesson. Because Izuku did leave her behind, and now…now she may just lose her life because of him, her own son. But if he got them into this mess then he’ll be the one to get them out.

“Not if I can stop it!” Izuku grips his Omnitrix, the faceplate pops up, and he raises up his right hand. “It’s hero time!”

He slams his hand down onto the alien device and it immediately gets to work.

Izuku can feel his body shifting, becoming smaller and smaller as a staticky surge of energy sparks within him.

“Buzzshock bzzz!” The Megawatt glares up at the tall villain. “You’re going down clown, hahaha bzzz!” He enters another laughing fit, even so that doesn’t stop him from launching out sparks of electricity.

The sparks harmlessly bounce off the grinning mad man. “I told you kid; I can bend the laws of physics to my will.” Well, depending on how much energy he has stored up anyway. 

“Hahaha bzzz!” Buzzshock keeps it up out of frustration, he floats upward as he continually fires off bolt after bolt of electricity.

Zombozo however is completely unaffected even going as far to seem bored, yawning into his hand.

Buzzshock keeps it up until he has to stop and try in vain to regain his breath after laughing for so long.

“My turn!” Zombozo pulls out the same hatchet from before out of his pocket.

Buzzshock grimaces in fright as Zombozo takes a swing at him. Fortunately, the little alien is far too small and fast for the clown to land a hit. “Stay still now! I only want to axe you a question!”

He takes another swing at the little nuisance, he of course misses. With an opening to strike, the giggling Nosedeenian fires off another bolt of sparks. The shock is strong enough to break Zombozo’s hold and the hatchet goes spiraling through the air landing within the bleachers. Thankfully without burying itself into someone’s head.

With his weapon gone, the psychotic clown takes a deep breath and then blows out a hurricane wind that blows Buzzshock away.

Buzzshock harmlessly bounces off the side of the tent, he then zips downward taking cover behind the laughing audience.

Zombozo flies over trying to locate the little nuisance. “Sorry, kid. I sell the tricks; I don’t buy them!” He floats over the audience trying to see if he can spot the transforming hero wannabe.

Meanwhile, said hero wannabe is small enough that he can run along the bleachers without standing out. And he’s making a beeline for the immobilized and laughing pro heroes.

“Come on, guys bzzz. This isn’t funny anymore bzzz!” He floats up and knocks his little fist against Kamui Wood’s helmet, but he gets no reaction.

The hero just continues laughing away in pain.

“I’m sorry about this bzzz.” Buzzshock sticks his finger out and releases a tiny static shock into the hero’s side.

The hero jolts up a bit in his seat, but he doesn’t stop laughing.

“What tha bzzz?” Buzzshock lowers himself back down and observes the other two heroes.

They seem to be in the exact same state, laughing, unmoving, and unable to take their eyes off Zombozo. It’s almost creepy to watch as their eyes shift from one end to another as Zombozo zips around the tent.

“Wait…his Quirk, PsyClown…bzzz. There’s even more to it bzzz. Isn’t there bzzz?” That’s it! A Quirk like his has to have a major drawback! It’s almost a staple when it comes to Quirks! And Zombozo’s is that his victims have to be watching him in order for his Quirk to take effect.

“And judging by everyone’s reactions bzzz, the longer they watch him the further they fall into his spell bzzz.” They’re essentially in a trance of some kind, continuously laughing until their bodies eventually give out.

“But how can I use that to my advantage bzzz?”

Something shiny peeks out from the corner of his eye. Looking over, Buzzshock spots Zombozo’s hatchet embedded into the bleachers, with most of its blade sticking out.

An idea begins to form in the morphed Izuku’s head as he eyes the sharp blade. “Maybe I can …bzzz.”

He approaches the hatchet, rubbing his hand against its sharp edge. “Oh, boy bzzz.” He gulps as his idea continues to form.

With a deep breath and a grimace, Buzzshock looks away as he sticks his arm out shakily. And with a terrified wince he thrusts his arm up and into the blade. Surprisingly there’s very little pain. Huh, who knew losing a limb could feel like a pinch.

Buzzshock watches on in intrigue as his chopped-off arm floats into the air and green electricity sparks out as a second Buzzshock begins to take shape.

The duplicate blinks at the original who is just amazed at how well his plan worked.

The original morphed Izuku grins wickedly. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking bzzz?”

His duplicate grins right back. “I’m pretty sure I am bzzz.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Zombozo is starting to get impatient. “This isn’t funny anymore!” Did the kid run off? His mom is still here so he’s not going to leave.

“Hahahahahaha bzzz!!”

“Oh, there you are.” Zombozo spins around and floats on over towards the stands.

There he spots a lone Buzzshock laughing his head off at the sight of the clown. “Hahahahahaha bzzz!!”

Zombozo smiles at the sight. “See, now isn’t that better?”

“Hahahahahaha bzzz!!”

The clown licks his lips. “Oo, that is some good eating!” Oh, he so does enjoy the taste of laughter and the vitality of his audience.

“Hahahahahaha bzzz!!”

“Hahahahahaha bzzz!!”

“Hahahahahaha bzzz!!”

Those are three different laughs all coming from behind him. Zombozo spins around and is very surprised to find three more Buzzshocks floating in the air, all of which are laughing at him.

“Hahahaha, man you’re a freak too kid!” He smiles as the Buzzshocks laugh even louder. “Who knew you could multiply, too! And transform, oh! I wonder what else you can do!” He leers up at the three little nuisances. “Too, bad I’ll never get to find out.”

“Hahahahahaha bzzz!!”

“Hahahahahaha bzzz!!”

“Hahahahahaha bzzz!!”

“Hahahahahaha bzzz!!”

More laughter rings out.

Zombozo grins widely as he takes a look, but what he sees makes him a bit nervous. There’s an entire swarm of Buzzshock all of whom are laughing gleefully as they float and zip about in the air, surrounding him in a ball of sparking green lights.

“What’s happening?! What’s going on?!” The clown is starting to panic, mainly because this kid is up to something fishy.

He pulls out a soda siphon bottle and fires off a blast of highly carbonated liquid out at the Buzzshocks.

He successfully blasts a portion of them away, but they are quickly replaced by even more Buzzshock as if they’re continually multiplying from within the bleachers.

Which they are, a number of Megawatts are running about the depths of the bleachers using anything sharp edge that they can come across as a means to make even more friends to combat the killer clown.

Zombozo’s soda siphon runs dry, so he tosses it at Buzzshock, but they easily swat the item away. The laughing swarm now begins to encircle around the very nervous clown.

“Hahahahahaha bzzz!!”

“Hahahahahaha bzzz!!”

“Hahahahahaha bzzz!!”

“Stop it! Stop it What are you doing?!” It’s starting to become too much for him! There’s too much laughter for him to take all at once! It’s as if someone is shoving gallons of food down his throat.

“Hahahahahaha bzzz!!”

“Hahahahahaha bzzz!!”

“Hahahahahaha bzzz!!”

“Stop laughing!! I said stop laughing!!”

“Hahahahahaha bzzz!!”

“Hahahahahaha bzzz!!”

“Hahahahahaha bzzz!!”

It’s too much! All those smiling…laughing…faces…all mocking him!! 

“No!! No!! NO!!” Zombozo grabs at his head as flashes of terror appear in his mind. All the while the swarming mass of light continues to envelop him and laugh in his face. “Don’t laugh at me!!” He desperately swats at the laughing terror as the feeling of being stuffed becomes too much. “Stop it!! Stop it!! STOP LAUGHING AT ME!!!”

“Hahahahahaha bzzz!!”

“Hahahahahaha bzzz!!”

“Hahahahahaha bzzz!!”

“Hahahahahaha bzzz!!”

“Hahahahahaha bzzz!!”

“Hahahahahaha bzzz!!”

“Hahahahahaha bzzz!!”

“Hahahahahaha bzzz!!”

“Hahahahahaha bzzz!!”

It’s all too much for the sad clown as his entire body begins to inflate like a balloon. And like a balloon, he pops releasing a loud bang as a large puff of smoke, confetti, and wind whips around scattering the large swarm and ruffling the circus tent.

Zombozo plummets and flops to the ground, his blue eerie spheres are cracked, the upper half of his top hat is ripped away, and his eyes spin around in a daze. Blue eerie silhouettes leak out of the clown in mass, the blue silhouettes float back to their respective bodies revitalizing them all.

Even the heroes snap out of their trance looking around in confusion.

Meanwhile, Zombozo lets out a weak pathetic wheeze as he becomes terrifyingly skinny.

A lone Buzzshock smiles down at the defeated clown. “Look like I got the last laugh, creep bzzz.”

Zombozo glares up at the little menace.

Green sparks begin to discharge around the little guy’s body. “Oh, one more thing.” He points upward.

Zombozo looks up and if he wasn’t already pale-skinned then the color would have drained from his face as the swarm of sparking Buzzshocks grins menacingly down at him.

A tear escapes the sad clown’s eye as he waves a tiny white flag between his fingers. “Mercy?”

Izuku isn’t sure if it’s the Nosedeenian DNA, or his own vindictiveness, but he grins wickedly, and the smiling swarm descends upon the helpless clown who lets out an ear-piercing scream as thousands of volts are released upon him.

The Buzzshock eventually disperse revealing a charred and paralyzed Zombozo. While the original Buzzshock admires his handy work another group of Buzzshocks are lowering down his revitalized mom.

“Mom bzzz!” Buzzshock zips over to her just as his duplicates gently lay her on the ground.

She’s unconscious probably from laughing for so long.

He tries to hug her even in his diminutive state. “I’m so sorry Mom bzzz.” He sniffs as he shuts his eyes closed. “I shouldn’t have left you alone like that. I’m so sorry.”

Inko’s hand moves and caresses the small alien’s back. “You have nothing to be sorry about.”

Buzzshock opens his eyes and sees his mother smiling down at him. Tears well up in his eyes before he leaps into her arms. “Mom!!”

Inko caresses her shrunken son, hugging him like she used to when he was a toddler. She doesn’t speak a word instead she savors the moment, happy to be with her loving son once again.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Well that was fun!” states Ochaco with a smile as she flops down on the bench.

“Maybe for you it was.” retorts Izuku.

After saving the day, the heroes were finally able to do their parts: they arrested the Freaks, found the other hostages, and led the remaining audiences away to safety.

“Then again it wasn’t a complete loss.” Izuku smiles down at his notebook, admiring the three new autographs that he was able to snag.

After saving the day, the admittedly shamed and embarrassed heroes offered to make it up to Izuku for not taking him seriously. Izuku’s never been one for rewards; however, he’s not above missing a chance to add to his hero fanatic collection in some way. Hence, he asked them each for autographs, which they were all too happy to comply with.

Not to mention, they’re not going to write Izuku up for interfering in hero work, mainly because it would involve admitting that they got their own asses saved by a kid. But Izuku’s not going to press them, he’s just happy to have his mom back.

And so here they are. Izuku, Inko, Ochaco and ML-E watch as the police haul the dazed Zombozo away.

Zombozo wobbles around, unable to keep his balance with his arms bound by the restraint jacket. “So…many…smiles. Stop…laughing…stop laughing…at me…”

“Shut it.” The officers shove him inside the transport vehicle along with his captured and equally humiliated Freaks. 

Izuku turns to Ochaco and ML-E as they eat away at some cotton candy. “So, what happened after I left?”

Ochaco swallows her bite and shrugs. “Oh, nothing much. We stopped the bad guys and then searched for the hostages.” She takes another bite out of the cotton candy.

“Was searching the snack bar part of the search?” Izuku asks snarky.

Ochaco chokes on her candy and ML-E laughs at her reaction.

“Also what’s with the hammer?”

Ochaco peers over at her brand-new hammer as it sits beside her. “Souvenir.” She states a matter-of-factually.

Izuku shrugs, deciding not to dwell on it any further.

“Izuku.”

The greenette turns to his mother. “Yes, Mom?”

Her eyes cast downward. “I’m so sorry, honey. Today was meant to be fun. To let you unwind and relax…so much for that idea.”

“Mom…” Just because it didn’t turn out the way she wanted doesn’t mean it’s her fault. “Mom, I had a great time. Minus the killer clown part, but I still had fun.” He grabs her hand letting her know that he’s here and that he’s not at all upset with her. “Mom, I’m glad I was able to spend the day with you. I’ve always enjoyed our time together and I can’t blame you for this. You just wanted to show me a good time. And I thank you for that.” He wraps his arms around her. “I’m just glad to have you back, safe and sound.”

Inko sniffs as tears leak from her eyes and she returns the gesture. “Oh, I love you Izuku, my baby!”

Izuku chuckles. “I love you too, Mom.”

While the Midoriyas hug it out, Ochaco watches with a bright smile. She so loves touching moments such as these.

Inko releases her son. “I’m also so proud of you.”

“You are?” Izuku shyly asks.

“Of course, I got to see my baby be a hero today.” Inko’s smiles just as brightly as the sun. “And I couldn’t be prouder!”

Izuku can’t help but smile. Hearing that his mother is proud of him is probably one of the greatest rewards he could receive. Literally nothing can ruin this moment.

ML-E tugs on Izuku’s hoodie.

Izuku smiles down at the little girl. “What is it ML-E?”

ML-E innocently smiles up at the Hero Course student. “Wanna see what I found?”

“Sure.” He’ll humor her.

ML-E smiles before turning around and putting on some sort of mask before spinning around showing off her smiling clown mask.

“Eeeek!!”

The three girls blink in astonishment from Izuku’s reaction. Is he…?

To test the theory ML-E leans in closer with her clown mask.

“Eeeek!!”

Uh, oh.

Ochaco sweat drops as Izuku remains frozen in fear. _‘Oh, boy. I hope this doesn’t come back to bite him one day.’_

This is probably the worst time to develop a new phobia, after all they only got five days left until the Sports Festival. Hopefully, her friend can snap out of this before then.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I thought it was fun and hope you guys thought so too. Besides the next chapter will officially begin the Sports Festival Arc! So this was sort of my last opportunity to do something a bit more original and fun for a little while.
> 
> Also, I am well aware that some characters made some odd choices during this chapter. For example, Ochaco could have tried to call All Might, but that would defeat the purpose of what I wanted to do with this chapter. There’s also how the heroes just brushed off Izuku; I actually like Kamui Woods, Death Arms, and Mt. Lady and I just wanted to include them in this chapter somehow. Overall, this chapter was meant to be fun and not taken too seriously.
> 
> *The title of this chapter, Last Laugh, is also the name of the episode this chapter is based off of. 
> 
> *Did any of you get “TheOdd1sOut” joke for the Ditto Monopoly scene? If so, then I’m sure you greatly enjoyed it. If you don’t know what I’m talking about then check out “TheOdd1sOut” on YouTube and watch his “Tabletop Games” video. James is hilarious and I’m sure you’ll all love his content. Here’s the link: https://youtu.be/rvUzuK0ygI4
> 
> *There was also a SpongeBob reference in this chapter.
> 
> *One thing I’m most proud about this chapter is that I was able to display Izuku as six different aliens rather than limiting him to one or two. I got him to be Lodestar, Ditto in a flashback, Terraspin, Ripjaws, XLR8, and I gave Buzzshock some much needed attention.
> 
> *Also, I know someone is going to say it, but there was a reason why Izuku didn’t get Ghostfreak in this chapter. There’s a specific way I want to introduce that alien so please be patient. He is on the way.
> 
> *I’m sorry, not sorry for the puns scattered throughout the chapter. I like a good groan inducing pun, plus I feel like they’re a staple of the Ben Ten series, so I thought they were justified.
> 
> *If you don’t remember the character ML-E then you can check out Ch.8 Space Cadets. Other than that she’s the little Kineceleran girl from Ben Ten Omniverse.
> 
> *Another thing, I actually wanted to have Ochaco babysit ML-E for a while now, but I was never able to address it until now.
> 
> *Speaking of ML-E, this next part has to do with the odd character decisions in this chapter. I just want to say that I know that neither Izuku nor Ochaco would willingly put a child as young as her in danger. But in fairness, it’s not the first time Izuku actually did involve a child in a fight. For example, when he saved Kota, he could have easily grabbed Kota and ran away, but he didn’t. Also He literally had Eri involved with the fight against Overhaul. So, I feel like this wasn’t that far of a stretch or even as dangerous as the other two scenarios.
> 
> *Ochaco’s hammer was thrown in at the last second because I got some last inspiration to include it. Because the hammer is inspired by Harley Quinn’s own hammer, the idea occurred when it sunk in that Ochaco was fighting clowns with carnival games all over the place. So, yeah, she has a new weapon now. But it’s not going to be permanent, it’s just going to be a nice funny gag every now and again. So I wouldn’t expect to see it again for a long while.
> 
> *If you know your Ben Ten villains then you know that Zombozo’s Quirk, PsyClown, is also the name of the machine he used in the original episode. The original PsyClown was the source of his powers anyway so I just made it his Quirk for this story.


	21. Roaring Start

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Sports Festival has officially begun with a rousing speech from Izuku Midoriya before he, Ochaco Uraraka, and their classmates race through an Obstacle Course!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let’s just get to it! Go! Go! Go to the start of the Sports Festival Arc!
> 
> *By the way! There is a fun little surprise for you all at the end of the chapter! Okay get going!

Izuku Midoriya sits down as he ties up his signature red shoes.

His mother stands by nervously. “Izuku, please be careful and don’t get hurt.”

“I won’t.” Izuku grabs his bag and pushes himself up.

“I’ll record the whole festival in HD!”

Izuku chuckles and smiles at her, appreciating the sentiment.

Inko gives her son a worried yet excited smile. “Do your best, son.”

Izuku nods before turning to the door. “Okay, I’m off!”

That’s right, he’s off to U.A.’s Sports Festival!

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Hordes of media outlets and reports are swarming U.A.’s main gate as fireworks go off above and stalls of food, games, and shops line U.A.’s campus.

A young woman can’t stand waiting around until she’s allowed to enter. “This security line is huge. What’s the deal?”

Her cameraman answers. “A bunch of villains did just break in. Of course the school’s being stricter this year. Some people think they shouldn’t be holding the festival, considering what happened.”

The reporter grins with a predatory-like smile. “Perfect! Nothing brings ratings up like a little controversy! Plus, everybody will tune in to see Class 1-A!!” She declares excitedly.

She’s right on the nose about that fact. Most of the spectators here today are going to attend the first-year’s competition. Usually they’d all be lining up for the third-years because they have the most experience with their Quirks, and thus it’s usually a better show. But the draw of witnessing the very students that fought off real villains without any proper experience is too difficult of a notion to pass up.

As for the controversy, U.A. or rather Nezu has a plan for that. Part of it was to call upon a number of pro heroes to help patrol the school grounds as the competition plays out.

Speaking of which.

Mt. Lady eyes the takoyaki greedily. “I’ll take one order to go please.”

The vendor perks up at the sight of her. “Whoa! Mt. Lady is it really you?”

It is and she’s accompanied by Kamui Woods and Death Arms, all of which are wearing security passes to help establish their roles here today.

Mt. Lady ignores the vendor’s question as drool drips from the corner of her mouth. “And hold the salt, will you?”

“Of course!” He immediately begins prepping her order. “That’s gonna be 1,074.78 yen.”

She gaps, not expecting that response at all. It looks like she needs to use a secret technique that only a few can hope to pull off.

She wiggles her hips and presses her arm against her chest as she emanates an alluring charm. “Um…Oh, no, my money is in another costume.”

Her technique worked.

“So hot!!” The vendor hands over the takoyaki. “This is on the house!!”

“Aren't you a dear?!” asks Mt. Lady with just as much passion.

Meanwhile, her companions watch on in disapproval. “Have you no sense of shame?”

After she snags her takoyaki, the three continue with their patrol.

Kamui Woods eyes each vendor and bystander making sure they are clear of any suspicious activity. “I was hoping I’d get to do some scouting while I was here.”

Death Arms peers back at the shorter hero. “Yeah, too bad we’re stuck working security this time.”

Mt. Lady sticks one of the takoyaki into her mouth. “Looks like they called in pro heroes from all over to guard this thing. Quite a show.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Aw, man.” Mina Ashido pulls down on her gym uniform shirt. “I was totally hoping I could wear my costume.”

Mashirao Ojiro is stretching his arms nearby. “At least everyone’ll be in uniforms. That’ll help keep things fair, right?”

Currently the students of Class 1-A are hanging out in their designated waiting area awaiting the signal to begin heading out to the stadium. So in the meantime, they’re trying to psych themselves up while calming their own nerves.

Rikido Sato nervously wrings his hands together over the table. “I wonder what they have in store for us in the first round.”

Fumikage Tokoyami is seated nearby. “No matter what they’ve prepared, we must persevere.”

Mezo Shoji nods his head. “Right.”

The taller multi-limbed student turns to a shaking Izuku as the boy frantically goes over his notecards. “Are you okay…?”

Izuku is too busy to look up. “N-no…!” He has to make sure his speech is a good one, it’s only going to be broadcasted worldwide… Oh, no wait it’s going to be broadcasted across the whole universe…sure, no pressure or whatever. 

The waiting room’s door slides open as Tenya Iida, the Class President, bursts into the room. “Everyone get your game faces on! We’re entering the arena soon!”

Ochaco Uraraka takes a deep calming breath from her seat.

Tsuyu Asui and Tooru Hagakure are sitting next to her, but they’re busy dealing with their own stomach butterflies.

“Uraraka.” Calls out a cold-indifferent tone.

Ochaco turns in her seat. “Oh, Todoroki. What’s up?”

Izuku and the rest of the class’ attention is drawn to Shoto Todoroki as he peers down at the shorter girl.

The dual-haired teen, however, could care less about everyone else listening in on what he has to say. “During the Battle Training…you beat me all on your own.”

Oh, that’s right she did do that didn’t she. Man that was scary, but what’s he getting at?

“I underestimated you and I can promise that it will never happen again.” The cold-indifferent youth peers down at his left fist. “Twice now you’ve forced me into wielding those cursed flames.” He glares up at her making her wince under his dark-hateful gaze. “I will defeat you only with my ice and prove that I am more capable than you.”

Ochaco doesn't know what to say. She thinks back and yeah during the Battle Training it was sort of lucky that she won. In retrospect, she shouldn’t have won like she did, hell it actually ended in a draw. Then there was the U.S.J. Incident where she begged him to use his flames…but he refused. Why though? “Todo-” 

“Not only that, you’ve got All Might in your corner, helping you out.”

That instantly silences her as she stiffens up in fear that her secret’s been found out, from the corner of her eye she sees both Izuku’s and Bakugou’s ears perk up.

“I’m not here to pry about what’s going on between you two.” His cold dual-colored eyes pierce into All Might’s successor’s. “But know that I will beat you.”

Ochaco is more than taken back by the bold statement. Where did all this hostility even come from?!

Todoroki turns and lays his eyes on the nervously observing greenette. “The same goes for you.”

“Huh?!” The Omnitrix wielder is greatly startled by the sudden change in attention.

He can sense the rest of the class now has their eyes on him.

Todoroki’s eyes shift away as if he doesn’t want to admit this next part aloud. “You…are by far the most unpredictable and arguably the most powerful of everyone in this very room.” The dual-haired teen lets out a deep heavy sigh releasing a cold breath of air. “I don’t understand you. Not at all. There’s so many things about you that don’t add up or make sense: you have such a mysterious and powerful Quirk… You’re strategic and that makes you dangerous… But also…you’re keeping secrets.”

Izuku’s breath halts for a minute, what is Todoroki getting at? And by secrets…does he suspect something? Maybe…did Tetrax reveal too much, according to Uraraka he didn’t.

Todoroki, however, isn’t finished yet. “During the attack on the U.S.J…you were by far the most useful among us.”

Specifically how Midoriya was able to fight off the villains all on his own and then single-handedly took out Nue and even Shigaraki all with minimal effort. He even led them to their victory against the League of Villains. Whereas, his ice was useless against Tetrax, Nomu, and there’s no doubt that the other villains would have been able to escape his ice. So he gave in and used that bastard’s Quirk to fight…and it was maddening! He needs to get stronger; he needs to prove that he can be a hero without that bastard’s influence. 

“For all intents and purposes, you are **the one to beat** , today.”

Midoriya is, isn’t he? His strategic mind and large arsenal of powers makes him the top contender here today.

“And like I told Uraraka, I will beat you, too.”

“Todoroki…” Izuku really isn’t sure how he’s supposed to respond. He’s never been threatened or somewhat complimented at the same time before. Yet now…now Todoroki’s made it clear that he will be gunning for him. And what’s worse, he’s now just realizing how silent the rest of the class is, as if they too have just started to realize the truth. Out of everyone in this very room, Midoriya is the top contender for the number one spot.

Bakugou scowls, he loathes that assumption.

Denki Kaminari gasps from his seat. “What’s with all these declarations of war lately?” First it was the dude from General Studies, then that loud guy from Class 1-B, and now there's infighting in his own class too.

Eijiro Kirishima gets up looking really concerned. “Yeah, what’s the big deal?” He grabs Todoroki’s shoulder to try and calm him down. “Why are you pickin’ a fight all of a sudden? And right before we get started.”

Todoroki bats his hand away, irritated. “We’re not here to be each other’s friends.” He turns and marches away. “Don’t forget. This isn’t a team effort.”

Ochaco can’t leave things as they are. “Todoroki!”

The teen in question stops in his tracks. He’s willing to hear his opponent out if she desires to speak her own mind. It’s only fair.

“You’re right… About everything.”

Izuku is stunned, but he doesn’t interrupt.

“Between the two of us you’re the most capable with your Quirk.” She inhales readying herself for what she’s about to admit. “And I have to agree, if we had a real fight back at the Battle Training you definitely would have won.”

The only reason Todoroki considers it a loss was because she surprised and overpowered him at the time. But now things are different, this challenge will be about skills, power, and their own wits all things that Todoroki has in spades compared to her.

“But…I’ve grown and improved so much since then.” Sure it’s been slow, but she’s ready to take the next step in becoming a true wielder of One For All. “So I’m not going to just lay down and let you take victory. I have things worth fighting for, and I am going to make them come true.” She glares right up at her challenger. “I’m going to show the world what I got!” For the sake of her dream, she will achieve victory.

Her determined eyes leer towards Izuku, letting him know that this goes for him as well. After all it’s like Todoroki he said, he’s **the** **one to beat** and if that’s what she has to do to win then so be it.

Izuku is a bit taken back by being directed as such, but he understands what she’s trying to say.

Todoroki huffs. “Fine. Let’s see what you got then.”

Bakugou leers at the two, offended that he wasn’t even considered a threat by either of them.

Izuku falls into a sullen silence…can he say the same thing? Can he…show the world…the universe what he’s got…?

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Hey-o!” Present Mic’s image pops up onto the giant flat screens surrounding the interior of the stadium.

The massive crowd of spectators roar in excitement as Present Mic begins to start things off.

“Make some noise all you rabid sports fans! Get those cameras prepped, media hordes!” Present Mic waves his arms about, even jumping out of his seat as pure excitement takes hold. “This year we’re bringing you some of the hottest performances in U.A.’s Sports Festival history, guaranteed!”

Sitting beside Present Mic is a mummified Shota Aizawa who ducks down just in time to avoid an accidental slap from his co-host.

Present Mic didn’t even notice what he almost did. “I’ve only got one question before we start this show: Are you ready?!”

The crowd cheers in response as Present Mic’s booming voice plays over the sound system.

“Let me hear ya scream as our students make their way to the main stage!!”

Present Mic’s voice echoes down the dark narrow passageway, as the students of Class 1-A march their way forward ready to take on their next big steps to becoming pro heroes.

Ochaco can almost hear All Might’s declaration echoing in her head: That she must think of this as her debut, to introduce herself to the world, and proudly say “I am here!”

Present Mic’s voice screams through the speakers as the entirety of Class 1-A steps out onto the field. “This first group are no strangers to the spotlight! You know them for withstanding a villain attack, they’re the dazzling students lighting up your TVs with solid gold skills!”

The crowd is in a complete frenzy as they cheer and roar.

“That’s right! It’s The Hero Course students of Class 1-A!!”

Class 1-A gaze up at the massive stadium, they are completely caught off guard by the sight, there are far more people than they expected. It's almost as if all of Japan is here. And all to watch them compete for the glory.

Ochaco suddenly gets hit by a wave of nervousness. “Oh, wow! I didn’t know there’d be so many people.”

Izuku considers if he should have told Uraraka about how Nezu will be broadcasting all of this into the cosmos, but maybe it would be best to tell her after the competition. No need to scare her even more before they start.

Iida awes at the sight of the screaming audience. “I hope we’re still able to give our best performances even though all these eyes are watching us.”

Izuku chuckles nervously _‘More than you know…’_

“I supposed it’s just another aspect of being a hero we all have to learn to get used to.”

Kirishima gives a tense grin as they all march forward. “Present Mic sure did talk us up a lot. Kinda makes me nervous.” He looks to the ash-blonde that’s been uncharacteristically quiet all morning. “How you feelin’, man?”

“I’m not worried.” Bakugou grins darkly. “Makes me wanna win this thing even more.”

Present Mic continues to introduce the rest of the first-year classes. “They haven’t been getting nearly as much screen time, but this next group is still chock full of talent! Welcome, Hero Course Class 1-B!”

A group of twenty Hero course students march out from a separate gateway from within their group is that loud punk with silver-hair who came to check out their class along with the rest of the school.

“Next up, General Studies Classes C, D, and E!”

Over sixty students march out of the same gateway together, leading the large herd of students is the indigo-haired boy who made it clear to Class 1-A that the entirety of first-years will be gunning for their Hero Course spots.

He stands tall and ready to take his place in said Hero Course.

“Support Classes F, G, and H!”

Mei Hatsume is among this group, and she looks absolutely thrilled to be here.

“And finally, the Business Classes I, J, and K!”

The final of the first-years students walk onto the field.

“Give it up for all of U.A.’s first-year contestants!”

The audience members cheer loudly for the students, they can’t wait for this competition to get started.

However, not everyone is happy to be there. Namely those in the General Studies courses.

“I get the feeling we’re just here to make the hero students look better.”

“I can’t wait for this to be over.”

The indigo-haired teen ignores his classmates as he moves forward.

“Hey, where’s that crystal guy? I thought he was part of Class 1-A.”

“He, maybe he got scared off.”

“That chick with the pony-tail is hot.”

“Shut it.”

The feminine and wildly thrilled voice of the chief umpire calls out to the students as they approach the main stage. “Now the introductory speech!”

Everyone quiets down as Midnight struts her stuff across the stage making sure to flaunt her rather risqué costume.

Kirishima has a light blush on his face, as do a number of his fellow classmates. “Uh, someone should talk to Ms. Midnight about what she’s wearing.”

Kaminari nods. “Yeah. That costume should come with a warning.”

Tokoyami, hard to tell if he’s affected by Midnight’s charm, frowns. “Is that really appropriate apparel for a high school game?”

Minoru Mineta certainly doesn’t think so.

“Silence, everyone!” Midnight whips her flogger-style whip. “And for the student pledge we have Izuku Midoriya!”

Class 1-A is surprised to hear that one of their shyest classmates has to give the student pledge.

Izuku nervously and stiffly approaches the stage much like a robot trying to mimic human movements. 

Bakugou glares at Izuku’s back, he’s almost tempted to beat up the nerd. Not just for hogging the attention but for stealing the top spot from under him.

Ochaco is surprised, Deku didn’t say anything about this. “Huh, I didn’t know Deku was our first-year rep?”

Hanta Sero leans in close. “Well, I guess that broccoli-head did finish first in the Entrance Exam.” Not that surprising though, after everything they’ve seen him do.

A girl from the General Course sighs in annoyance. “Only for the Hero Course exams.” She points out. 

Ochaco nods. “Oh, right.”

Sero frowns. “That girl obviously hates us.”

Kaminari grumbles. “Yeah, and we’ve got Bakugou to thank for them not liking our class”

Bakugou growls. “Shut up! They don’t matter anyway.”

Izuku makes it the microphone, he digs into his pocket for his notecards, but his hands are shaking so badly he drops the notecards scattering them across the stage. He desperately drops down to gather them up and tries his best to ignore the laughs and chuckles coming from Class 1-B and the General Course students.

“This guy is the student rep?”

“How embarrassing?”

“Ha, I thought Class 1-A was supposed to be better than us-OW!!!”

“Be nice.”

“Ha, he looks like he’s going to wet himself.”

They’re hurtful comments are not at all helping as Izuku frantically tries to put his notecards back in order, but it’s no use.

Midnight tries to calm him down by placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. It at least slows down his shaking.

Izuku nervously looks back to his own classmates and several of them offer up kind encouraging smiles and gestures of good luck.

Izuku peers down at his mess of notecards, before tucking them away back into his pocket.

He then takes a look at the audience…

Wow, there’s so many of them but yet this is less than a fraction of the beings actually watching him right now. You know, for someone who’s about to give a speech to an audience that stretches across the universe, Izuku is surprisingly calm maybe because of how surreal the situation is. But maybe he shouldn’t focus on who is watching, but rather who he will be competing against. Yes, he needs to focus here at this moment, in this place, on these people. Otherwise he will never achieve his goals.

So with a calming breath, Izuku approaches the microphone leaning in, he takes another deep breath before beginning.

“Powerless. Useless. Weak.”

Immediately, it’s like the entire galaxy has silenced itself.

“Those were all things people used to say to me. What hurt the most was when they said that I could never be a hero.” Izuku scans the audience and he spots Toshinori Yagi among his fellow teachers in the stands.

“But I’ve been given a chance and I’ve been working hard to not let this chance go to waste. And ever since, I’ve been through so much and so much has changed in my life, and everyday I’m reminded of that.”

He has powers now, he has friends, people that willingly support him, and now his entire worldview has been expanded far more than he could have ever conceived on his own.

“And now here I am ready to take on the next big challenge in my life.” 

Izuku grips the microphone off its stand before turning away to face his fellow competitors.

“I’ve been made aware that many of you today are seeking to carve out your destinies. You want to defeat my classmates and I.”

He eyes Class 1-B.

“You want to become the very best there is.”

His eyes drift towards his own class namely to Ochaco and Bakugou.

“And you want to become heroes yourselves.”

He scans for the indigo-haired teen.

“Well if you want any of your dreams to come true then you better be willing to work for it. To fight for it!”

He turns back to the spectators. “No matter your background, abilities, or even where you may come from. Then you must fight tooth-and-nail for your dreams and uphold what you believe in!” That is the undisputed truth, hopefully there are those out in the world or rather worlds watching that will be inspired to do what’s right. To become part of something bigger than themselves.

“Someone said something today that I never expected; they said I was the most capable one out of Class 1-A.” His eyes leer back at the very person who called him out. “And I believe them. As of now I stand at the top of all the other first-years!” He spins around and raises a hand to his competition. “So, if any of you want to succeed then I’m **the one to beat** today!!”

The galactic wide silence stretches on until suddenly cheers erupt from the audience.

As for the student themselves, many of those in the Hero Course look like they’re ready to go! Even Bakugou looks excited, but that may be because Deku just essentially painted a giant-ass target on his back. Ochaco is especially excited, admiring Izuku’s sudden resolve. As for Todoroki, he is a bit less than pleased to have his own words thrown back at him. But if Midoriya wants them all to fight to achieve the very top then so be it.

Izuku hands the microphone back to Midnight as he confidently strides back down the stage. Those in General Studies back away as if afraid of what he’s capable of. Unbeknownst to anyone here is what Izuku is really feeling: _‘OH MY GOD!!! THAT WAS SO SCARY!!!’_ He’s having an internal panics attack, thankfully his own expression doesn’t hint to it. _‘What was I thinking?! Why did I do that?! Why didn’t I stick to my script?!’_

Iida claps Izuku on the back. “Well done Midoriya! That was a fine speech!”

Kirishima grins widely. “No kidding. Ah! I’m so pumped!!”

Kyoka Jiro the ever-observant states the obvious. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Midoriya. Because now everyone’s going to be going after you.”

“Eh…!” is his only response. 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

From within the teachers’ personal viewing room, Thirteen just can’t seem to stop grinning from underneath their helmet. _‘Sheesh, kid! That was great! I can’t wait to see how you pull this off.’_

Snipe chuckles from beside them. “Ha, that took some real-balls to say.”

Vlad King adds in from behind. “No, kidding. He essentially just challenged the entire first-year student body. Heh, he may regret that.” His own students will see to that.

Toshinori is unusually silent as his colleague chatter away. _‘I guess he hasn’t truly forgiven me…’_ He had no real idea what that Midoriya boy went through before they met, but now…now it just hurts to think about.

Useless, powerless, weak and then being told he couldn’t be a hero… Is that how the boy felt when he reached out to him…? When he, the Number One Hero, rejected his dream? 

Toshinori eyes the young boy as his classmates surround him. _‘Young Midoriya, you truly are something else, aren’t you? Despite everything you truly want to become a hero…’_

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Midnight sees no point in dragging this out any further. “Without further ado! It’s time for us to get started!” She whips her flogger. “This is where you begin feeling the pain! The first fateful game of the festival!” A giant holographic screen appears behind her. An image of a large slot appears and begins rolling. “What could it be?”

The students hold their breath as the slot machine continues to spin and spin until it finally comes to a sudden stop.

“Ta-dah!” Midnight sings as the first challenge is presented.

Izuku’s brow furrows. “So, it’s gonna be an obstacle course.”

Midnight goes on to explain the rules. “All eleven classes will participate in this treacherous contest. The track is four kilometers around the outside of the stadium.” She raises her flogger. “I don’t wanna restrain anyone, at least not in this game.” She licks lips as she eyes the little darlings. “As long as you don’t leave the course, you’re free to do whatever your heart desires!”

The audience is in an uproar, but whether because the competition is going to start or from Midnight’s innuendo is unclear.

“Now then, take your places, contestants!”

The students immediately turn and gather around a large red archway that leads into a narrow passage leading to the outside of the stadium. Atop the archway, there are three glowing lights that will be used to signal the starting countdown.

Ochaco readies herself among the sea of students. _‘All Might…’_ She thinks back to her mentor’s very words of what she is to achieve today. _‘“You must introduce yourself to the world, and proudly say ‘I am here!’”’_ She eyes her fellow friends and classmates, each one of them have their own dreams and goals and all of them are aiming for the number one spot. ‘ _I may not be able to fully use One For All but that will change! I’ll make sure of it!’_

One of the lights shut off.

Izuku grips the Omnitrix, ready to activate in a moment's notice. _‘There’s so much I have to live up to and for.’_ He will become a hero and he will live up to the expectations of those supporting him.

From his mom, to his mentor, even Tetrax, and to those out in the universe that may one day depend on him.

The second light dims.

Both Izuku and Ochaco are ready to start. _‘I have to go BEYOND!!!’_

Last light shuts off just as the umpire, Midnight, shouts. “BEGIN!!!”

A stampede of students charge forward all clambering through the narrow hallway.

Izuku races forward, activating the source of his powers, and disappears under a flash of green light.

Ochaco doesn’t bother to look at what he turns into, instead she has to focus on herself. As she takes off with her classmates; she can hear Present Mic’s voice over the speakers. “And we’re off to a racing start! How bout some color commentary. Mummy Man?”

Aizawa sighs. “How did you talk me into this?”

“What should we be paying attention to in the early stages of the race?”

“The doorway.” Her homeroom teacher states it like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

“Hey, Hey!”

“You’re trampling me!”

“Eek!! Something tiny ran over my foot!”

“This is too narrow!”

Students are shoving and pushing their way through the far too small hallway. They are jammed together like a school of sardines trying to fit through a single pipe.

Ochaco tries to elbow and shove her way through, but the sea of students is too much, ‘ _I get it; the teachers are testing us. They want to see how we make it through.’_

Ochaco grips her arms and activates her Quirk and with a hard shove she floats up into the air until she’s above the sea of students. She kicks off the wall to the opposite end and just in too as the hallway suddenly becomes as cold as a blizzard and ice floods the interior freezing the entire hallway.

Todoroki takes off running and claims the lead right from the start. “Apologies.”

He froze almost every student in place, effectively taking many of them out of the running.

Ochaco continues to float forward as she watches others who made it past Todoroki’s initial act of sabotage.

Kirishima leaps forward. “Here I come!”

Momo Yaoyorozu pole-vaults herself over the frozen ice and contestants. “Nice trick. Todoroki!”

Bakugou is like a mad dog as he flies through the air. “I won’t let you get away so easily!” He thrust his hands back as he releases a blast, pushing himself forward. “You Icy-Hot Bastard!!”

Ochaco makes it out of the hallway, releasing her Quirk just as Ojiro, Mina, and Tokoyami pass her by.

As she lands, her feet slip-n-slide across the ice but she soon regains her balance. “I wonder what happened to Deku? I figured he’d be in the lead by now.” He could have breezed through all of this as XLR8, or fly over everything as Terraspin, even Feedback is athletic enough to make it through.

“Ahh!!”

She recognizes that scream! Ochaco reels around and spots something completely unexpected.

A terrified Grey Matter is slipping and sliding across the ice while also trying to avoid being stepped on by other contestants that also avoided the ice.

“Deku!!”

Grey Matter spins around when he hears his name, but a nearby student slips and accidentally kicks the Galvan forward.

“Ahhh!!” Grey matter slides across the ice, screaming his head off as feet stomp around him.

Acting fast, Ochaco scoops him up while also trying to keep moving. “Why aren’t you XLR8?!”

“YOU THINK I WANTED THIS!?!” The Omnitrix decided to mess with him at the last second!! It’s not his fault the blasted thing has a sense of irony to it!!

Meanwhile, the indigo-haired teen watches Class 1-A take the lead as a group of dazed students carry him across the ice. “So they are good at using their powers. Huh?” He smirks.

The current lead, Todoroki, peers back at the stampede of students who managed to avoid his attack. “I didn’t expect so many people to dodge that. Especially those from other classes.”

He’s surprised to see how quickly Mineta is catching up to him. His shorter classmate is using his Sticky Balls as a means to bounce across the ice.

Grey Matter watches from Ochaco’s shoulder as Mineta readies to attack Todoroki from behind, but it doesn’t go as well as he thinks as a robot bursts out and dunks on the unsuspecting Mineta.

“Are you okay?!” shouts Grey Matter as a 1-Point Mecha blocks their way.

“Targets acquired. Terminate them.”

Ochaco comes to a halt as more robots appear before the students. “It’s those robots… from the Entrance Exam.”

Present Mic’s voice rings out. “Ooh! Enemies have shown up out of nowhere!” He must be watching from all the camera robots posted in and around the track. “I bet we’re in for a treat here! A test of strength and cunning!”

Todoroki gazes up at huge robotic behemoths.

“It’s a Robo Inferno!!”

An entire army of robots from the Entrance Exam are blocking the way. You have the 1-Pointers to 3-Pointers, but the ones that stand out are the number of giant Zero-Point Mechas towering over them.

Kaminari skids to a halt along with many others. “Are those the Zero-Point villains from the practical test?!”

Todoroki eyes the behemoths. “So, this is what the other students face in their entrance exams.”

Yaoyorozu is in just the same amount of disbelief. “Where’s the school even get the funding for these things?” That is an honestly good question, too bad nobody has an answer.

One of the goliath robots stretches its arm down at Todoroki to squash him like a bug.

Todoroki stomps his foot to the ground as ice encases his arm. “They obviously went through a lot of trouble, but I wish they’d prepared something a little more difficult.” He presses his hand against the ground and ice floods out around him. He glares up at the Zero-Point Mecha as its giant hand looms over him. “Especially since my dear-old man is watching.”

He waves his hand upward and a blizzard of ice pushes the metallic monstrosity back.

The dual-haired teen releases a cold breath of air and takes off not admiring how his own ice has frozen the entire giant in place.

As he runs past the bots, his competitors finally snap out of their astonishment after witnessing such a grand display of power.

“Dude, he stopped the robot!”

“Look! Between its legs! We can get through!”

“Careful, now.” states Todoroki. “I froze it while it was off its balance.”

Pieces of the robot break apart as the towering mass begins to fall forward.

“On purpose.” He doesn’t bother to look back as the frozen Zero-Point Mecha collapses onto the ground and possibly onto some students.

Present Mic shouts out gleefully from the commentator’s booth. “That’s Todoroki from Class 1-A pulling ahead to an early lead with a devastating display! Amazing! He’s one we should watch! It almost seems unfair! Thoughts?”

Aizawa's voice cuts in. “His attack was both offensive and defensive.”

“No wonder he was let in on recommendations!”

Todoroki keeps going as his teachers sing his praises.

“He’d never even fought those Robo Infernos before! But they didn’t stand a chance against his chart-topping moves!”

Meanwhile, more robots appear from within the dust-cloud in the aftermath of Todoroki’s wake.

Ochaco scowls in frustration. _‘I need to catch up.’_

She better keep her wits about her otherwise the other obstacles are going to catch her.

Grey Matter glares at the fallen behemoth. _‘Come on Izuku, think! What do I do?’_ He can’t rely on Ochaco for long, he needs to prove himself.

The little alien peers at his hand and a brilliant idea comes to mind making him smile.

Meanwhile, other students are panicking with fear after witnessing the robot collapse on top of a few individuals.

Their concern is unfounded as something or rather someone breaks through the frozen metal husk.

“I’m alive!!” screams Kirishima as his hardened skin pushes back the metal.

“Kirishima from Class 1-A! What a hardcore debut for this rookie!”

Kirishima growls at Todoroki’s moving form. “Todoroki, I can’t believe you pulled something like that. Jeez. Anyone but me woulda been killed.”

A different voice echoes from within the metal husk. “Class 1-A really is full a’ jerks!” The same guy from Class 1-B breaks through the robot. “I’ll smash that ice guy when I get my hands on him!!” His entire skin has turned to steel which shines in the sunlight.

“Woah!! Tetsutetsu from Class 1-B was also stuck underneath! What are the odds?!”

Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu has long, messy gray hair, his eyes are each lined with a very thick, jagged, tan-colored substance. Like Kirishima, he has rows of sharp, pointed fangs as teeth.

“Ya know, anyone other than me woulda been killed.”

Kirishima takes off running as a trail of tears leaks from his eyes. “Our Quirks are basically the same! How am I supposed to stand out now?!”

Tetsutetsu runs off after him. “You damn copycat!”

Others make their own way over the hulking metal monsters, such as Bakugou.

With a booming explosion the mad bomber blasts his way up and over a Zero-Point Mecha. _‘No way I’m letting Todoroki beat me.’_

With expert aerial acrobatics, he evades a massive punch from the robot before soaring past the goliath’s head.

“Class 1-A’s Bakugou is rocketing over the obstacles! Clever!!”

It is rather surprising to see him purposefully avoiding a fight, but perhaps he’s just keeping his eye on the true prize.

Tokoyami and Sero follow along behind him each using their respective Quirks to scale over the metal menace.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

The massive audience cheers from within the stadium as they watch the students from the giant screens.

Snipe watches as Bakugou flies away from the first obstacle. “Looks like all the pack leaders are from Class 1-A.”

Vlad King huffs. “For now at least.”

Thirteen peers over at their colleague. “Maybe but you have to admit that Class 1-A’s really doing well today.” But where is Midoriya? He hasn’t appeared on screen once. And neither has Uraraka for that matter.

Toshinori adds in his own thoughts. “It’s not that 1-B and the other students are doing poorly. It’s just…”

Aizawa’s voice takes over from the commentator's booth. “Class 1-A’s learned not to hesitate.”

The entire stadium watches as Iida kick stomps a robot. Followed by Jiro jamming her Earphone Jacks into a pair of bots and blasting them with a high-pitched frequency. Even Kaminari takes down a 1-Point Mecha.

Aizawa continues with his explanation. “They’ve seen what the real world is like. They’ve felt the fear of facing villains.”

Shoji grapples a 1-Point Mecha and with immense strength he flips it onto its back.

“Yet they fight on, trying to overcome that fear.”

Ojiro spins through the air before slamming his tail into a bot, hitting its head clean off.

“They’ve grown. All of them. And they know that they have to act quickly if they want to stay alive.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

 _‘I need to try and use One For All otherwise I’m never going to win this!’_ Ochaco dodges an attack several 1-Point Mechas as Grey Matter hangs on for dear life.

She presses her hands against the two bots before pushing them upward. _‘But that doesn’t mean I’m helpless!’_ She grins as the robots fly up.

She releases her Quirk and the bots come crashing down onto the dirt.

Before she can runoff, Grey Matter hops off her shoulder.

“What are you doing?! We have to keep going!”

Grey Matter lands atop one of the bots. “No! This is a competition!” He turns so he can face his friend. “Todoroki was right, we are not friends today. Today we are rivals!”

“What?”

“Uraraka, we each have our own goals! We can't rely on each other. All we can do is use our **own** skills if we want to make it as heroes.”

“But-” She’s silenced by a wave of a hand.

She hates to admit it, but he’s right. She can’t be worried about his problems right now; she needs to focus on her own. Today everyone is a rival.

Grey Matter offers up a grin. “You keep going. I’ll catch up.” That’s a promise.

Ochaco hesitates but gives in. “You may regret that decision. Because I’m going to win!” She turns away and takes off to regain lost time.

Grey Matter smiles and turns to bots as members of Class 1-B and other contestants run on by. “Now.” He cracks his fingers, prepping them for what’s to come. “Let’s get to work.”

In the meantime, Ochaco finally arrives at the end of the first obstacle now she just has to be on the lookout for the next one.

From behind her several of the Zero-Point Mechas’ heads implode as projectiles are fired into them.

“A piece of cake!” declares Yaoyorozu as she leaves behind the large cannon she built.

Ochaco gazes back in amazement, glad that she’s far enough away from the collapsing giants. “Wow, she beat a Zero-Pointer that easily?! No wonder she got in on recommendations!”

But just because she was let in on recommendations doesn’t mean the rest of the competitors are slackers either. Ochaco spots a girl from Class 1-B using her vine like hair to move across the track.

At the sight of the skillful competition, Ochaco speeds up. She can almost sense that All Might is watching her, pushing her forward as he cheers her on. Now that there’s no more ice or robots in the way she can really let her agility shine through. With the legs that climbed up a mountain for months, she blitzes her way forward with such a fast speed that could make Iida jealous.

Present Mic screams through the speakers. “For those of you who thought the first obstacle was easy. Let’s see how ya feel about the second one!”

 _‘Second one?’_ Ochaco soon catches up to the midway point, and in front of her she sees that she’s caught up to Tsuyu and Mina. 

She picks up her pace hoping to pass them by. As she does, she leaps forward to claim the lead. That was a mistake.

“Ahhh!!” She screams out at the deep dark trench below her.

Tsuyu’s sticky pink tongue lashes out, wraps around her waist, and pulls her in before she falls to a useable doom.

Ochaco keels over onto the ground. “Oh, thank you.”

Tsuyu smiles down at her. “I guess you should have looked before you leaped.”

Mina perks up. “Was that a pun?”

“…Don’t tell Midoriya.”

As Mina chuckles at Tsuyu’s response, Ochaco takes another look at the trench.

“If they take a spill, they’re out! If they wanna pass this test, they’ll have to get creative. It’s The Fall!!”

The Fall is a vast dark pit filled with tall stone pillars that are all connected by tightropes.

Ochaco backpedals away from the edge. “When did they even have time to build something like this?”

Tsuyu steps past the gravity-manipulator and then squats down.

Mina eyes the frog girl. “What are you doing?”

“Kero!” Tsuyu jumps out and lands onto a tightrope with no issues. “Kero.” She starts moving forward one hand and foot moving at a time. “This is my moment. Easy peasy.”

“She’s fast.” Awes Mina.

A thrilled cackle echoes from behind Ochaco and Mina.

“Yes. Finally.” Mei Hatsume’s goggles sheen in the light. “This is my chance to show off what I can do.”

All across her form, she’s wearing an assortment of support items and gear from metallic shoes, strange devices hooked to her belt, and of course her steampunk like goggles.

“My support items are gonna steal the spotlight from these wannabe heroes. Everyone!” She throws hands out in dramatic fashion. “Observe what my brilliant gadgets can do!”

Ochaco instantly recognizes her. “Hey, you’re Hatsume!”

“That’s right…now who are you?”

“What?! You mean you don’t know?!” After all, Hatsume is supposed to be the one creating her support gear! 

“Nope.” Hatsume states flatly without a care if she sounds rude.

Ochaco sighs not enjoying how self-absorbed this strange girl is.

Mina, however, is upset about a clear injustice. “Hey! How come you got to bring all that stuff?”

Hatsume smiles eagerly, more than happy to explain why she has the gear that she does. “Students in the Hero Course get all kinds of combat training for their Quirks.” Her smile turns devilishly mischievous for a moment. “In order to keep things fair and give us a fighting chance, we’re allowed to bring whatever gadgets and costumes we want into the games. So long as we developed them ourselves.”

She then steps forward. “So, sit back and enjoy the show!” Her wire arrows fire out and pierce into one of the pillars.

“For those of us in the Support Course, this is the perfect obstacle to show off our ingenious ideas and creations to any companies that may want to recruit us!” Her hover soles fire and launch her forward. “Hahahaha!” She jumps into the trench without a care in the world. “I hope employers are watching!” As she descends down, she presses a button and the wire reels her up and onto the side of the pillar. “My super cute little babies are sure to make a splash!” Her hover soles shoot her upward as she cackles in delight. “Hehahaha!! Hehahaha!!”

“Talk about annoying,” grumbles the pink-skinned teen.

Ochaco glares, she can’t let the Support Course student get ahead of her. “I won’t lose!” She runs forward, pressing her hands against her face and jumps forward allowing Zero-Gravity to do its thing.

“Ugh! This is so unfair!” Mina runs forward too.

Other students run up to take on the next obstacle. One of them happens to be the indigo-haired boy with bags under his eyes. “Interesting.” He smirks creepily, watching the students of Class 1-A make their way across. “Heh.”

Present Mic comments. “In the world of heroes, it can be hard to get popular without a flashy Quirk. Right, Eraserhead?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, idiot.” Present Mic is lucky that Aizawa can’t move his arms right now, otherwise he wouldn’t hesitate to strangle him with his scarf.

Ochaco lands atop the first pillar, she looks ahead to see how much further she has to go, and she spots Todoroki skating over a frozen tightrope to make it to the opposite end of the obstacle. Bakugou appears to be in hot pursuit of their dual-haired classmate as he flies over The Fall.

She observes the situation and notices how ridiculous Iida looks as he T-poses his way on a tightrope, using his engines to push himself forward. “He looks so silly!!” she spit-takes.

She slaps her cheeks and shakes her head. “Don’t get distracted! I have a Sports Festival to win.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

The stadium is full of chatter as the screens display the skillfulness of each student, especially of those in the lead. Many of the pro heroes in attendance take notice of them especially.

“The dude in first place is so far ahead. Not even that kid who gave the speech is anywhere to be seen.”

“His Quirk is really powerful, but it’s his natural athletic talent and keen judgment keeping him in first place.”

“I’m not surprised. Don’t you know who his father is? The Flame Hero, Endeavor!”

“Wait, for real?!”

“That guy’s second only to All Might himself.” 

“Everyone’ll be fighting to have him as a Sidekick for sure.”

Toshinori can hear them all talking above him. And he has to agree, but this Sports Festival is only just beginning. Anything can happen.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Ochaco makes it across The Fall as Shoji glides over to the end and Yuga Aoyama launches himself over with his Navel Laser.

“The leader’s pulling distance between him and the students stuck at The Fall!” shouts Present Mic. “It hasn’t been announced how many competitors will make it through to the next round. So, there’s no time to relax.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Inko gitters around on the couch, unable to pry her eyes off the television. “Come on, Izuku.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

ML-E bounces off her family’s couch, cheering at the top of her lungs. “Go Ochan! Go!”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

At the same time a crowd of aliens gaze up at the holographic screen displayed over Mr. Baumann's bar.

“This year’s first-years really are something.”

“No kidding, no wonder they were able to hold off villains all on their own.”

“Hey, what happened to that kid with the Omni-something.”

“Omnitrix.” Mr. Baumann corrects.

Information spreads fast through the alien community of Japan, namely because it is rather small. But even so with Thirteen coming by every now and again, it was only a matter of time before the aliens of Earth found out. So, the pro hero just came out with it so none of them would be thrown for a loop.

“Isn’t that girl with the pink-cheeks a Plumber, too?”

“Na, she’s more of a cadet.”

A rodent-like being throws his head back in annoyance. “Gah! Why are we even watching this?! It's just hero propaganda.”

Mr. Baumann tosses a can at the big mouthed rodent. “Shut it, Argit! You can leave if you don’t want to watch!”

Argit glowers but keeps his mouth shut.

Mr. Baumann goes back to watching the screen along with his otherworldly customers. _‘Come on, Izuku. Where’s that fighting spirit of yours?’_

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

A panting Todoroki arrives at the third and final obstacle of the Obstacle Race.

Present Mic’s voice booms out to introduce it. “And now, we’re finally approaching the last obstacle. Everyone had better tread carefully. You’re stepping onto a Minefield!!”

The final obstacle is a minefield that stretches far into the distance. Looking closely little mounds of dirt protrude upward, clearly that is where the bombs are hidden. Only issue is the ground is absolutely littered with them.

“If you look carefully you can see where those little bombs are buried. So, keep your eyes on the ground, folks.” He adds in the next part for liability sake. “By the way, those land mines were designed for the games. So, they might be loud and flashy, but they’re not all that powerful. JUST ENOUGH TO MAKE YOU WET YOUR PANTS!!!”

Aizawa retorts dryly. “Get a hold of yourself.”

Ochaco’s head snaps up after hearing Present Mic’s announcement _‘No way! Did Todoroki already make it to the final obstacle?’_ She needs to move it! _‘Move it Ochaco! You can do it! You can still win this! Maybe…’_ As she runs, she passes by some more students even those from Class 1-B.

She just needs to call upon One For All if she wants to achieve victory, but the question is: how? How can she utilize its power without disabling herself, or at least with the minimal amount of damage to her body?

As Ochaco nears the third obstacle, other students are making their own way across, but with so many hidden bombs, they only end up getting blown up by booming pink smoke.

With so many bombs everywhere, Todoroki has been reduced to a fast walk instead of a run. _‘Very clever. Those in the lead are actually at a disadvantage here.’_ He keeps his balance despite the explosions in the background. _'Guess it makes for good entertainment.’_

A different kind of explosion roars out from behind him.

Todoroki turns around and sees a wickedly grinning Bakugou flying at him at full speed.

“Ha ha ha. It’s over. Bastard!” He screams out as one final blast pushes him past Todoroki. “Your declaration of war was to the **wrong** person!!” He thrusts his hand out, but Todoroki dodges his fiery palm. 

“Just like that a new student takes the lead!” shouts Present Mic.

They can hear the audience from there, they are in a complete uproar now that Bakugou has caught up to the leader.

“The media here is going crazy! There’s nothing they love more than an upset!” And judging from Present Mic’s voice he loves it too.

While those two duke it out, other students take advantage of the situation to catch up such as those in the Hero Course classes. 

“Hey, hey, hey! The rest of the competitors are catching up, too!” Present Mic returns his attention back to the leaders. “And what’s this?!”

Todoroki deflects Bakugou’s hand as they keep moving while also avoiding landmines.

“Can our two leaders fight each other and stay in front of the competition?!”

Todoroki grabs Bakugou’s arm partly freezing it but the blonde shakes him off before he can do too much damage.

Back at the start of the Minefield, Ochaco has just arrived. _‘Darn, they’re so far ahead.’_ She can see the two of them fighting it out, she can assume that Bakugou’s ego must have reached its limit and now he’s trying to regain some sense of dominance.

But his blunder will be her salvation, she just needs to use it, she needs to use One For All…but how? She could power up her legs with it, but then what? Launch herself forward and hope it’s strong enough to get her all the way to the finish line? Unlikely… But what if it wasn’t her entire leg?

With a new brilliant idea, Ochaco sets herself up. First, she uses Zero-Gravity on herself making her weightless and then she gets into a running stance lowering herself so she can take off.

While traversing the start of the Minefield, Jiro notices Ochaco’s running stance. “What’s Uraraka doing?” She doesn’t have time to see and keeps going using her stretching Earphone Jacks to help locate the bombs.

 _‘Focus. Just Focus.’_ All Might’s successor inhales and then exhales calming her mind as she focuses on the task at hand. _‘Focus on one point.’_

She focuses on that feeling of protecting, of saving others that All Might told her to call upon. Her entire body lights up in a dazzling pink aura as One For All courses through her. Her entire body stiffens if she moves there’s no doubt, she’d damage her body, now she can't move so she focuses even more, and the light flows down to her legs. Ochaco can feel the immense amount of power flowing through her entire body as One For All streams through her leg and then her foot lights as One For All concentrates within her toe.

And that’s all she needs as she takes off like a bullet! She soars over the landmines as a powerful whirlwind trails behind her. “BURST COMET!!!”

Explosions boom out behind her as she rockets past her fellow classmates and competitors.

The roaring explosion draw Bakugou’s and Todoroki’s attention and they are more than surprised to see Ochaco racing towards them.

Ochaco is nothing but a blur flying just a foot above the minefield, only her Zero-Gravity to protect her from an exploding fate, as explosions roar behind her in her wake.

She can almost hear All Might screaming “YES!!!” all the way from the stands, but the pain and swelling of her toe as well as the whipping wind in her face prevent her from hearing him or even Present Mic’s commentary.

“Wow!! How is she doing that?! Whatever the case, Class 1-A’s Ochaco Uraraka is now vying for the top spot!”

She’s quickly clearing the Minefield; at this rate she will catch up to the leaders in no time.

“Dammit, Roundface!!”

“Uraraka!!”

Bakugou thrusts his arm back and releases a thundering explosion right into the girl’s path, he is not about to let someone else take the lead.

Ochaco’s eyes widen in terror as she flies uncontrollably right to the fiery eruption.

“Release!!” Gravity’s pull returns and drags her down and she tumbles across the ground until a landmine bursts into a cloud of pink smoke, thrusting her up into the air.

Despite ending up in an explosion either way, she keeps her composure as she’s launched into the air again and right over the two boys before falling back towards the ground.

She quickly uses Zero-Gravity to soften her descent. And just in time too because Todoroki launches a sheet of ice across the ground in an attempt to freeze her in place, unfortunately for him, he essentially created a slippery landing pad for the gravity girl. 

“Get out of the way!” shouts Bakugou as he runs forward, he throws his hand as bursts flare out.

Out of reflex, Ochaco grabs Bakugou’s arm, turns her boy and pulls him up and over her shoulder slamming him into the ground and onto a landmine that blasts both of them, and the nearby charging Todoroki away.

The three leads are able to regain their balance and keep moving forward while also avoiding attacks from each other.

Bakugou tries to blast them away but they evade or brush off his palms. Ochaco does her best to ignore the pain in her foot while also trying to land a hand on them. But Todoroki encases his skin in ice to repel the effect of her Zero-Gravity.

“Wha?! It’s now a three-way brawl for the fini-...” Present Mic goes quiet as someone notified him about something. Whatever it is it must be big if it were to distract him from the three-way brawl for the finish. “Hang on! Hang on! Hang on!”

Ochaco is just able to slap away Todoroki’s hand after he grabbed her shoulder and encased it in ice. She vaguely wonders what Present Mic is talking about, but she has to focus on the here and now.

“What’s this, it's Izuku Midoriya!! And he’s quickly approaching from the rear!!”

“What?!” cry out the three clashing leaders.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Yeah, baby!!” Grey Matter shouts gleefully from within his newly decked out Mecha as he races through the Obstacle Course at high speed.

After leaving Uraraka he got to work on hijacking a 1-Point Mecha. While taking some parts from a second downed 1-Point Mecha.

His decked out Mecha uses a 1-Point Mecha as the main frame, it’s leaning backwards with a second tire hitched to its back for double the speed, the bot’s arms are positioned backwards at its sides with its gatling guns towards its rear to act as thrusters, and finally it’s robotic head its atop its belly acting as a cockpit for the little alien to drive.

It took him some time of course but definitely well worth it because he's already made it to The Fall.

Grey Matter steps on the gas and with a pull of some wires his high-speed vehicle springs upward as it leaps over the gorge, bouncing from pillar to pillar.

Grey Matter feels a bit guilty as he jumps around, but he’s moving far too quickly for other students to move out of the way in time.

“Look out!”

“Coming through!”

“Sorry!”

“Ooh!” That had to hurt.

He instantly arrives at the other side; the tires spin wildly before racing forward with a screech kicking up dirt in its wake.

Grey Matter tugs on more wires making the vehicle race even faster and soon he’s coming upon the Minefield. Knowing he can’t slow down now; he kicks it into high gear for one last burst of speed that rockets him straight into the Minefield and past his competition.

Explosions trail behind the metallic vehicle, which is durable enough to withstand the blasts, the same could not be said for the students that are unfortunate to be in his direct path.

Meanwhile, the three racing leads are in complete and other awe as Grey Matter races across the entirety of the Minefield.

They only have Present Mic’s announcement to clarify who it is that’s catching up to them. “Class 1-A’s Izuku Midoriya just went from dead last to suddenly being in pursuit for first place!”

“Oh! What a day! What a lovely day!!” shouts Grey Matter as he plows right past Ochaco, Bakugou, and Todoroki.

“Strike that!! THE LEAD IS HIS!!!”

The audience roars out at the thrilling development, so much so that they shake the stadium.

The vehicle's thrusters give out, slowing its pace but Grey Matter still keeps the lead. “Hahahaha! Ingenious!” Yes! This worked out so much better than he had thought! _‘This is what it means to use what you got!’_

And what Grey Matter has is an advanced intellect, and a lot of spare parts to work with! _‘Now I’m about to win a race of speed and athletics with pure brain power!!’_

He better not get too comfortable because the three leads immediately take off after him. “DEKU!!!” Bakugou rockets after him with a crazed look in his eye. “What the hell do you think you’re doing, huh?!”

Todoroki generates an ice path in front of him as he sprints forward. _‘This ice path will end up helping others. But there’s no time to worry about them!’_ He’s actually somewhat worried now, he was too complacent thinking nobody would catch up to him and now he’s paying the price.

Ochaco runs as fast as she can, while still avoiding bombs. _‘Sheesh, Deku! You show off!’_

“Look at this plot twist!!” shouts Present Mic. “Those three aren’t fighting anymore! They’re chasing Midoriya!! That’s what having a common enemy will do in this competition! This fight is still far from over, though!”

That’s right, anything can still happen.

Ochaco scowls, she’s falling behind the others and fast. _‘I can’t lose! Come on Ochaco!’_ Her toe is still swollen, but her adrenaline is pushing back her pain.

She needs to use One For All, there are no other options. _‘I need to focus! Focus on that feeling of protecting, of saving, of…of…’_ And then it hits her. _‘No…that's not all. I need to allow One For All to flow, while maintaining focus!’_ But most importantly. _‘I have to stop thinking and just do it!!’_ As her resolve shines through, her magnificent pink-aura illuminates around her.

And with a final kick off the ground Ochaco charges forward with such a force of speed and power that she zooms past Bakugou and Todoroki leaving them to deal with the bombs going off behind her.

“Move it, Deku!!”

Grey Matter reels around, his eyes popping open just as Ochaco plows right through his Mecha shattering it in a burst of scrapes and wires.

She flies forward, losing focus on One For All. She is not at all sorry as she rolls across the ground, and then slides to her feet. She never stops moving, sprinting forward as fast as her legs can carry her, happily noting that her legs are okay! She had done it! For a minute there she had control of a portion of One For All’s power!!

Present Mic is going crazy over the new development. “In a stunning move, Uraraka has blasted past her classmates from 1-A. Even demolishing Midoriya’s super cool Mecha!!”

Ochaco sprints as fast as she can even as something weighs her arm down. She has no time to worry about it, she has to keep going and win this!!

Especially as Bakugou and Todoroki are fast approaching, with their more reliable Quirks they are quickly closing the gap.

“Eraserhead, your students are amazing! What the heck are you teaching them?!”

Aizawa’s muffled voice speaks with a hint of pride. “This has nothing to do with me.”

The three main leads keep on going, moving as fast as their natural abilities can take them through the narrow passageway.

“Each of them is powered by their own drive to succeed.”

Ochaco can see the light at the end of the tunnel! She’s almost there! 

Present Mic laughs out. “There you have it, Eraserhead is a terrible teacher!”

“I’m what?!” shouts Aizawa.

Bakugou’s blast echoes behind Ochaco as if he’s only an inch behind her.

Present Mic continues to comment. “Who would have imagined at the beginning of this race that the climax would be a non-stop mega mix of surprises?!”

Ochaco can feel the cold-touch of Todoroki’s ice on her heels.

So, with one last push with the support of her loved ones and for the sake of her dreams spurring her one Ochaco calls upon One For All one last time.

“BURST COMET!!!”

And just as Bakugou and Todoroki are about to pass her by, she blasts right past them like a pink-colored comet had fired down from the stars and all to claim victory over the Obstacle Course.

All Might’s successor surges into the stadium to the sound of resounding cheers and screams. A tired yet thrilled smile adorns her face as she swings her arm forward just before the finish line. But that’s when she notices it. Perched upon her shoulder, Grey Matter smirks at her with a mischievous yet proud look in his eyes.

It takes a second for her to realize that he latched onto her when she blasted straight through his Mecha. But that means…

“How unprecedented!! Ochaco Uraraka and Izuku Midoriya are our champions!!”

* * *

“How It Should Have Ended” (HISHI) 

Back just before the race began the final light shuts off just as Midnight shouts. “BEGIN!!!”

A stampede of students charge forward all clambering through the narrow hallway.

Izuku races forward, activating the source of his powers, and disappears under a flash of green light and is replaced by the one-and-only XLR8.

The Kineceleran weaves in and out, around the sea of slow-moving students, even running along the vertical wall at a high speed to avoid the flow of stampeding contestants.

XLR8 bursts out of the doorway far before Todoroki could attempt to freeze anyone in place.

XLR8 is but a blur as he speeds past the Robo Inferno, he’s so fast the robots couldn’t even register that he ran right past them.

Even The Fall is of no consequence as XLR8 easily skates across the tightropes, zig zagging between pillars before he’s on the other side. He turns around briefly to admire how deep the gorge really is before taking off again.

In less than a minute he’s already at the Minefield, but even unaware of the dangers ahead of him he keeps on going. Taking advantage of the Kineceleran’s natural speed. He blazes a trail right through the Minefield, moving so quickly that the bombs blow up far too late to do anything. Even the sonic blast of the bomb can’t reach him as he’s already running straight through the passageway and swirls around to a stop after bursting through the finish line and into the stadium to the sound of a stunned audience.

“What!! The!! HELL!!!” cries an astonished Present Mic. “IZUKU MIDORIYA OF CLASS 1-A FINISHED THE ENTIRE COURSE IN LESS THAN A MINUTE!!!”

That’s got to be some kind of U.A. record right there!!

XLR8 looks towards the start of the race and he can actually still see the last flow of students trying to get through. “Huh… What do you know?”

He honestly thought it would have taken him a lot longer than this. Even the obstacles weren’t that bad…sure they look scary, but it was no big deal.

Aizawa deadpans. “This is why I said we should have included more obstacles.” Like a maze or some sort of giant obstacle for the students to climb over, even an obstacle that made them stop to solve a puzzle could have at least slowed down the boy a bit.

XLR8 sheepishly chuckles. “He, yeah, sorry…I was too excited.” And lucky thing too that the Omnitrix gave him the right alien he needed.

Could you imagine if he became someone like Grey Matter or Ditto? He certainly doesn’t want to think about it.

XLR8 looks over at the equally stunned Midnight. “So, now what do I do?”

Midnight snaps out of her daze. “Oh, um…” She tries to regain her composure by whipping her flogger. “You can run the course again!!” Oops, she was so out of it she said the worst thing possible.

XLR8 grins as his visor closes down over his face. “Okay!” He zips away to the arch away and begins to lap the other students before most of them are even through the Robo Inferno.

Meanwhile, Toshinori pales in his seat. _‘Just…just what is this kid?!’_

Thirteen is shaking their head. _‘Dammit, Midoriya…I know I said to make a splash, but don’t humiliate your classmates in the process, too…!’_

Before long XLR8 speeds back into the stadium from the opposite end. “Can I go again?!”

Nearly the entire arena and possibly the entire galaxy cries out all at once. “NOOOOO!!!!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that was Ch.21 Roaring Start, I thought it was fun. Plus it was the fastest chapter I was able to upload in the history of this fic. To be fair, I had a preexisting outline to work with (manga/anime). That said, I don’t know if I can get the next chapter out just as fast or not, so no promises when it will get here. To be honest I am most excited to get to the individual tournament battles, but we need to get through a few more stuff first. Anyway how was Ch.21? Did you like it? Did you not? Please let me know.
> 
> Also I should have probably made this clear sooner, but this fic essentially has two protagonists (Izuku and Ochaco) with the main focus being on Izuku most of the time. So, if you felt like there was a great deal of focus on her in this chapter; that was on purpose. Don’t worry though, as I said the main focus will mostly be on Izuku for the most part.
> 
> Also The “How It Should Have Ended” (HISHI) above is basically an Omaki but I titled it after a YouTube channel under the same name. They basically animate versions of movies and explain that one or two simple decisions could have changed the entire outcomes of movies: Avengers, Jurassic Park, Star Wars, and so much more. So, basically what I was doing with the Omaki scene was to show what would have happened if the Omnitrix gave Izuku XLR8 from the start. But he ended up getting Grey Matter instead and I’m sticking to that timeline. Anyway I hope you enjoyed the HISHE!
> 
> Oh, and for fun let me know which alien (any Ben Ten alien) you would have given Izuku to use during this Obstacle Race and how they would have done it. I’m curious.
> 
> *So, I basically combined Episode 15 and 16 of the anime. I didn’t see any point of making you guys wait for an outcome by leaving a cliffhanger half way through so I tried to fit the Obstacle Course all in one go. I may not be able to do the same for the next events, however.
> 
> *As for why I chose Grey Matter: 1.) I haven’t been able to give him a good amount of screen time yet. 2.) I thought it would be nice/fun to have him trick out a robot to win. 3.) Show that brains can beat brawn. 4.) It made it easier to craft out the chapter since I could leave him out near the start of the race and then bring him back in the end for a major comeback.
> 
> *Speaking of comebacks, Ochaco’s newest special move, Burst Comet, is a move I hope to evolve as she gains more control over One For All.


	22. Friends and Foes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The students of U.A. take part in the second round of the Sports Festival; the Cavalry Battle!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey it’s me, sorry for the late update. I’ve been real busy lately so we may be back to updates only once a week. But to make up for being late, this is my longest chapter yet.
> 
> *Also I think I caused some confusion with the last chapter's title. When I said “Roaring” I didn’t mean to hint to Rath. I was trying to say ““Roaring Start” to the Sports Festival.” But that title is too long. Rath will eventually arrive but not for a while.
> 
> *I want to restate a few things:
> 
> Every Ben Ten alien from the original series, Alien Force, Ultimate Alien, and Omniverse will be included into this story. (The ultimate aliens are still on the fence though).  
> I am not trying to live a power fantasy with this fanfic and thus I have given myself a set of rules to follow on how, when, and where Izuku gains new aliens.  
> I have not watched the rebooted series (I tried to), so don’t expect any aliens, elements, or anything from that series.

“BURST COMET!!!

Ochaco Uraraka rockets into the stadium to the resounding roar of the stadium along with a little grey frog latched onto her shoulder.

“How unprecedented!! Ochaco Uraraka and Izuku Midoriya are our champions!!” screams Present Mic over the intercoms.

The audience goes crazy over the results as fireworks boom in the sky and confetti showers down! None of them could have guessed how the Obstacle Courses ended the way it did!

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Inko Midoriya is moved to tears after seeing her son take the win. So much so that she slips right off the family couch. “Oh, my baby Izuku!!”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Way!! To!! Go!! Ochan!!” ML-E is so hyped up that she’s running about her family’s living room like a chibi-tornado.

Her mother on the other hand. “ML-E settle down this instant!” Just by running around her daughter has already broken a vase and papers were thrown into the air.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Woah-woo!!” Mr. Baumann’s otherworldly customers cheer as Izuku and Ochaco’s images play over the screen.

“Way to go!”

“That was amazing!”

“Those two really know how to play with suspense don’t they!”

“Meh, it’s all just for show.”

“Shut it, Argit!”

Mr. Baumann, himself, cannot stop smiling. “Woah-woo! Way to go Izuku! I knew you had it in you! I-” He finally notices how the aliens are eyeing him like he grew a second head, which isn’t even that strange for some of these aliens.

Mr. Boumann coughs into his fist while fixing his apron. “I mean…if he does well, then he can become a pro faster… And he can pay me back for all the damages he caused, sooner!” Why does it feel like he threw the last part in as an excuse? 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

From outside the stadium Death Arms turns around to see what the big fuss is all about. And on the flat screen he watches as a little frog transforms into Izuku Midoriya.

“Hey, it’s those kids.”

Kamui Woods turns to see what his partner is talking about. Peering up at the screen he sees pictures of Ochaco and Izuku being announced as the winners. “Oh, yeah. They were the ones that took down that creepy clown… Should have figured they were Hero Course students.”

And that must mean they are part of the famous Class 1-A. Wow, that might explain why they were able to take on the Freaks and Zombozo.

Death Arms smirks. “I guess those two will be the ones to watch.”

“No kidding.” Maybe he should try and scout them, assuming they’ll accept.

Meanwhile, Mt. Lady isn’t even bothering to pay attention as she poses for a small group of cameramen nearby.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Tomura Shigaraki slouches forward in his seat, scratching at his neck in irritation, as he keeps his eyes on the screen. “It’s those brats again…”

Nue, or Henzu Uuichi, sits in the dark corner behind Shigaraki. He snarls at the image of his once upon a time friend.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Ochaco is panting very heavily, her foot is numb, and her heart is pounding. Meanwhile, Izuku stands nearby ready to provide any assistance.

Ochaco eventually throws her head up and takes in the cheering crowd as does Izuku. The entire stadium is alive with cheers and praise after witnessing such a thrilling start to the Sports Festival.

The First-Place winners scan the audience until their eyes locate the teacher’s booth. From within they can see all the teachers, specifically All Might and Thirteen, giving standing ovations.

Izuku and Ochaco smile up at the mentors who are more than thrilled to return the gestures with their own gleaming smiles of pride.

Izuku and Ochaco share a look with each other, and smile, laughing while savoring the taste of victory even if it was a tie.

Toshinori Yagi watches as his successor dries her eyes before tears of joy have a chance to leak out. _This Sports Festival’s a competition where everyone aims for the top. Even though that means defeating your friends and classmates. And for professional heroes, popularity plays a huge part in their careers. So, they have to want to be the best. It’s a bloodthirsty world.’_

He peers up at the screen that’s replaying Ochaco’s Burst Comet that allowed her to rocket past Bakugou, Todoroki, and Midoriya’s Mecha.

He looks back down at his grinning successor. _‘At your core, you want to help others. That’s why I chose you, Young Uraraka. But in all honesty, I also thought your kindness could be your weakness.’_ He smiles and claps his hands together. _‘Turns out I was worried over nothing! You are a fighter!’_

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

As the audience somewhat begins to settle down, Katsuki Bakugou is off by himself panting hard after such a grueling race.

He grips his arm tightly as his entire body shakes with rage and…shock. “Deku… No way… Not…again…” First the Entrance Exam, then the Battle Trail, and now…and now this… How can this be?! He’s supposed to be the strongest, the best of the best!! Not Deku!! Not him!!

Meanwhile, steam evaporates from Todoroki’s body as he too tries to catch his breath. He really pushed himself in the end there, but it wasn’t enough…and he can’t accept that. His ice has to be enough, otherwise what is he doing with himself?

Todoroki eyes the two First Place winners as Present Mic’s voice drowns out his thoughts.

“The contestants are pouring in one after the other! Let’s hear some applause for all our competitors as we prepare the results.”

“Uraraka, that was amazing!” shouts Izuku, the way she took the lead like she did was incredible! He just can’t stop grinning when he thinks about it.

“Me amazing?!” Ochaco grins back at Deku. “What about you?! That robot-thing was so cool! I’m jealous!” No kidding, while she was booking it all the way across, Deku just had to sit back and freakin drive through the Obstacle Course. “Although…” Her cheeks puff out making them round as she pouts. “Weren’t you the one that said we couldn’t help each other? That we were **rivals** today?”

Izuku at least has the decency to be embarrassed. “He he, yeah sorry about that. But to be fair, you did destroy my mech.”

“Touché…” She has to give him that one, she did do that.

As the audience continues to go crazy over the result, Ochaco takes a moment to reflect. _‘To be honest, I got lucky. I was able to use One For All properly for a few moments back there, but…does that means I have control over it or was I just lucky?’_ She balls her fist. _‘Either way I will control All Might’s Quirk.’_

Izuku holds up the Omnitrix admiring its glistening metal texture in the sunlight. _‘I’m so glad I was able to think on my feet back there, but this just proves that anything can happen.’_ He watches as more of his classmates sprint into the stadium. _‘My real abilities will be tested after this. Whatever comes next? I need to be able to adapt.’_

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

A panting Momo Yaoyorozu finally arrives into the stadium as something on her back weighs her down. “How could this happen?” She’s a recommended student, she should have been further in the lead than this.

A creepy maniacally laugh rings out behind her, where Minoru Mineta is gleefully perched to her back, using his Sticky Balls as a means to hold on. “Two birds with one stone. I’m a genius!”

“You are the worst!!”

Eventually all the other students finally finish the Obstacle Course giving those with minor injuries enough time to get patched up before the announcement for the next event.

Recovery Girl just wrapped up Ochaco’s toe to hold back the swelling for now. Thankfully, Ochaco’s shoe was tight enough not to let the swelling to get too bad so she’ll be able to participate in the next event without much hinderance.

Midnight strides upon the stage as the sea of students crowd around to await the results. “The first game for the first-years is finally over and what a game it was! Now, let’s take a quick look at the standings, shall we?”

**1st** : Ochaco Uraraka & Izuku Midoriya

 **2nd** : Shoto Todoroki

 **3rd** : Katsuki Bakugou

 **4th** : Ibara Shiozaki

 **5th** : Juzo Honenuki

 **6th** : Tenya Iida

 **7th** : Fumikage Tokoyami

 **8th** : Hanta Sero

 **9th** : Eijiro Kirishima

 **10th** : Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu

 **11th** : Mashirao Ojiro

 **12th** : Yosetsu Awase

 **13th** : Tsuyu Asui

 **14th** : Mezo Shoji

 **15th** : Rikido Sato

 **16th** : Momo Yaoyorozu

 **17th** : Minoru Mineta

 **18th** : Mina Ashido

 **19th** : Koji Koda

 **20th** : Kyoka Jiro

 **21st** : Hitoshi Shinso

 **22nd** : Sen Kaibara

 **23rd** : Kosei Tsuburba

 **24th** : Denki Kaminari

 **25th** : Kejiro Bondo

 **26th** : Reiko Yanagi

 **27th** : Itsuka Kendo

 **28th** : Jurota Shishida

 **29th** : Shihai Kuroiro

 **30th** : Yui Kodai

 **31st** : Hiryu Rin

 **32nd** : Nirengeki Shoda

 **33rd** : Kinoko Komori

 **34th** : Togaru Kamakiri

 **35th** : Neito Monoma

 **36th** : Pony Tsunotori

 **37th** : Tooru Hagakure

 **38th** : Setsuna Tokage

 **39th** : Manga Fukidashi

 **40th** : Mei Hatsume

 **41st** : Yuga Aoyama

Midnight continues with her announcement. “Only the top forty-two contestants will advance to the next round!” However, because there is a tie for first-place the cut off is the 41st place. “But don’t be too let down if you didn’t make the cut. We’ve prepared other opportunities for you to shine.” She licks the sides of her lips, suggesting something else entirely. “Now the real fun is about to begin. The chance to fully move yourselves into the limelight! Give it your best!”

She has no idea how true some of the contestants are going to take that advice such as the humiliated and infuriated Bakugou and Todoroki.

Midnight whips her flogger to activate the holographic slot machine behind her. The image spins and spins and spins as if building up tension before revealing the next event. “Let’s see what we have in store for you next.” continues Midnight. “Will your wildest fantasies come to life? What could it be the waiting is torture!”

Izuku gulps, the anticipation is torture.

“Prepare, yourselves…for this!!”

The slot machine comes to a halt revealing the next event: CAVALRY BATTLE. 

Denki Kaminari frowns at the announcement. “Cavalry battles? I’m terrible at those.” he whines.

Tsuyu Asui rubs her chin. “Huh, it’s not an individual event.” That’s odd, she figured there would be no cooperating with each other today. “I wonder how they’ll split us up.”

The chief umpire overhears her comments. “Allow me to explain.” She turns to the screen and an image of Thirteen, Present Mic, and Snipe stand together, linking their hands, while All Might stands atop of them their palms.

“The participants will form teams of two-to-four people as they see fit.” She peers back at the students. “In theory, it’s basically the same as a regular playground game. But there is one difference.”

The students stand at attention, wondering what that difference is.

“Each player has been assigned a point value based on the results from the obstacle course.”

Rikido Sato nods in understanding. “I get it, a point-based system like the Entrance Exams. That seems pretty simple.”

Ochaco adds in her own thoughts. “So, that means each team will have a different point value based on which students are on it.”

Mina Ashido finger guns at the gravity wielder. “Uh-huh!”

Midnight whips her flogger angrily against the stage startling the girls. “Maybe you should shut up and let me explain things to you!!”

On the screen, a set of points appear next to each student’s name and ranking.

“Now, then.” With the attention back on her, the umpire continues with her explanation. “The point assignments go up by increments of five, starting from the bottom. For example, 41st place is worth five points and 40th is worth ten.”

Izuku and Ochaco eye the ranking curiously. “Huh?” So if their math is correct then they should have something like 205 points. But they are about to be made aware of just how naive they both truly are.

“And the point value assigned to the first-place contestant is…TEN MILLION!!!”

For the two first-place winners it feels like their hearts have gone silent along with the rest of the universe, even as their brains shut off temporarily. And then the reality of the entire situation comes rushing back into them like a humongous tidal wave.

“Ten…”

“Million…?” 

Midnight cuts in amongst their inner chaos. “Because we have two winners for first place, we will be dividing the points up between them making each of them worth…FIVE MILLION POINTS EACH!!!”

That in no way makes either of them feel any better.

The other contestants instantly turn to their newly established targets.

The indigo-haired teen smirks. _‘Really.’_

A dark-smile is plastered onto Mei Hatsume’s features. _‘In other words if you take down their team…’_

Everyone eyes the two winners like they’re lost sheep amongst a lion’s den. _‘You’ll win the Cavalry Game and take the lead yourself.’_

“That’s right.” Midnight smirks down at the glorious and exciting sight of youth being motivated like this. “It’s survival of the fittest with a chance for those at the bottom to overthrow the top!!”

Both Ochaco and Izuku step a little closer as the hungry eyes of their classmates and competition emanate with bloodlust.

The prey’s hearts pound against their chests as anticipation for what’s to come grows.

Izuku’s mind flashes back to all the times his old classmates and especially how Bakugou used to claim that he [Izuku Midoriya] would never be able to hang with the best-of-the-best, that he was just a Quirkless wannabe… Oh, how the tables have turned.

 _‘Things have changed so much since junior high, but I’m still a target.’_ Izuku’s fists clench. _‘Fine. It’s like I said before, I’m the **one to beat**.’ _

Meanwhile, Toshinori, the Number One hero himself, gazes down at the two students. _‘Now you both know the burden of being the best.’_

Ochaco eyes the five million points displayed next to her name on the screen, as a combination of thrilling excitement and drowning dread swirl within her. _‘So, what they say is true. It’s hard being at the top. Right, All Might?’_

“First-years!!” Midnight swings her arm towards the screen. “These are the rules you will abide by.” The previous image of the teachers as a cavalry team pops onto the screen, “The game itself will last fifteen minutes. Individual point values will be added together to reach your team total. Everyone will know how much you’re worth thanks to your headbands.”

They are beginning to see where this is going.

“Swipe as many headbands as you can to raise your team’s score.”

A few of the contestants smirk as if they’ve already formed a plan for this event.

“Stolen headbands must be worn from the neck up. So, the more you steal the harder it’ll be to manage them.” Essentially take too much and they could suffocate themselves with headbands. “And another thing. Even if your headband gets stolen or your team falls down, you can keep playing until time’s up!”

Yaoyorozu considers the challenge. “It’s anyone’s game, then.”

Sato agrees. “And since there are forty-two contestants there’ll be ten or twelve teams fighting on the field the entire time.”

“Sounds hard.” interjects a rather worried Yuga Aoyama.

Mina considers something else. “So, if you lose your headband at the beginning you have more time to make up a plan.”

Tsuyu isn’t too sure about that. “I dunno, Mina. Maybe we should wait and see how the teams turn out before we start strategizing.”

Midnight poses atop the stage, swinging her flogger around like a whip “This is going to be rough. You may use your Quirks as much as you like. But there are still rules! Make a team fall on purpose and I’ll slap you with a red card. You’ll be disqualified!!”

Bakugou scoffs in the background, looks like there goes his main strategy.

A timer for fifteen minutes pops onto the screen.

“Now, you’ve got fifteen minutes to build your teams. I recommend you get started.” And with that Midnight leaves them to it.

Izuku cups his chin in thought as his classmates begin to look for others that they’d work well with. _‘It doesn't matter how many points my teammates have since I’ve got so many. I just need to make sure I pick the right people. But who…?’_

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

While the students begin to form teams Kamui Woods, Mt. Lady, and Death Arms are all seated in the Staff Break Room for all the pro heroes guarding this event can take a seat and watch a bit of the Sports Festival.

Death Arms rolls his cigarette between his fingers. “The Sports Festival isn’t really about seeing how prepared they are at being heroes. It’s more about simulating the competition they’ll face if they go pro.” He sticks the smoke back into his lips.

“Huh?” Mt. Lady sits up in her seat. “What are you talking about?”

Death Arms breaths out a large puff of smoke before replying. “We both know this country is overrun with agencies right now. If you wanna put food on the table you’ve gotta be willing to step on top of other heroes. That was the whole point of the first round.”

Mt. Lady covers her mouth and tries to wave away the puff of smoke. “That’s such a sad way of looking at our jobs.”

Kamui Woods is instantly there to call her out. “Seriously?! You’ve never had a problem stealing the spotlight.”

Death Arms puffs out more smoke. “But on the other hand even if you're battling each other for popularity there are plenty of cases where you have to work together.”

She actually understood that. “Huh. You’re right, it’s just like this Cavalry Battle! Every point you score is not just for you, but for your teammates as well. Plus you have to think about how Quirks work together and who you’re compatible with.”

Kamui Woods twists the bottle cap off his water. “It’s kind of like coordinating with your Sidekick or doing Quirk training with other agencies.” He lifts the bottle up to his mouth but is stopped by his own mask, he wears the thing so often he forgets that he’s even wearing it at times.

The more muscular of the three shrugs. “I’m sure at least some of the kids are thinking about all this. If they become pros it’ll be their way of life.”

Mt. Lady leans back. “They’ve still got a long road ahead of ‘em.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

The students are still trying to form teams and many of Class 1-A have their sights on a select few on who to join.

Sato jabs a thumb towards himself. “You should team with me!”

Mina cuts in. “No, you definitely want me by your side.”

Aoyama stands nearby while trying to keep his guts from spilling out. “I don’t wanna beg, but please.”

These are only the few of Class 1-A that are gathered around Bakugou, begging to be on his team.

Unfortunately for them, Bakugou is at a complete loss here. “Wait, remind me what your Quirks are again. And your names.”

Now that hurts.

Mina is absolutely appalled. “You’re kidding! We’re your classmates!” How does he not know everyone’s names by now?

Sato offers up a theory on why. “Can you really be that self-centered?!”

The answer: he can.

Toshinori watches on as the kids figure out teams. “He’s a hot head, but he came in third and he has 195 points. And considering how versatile his Quirk is I’m not surprised people are trying to join up with him.”

“Bakugou!” Eijiro Kirishima shoves his way past Tooru Hagakure and Sato. “I was gonna try Todoroki, but he already picked a group. So, hey! We should team up.”

“Hey, Shitty Hair.” greets Bakugou with a bored tone.

“My name is Kirishima!!” snaps the red-head. “And my hair’s not that different from yours.” That’s a good point, and so is this next part. “Come on. You wanna be the rider, right? So you’re gonna need a strong front horse who won’t be hurt by your blasts.” To prove his point Kirishima hardens up his arm. “That’d be me.” It’s not a suggestion.

But Bakugou still isn’t convinced. “I need someone with guts.”

Perfect. “My Quirk was made for this! I got you covered, man!” This is his final point. “Let’s go charging into battle together.”

That instantly strikes a chord with the elitist and Kirishima knows he’s got him now.

“Ten Million. Bring it.” That’s a promise.

Bakugou growls as a fiery grin forms on his face. Hell, yeah. They’ll definitely take the top spot.

At the same time, teams are still forming.

“Shoji! Shoji!!” Mineta balls until the taller classmates finally notices the crying excuse for a decent human being. “None of the girls wanna team up with me!! Please, be my partner!!”

Shoji instantly begins walking away intending on finding someone else.

“I’m super tiny so I can’t be a horse! But for some reason no one wants me to climb on top of them so I can be a rider!” He may have just answered his own question. “With your huge body and those tentacles you could cover me completely. So, no one’ll take my headband!”

Mezo Shoji actually stops, that’s actually a sound strategy.

“Right?! Please?!”

Shoji quickly grows a mouth out of one of his extra limbs and smiles. “Good idea. Let’s go.”

Izuku watches on as other teams are starting to take shape as well: Todoroki speaks to Yaoyorozu and Mina shows off her Quirk to Bakugou.

_‘Everyone's sticking to the people in their homeroom class so far. It’s too much of a gamble to partner with someone if you don’t know what their Quirk can do. I need to find a team of my own and fast.’_

There’s just one problem… He’s been completely isolated by everyone else!!

 _‘Everyone’s totally avoiding me since I’m worth so much!’_ And it doesn’t help that he painted a target on himself during the Student Pledge either. Basically anyone on his team is going to have a rough time no matter their strategy.

Speaking strategy it would be better if a team could focus on stealing headbands than trying to keep their own. So of course no one is going to seek him out as a teammate.

But…there is someone. Someone that he can trust and rely on that may be willing to join his team. And from what he can tell she’s having just as much of a difficult time finding a team.

“Hey, Uraraka. Y-you wanna be on a team?”

The co-winner responds. “Um…n-no thanks.” The co-winner responds.

“Great, well we can… WHAT!?!” Did he hear her right, did she say no?!

She did, but not because she doesn’t want to, but because she feels like she shouldn’t be. “I’m sorry Deku, but…I want to win this.” No she needs to win this.

In order to realize her own dream and why she accepted All Might’s Quirk in the first place. To become a hero that keeps everyone safe and make them feel happy with just her presence. But she totally believes that she needs to prove her resolve by winning the Sports Festival through her own efforts. To prove to herself and All Might that she was the right choice to inherit his power.

Ochaco speaks with all seriousness. “Deku.”

The greenette waits for her to speak.

“I want you to give it your all. Because I’m going to **beat** you.”

He doesn’t expect that. 

“I want to win this, Deku. Even though it was a tie, I want to make it clear who’s the best out of our class. I want to win this! And even though you are my friend…I think I’m starting to rely on you too much.”

She relied on him to save her during the mutant attack on the mall. He inspired her when she was kidnapped. She relied on him for a plan during the U.S.J. Incident. And even during the Obstacle Course she was willing and ready to work with him almost immediately. She needs to show that she can be a hero, a champion, all on her own. And this where she can begin to do that.

“I’m going to win and show the world that…I am here.” 

Izuku understands. He gets it because of the glimmer of determination in Ochaco’s eyes. “Okay…” 

Ochaco nods in appreciation. “Good. And besides…you were the one that said we aren’t friends today, but **rivals**.” 

Izuku keels over as the feeling of rejection stabs him. It really hurts to have your own words thrown back at you, doesn’t it? “Y-yeah…I did say that.” He shakes himself off as he gets back onto his feet.

He offers up a determined grin. “Just remember you asked…ordered me to go all out. So, don’t expect any mercy from me.”

Ochaco grins right back. “I won’t.”

It’s official these two friends are now competing for the number one spot. And if that means taking the other out of the running then so be it.

“Good luck, Uraraka.”

“You too, Deku.”

And with that the challengers turn their backs to each other and march away to find their own separate teams. And even though it somewhat hurts to challenge each other like this, there’s still a thrill of competition pumping through their veins that just keeps driving them forward.

Izuku spots Iida and quickly approaches him. “Iida.”

Tenya Iida turns to face his shorter classmate.

Izuku smiles up at him and gestures for him to lean in close.

Iida goes ahead and decides to hear Izuku out.

“Listen, I think the two of us would be a good match for this Cavalry Battle.”

Iida doesn’t say a word; his face remains calm and stern so Izuku assumes he can continue with his plan.

“I don’t know if you remember from the Quirk Apprehension Test, but I have a transformation, XLR8, that grants me superspeed. So, you can be our initial horse, using your speed to evade everyone. And then when there’s only ten minutes left, I’ll transform, and we’ll switch so I’m the horse. Together there’ll be no chance of anyone catching us. So, what do you think…?”

Iida remains silent, but Izuku can’t tell whether he’s considering the plan or ignoring him.

“I know it’s not much, but it's the only evasive plan I could think of this fast.”

Iida finally reacts. “A good strategy, but I’m sorry.”

“Uh…”

“I’m afraid I must refuse your offer.”

“Huh?” gasps Izuku.

It feels like a heavy unshackled weight is pulling down on Iida, but he remains standing refusing to buckle under the pressure. “Since this all started, I’ve been losing to you.” Even though it was just one event. “Please don’t take this as an insult. You’re a great friend, but if I continue to follow you, I’ll never get stronger.”

Izuku gasps, it’s just like Uraraka. Like Todoroki and even Bakugou, too.

And Iida understands this as well. “Todoroki has already challenged both you and Uraraka already, but he’s not the only one who sees the two of you as rivals.”

Iida turns away and begins marching to his own team that have been patiently waiting for him on the sidelines. “Midoriya, I have something to prove too.” That he has what it takes to be like his brother and be a hero.

“Iida…” Izuku can’t hold it against him. ‘ _So, it’s already begun. Everyone's an enemy. I’m at the top and they’ll all be coming for me.’_ Izuku gulps. _‘I can’t rely on anyone either. Not this time.’_

That may sound cool on paper, but the reality is still that he needs teammates if he even wants to participate in this event.

So, Izuku strides past the other competitors with purpose looking for anyone that’s still in need of a teammate or two. He sees Ojiro with his back to him, maybe he’ll be on his team.

“Hey, Ojiro. Be on my team!” No time for politeness, he’ll imitate Bakugou's manners if he must. He needs a team and fast!

The tailed teen doesn’t respond; in fact he hardly acknowledges Izuku’s presence.

“Um, Ojiro?” Izuku grabs the teen’s shoulder while also peering up at him and he can instantly tell that something is wrong.

Ojiro’s eyes are shadowed over as if in a trance.

“Hey, Ojiro!” He shakes the teen’s shoulder.

It must work because Ojiro’s eyes blink and return back to normal “Oh, what happened?”

“Um…I was asking if you’d join my team.”

“What?!” Ojiro actually looks scared, he’s already back away from Izuku’s personal space. “Sorry, man…” 

Ouch, now that hurt. He’s been rejected three times in the span of five minutes! Is this how Mineta feels?! “Ooh, what am I going to do?”

“Tch.” someone scoffs annoyingly.

Izuku finally takes notice that Ojiro was actually with someone else, that scary guy with messy indigo-hair.

“H-Hi…” Izuku offers up a meek wave.

The teen leers at Izuku before turning away, deciding to find someone else to snag onto his team.

As the teen begins to move away Izuku realizes something, he must be responsible for Ojiro’s lack of response. Was it his Quirk? Maybe he was manipulating Ojiro or at least he stunned him for time. A Quirk like that may work!

“Wait!” Izuku throws himself at the teen, latching onto his legs. “Please join my team!!” he begs.

“Let go of me!!” snaps the teen.

“But I can really use a Quirk like yours on my team!”

The teen freezes in place. “What did you say?”

Izuku blinks up, he wasn’t actually expecting the teen to stop and hear him out. “I-I s-said that I could use someone with a Quirk like yours…”

The teen actually looks nervous for some reason like he’s just been found out. He quickly looks around to make sure no one is listening in before hauling Izuku up by his collar. He’s surprisingly a lot stronger than he appears to be. “And what exactly do you know about my Quirk?” It’s less of a question and more like a demand.

Izuku’s going to play along with this. If this works out, he may actually have a teammate. “Uh, from what I can tell you were able to put Ojiro in some kind of trance. With a Quirk like that we could stop the competition in their tracks before they can get anywhere near us.”

The teen is actually a bit astonished by Izuku’s reply. He releases the greenette before turning his back on him. “You can’t rely on my Quirk like that…” his voice almost sounds…sorrowful. 

And Izuku recognizes that sorrow…because it’s the same kind he’d always have to deal with growing up.

“Why not?”

The teen glares at Izuku, he doesn’t appreciate his nosiness. “Leave me alone already.”

Okay now this is ridiculous. Izuku’s brows furrow as he steps up and grabs the teen’s shoulder. “No.”

“Excuse me?” There’s an underline threat in the teen’s voice.

“I said, no. Not until you join my team.” Come on man, he’s desperate! People have already started to form teams of three or four.

The teen will humor him. “Fine, then tell me why I should join the team of the biggest target here?”

Okay…that’s a fair point. “Well…my…Quirk is very versatile!”

The teen’s eyes flash with irritation. “Tch, typical.”

“W-what?”

“Your kind is all the same, born lucky and you think the world owes you for it.” spats the teen. “I’m going to get through this Sports Festival with my own Quirk and show everyone that I can be a hero.”

Izuku finally gets it…this guy…is just like him. His Quirk is weak, it’s not flashy or powerful. In this society those with no or weak Quirks are often put down especially if they desire to become heroes.

Izuku recalls what this guy had to say back to his class from a few weeks ago. That he wanted to be in the Hero Course too, but he couldn't. And now he knows why. Whatever his Quirk is, it can’t be used on machines. But guess what? They won’t be fighting machines during this event.

“I…I don’t know your Quirk or your life for that matter.”

The teen was really getting thrown off by Izuku’s lack of an outburst.

“But I understand.”

He better not be surprised that the teen’s reaction is less than friendly. “No you don’t.” he growls. “How can you possibly understand?!”

Izuku rubs his arm, the same arm that’s attached to the Omnitrix. “Did you…listen to my speech? At the start of the festival?”

He did listen and…he remembers what Izuku had to say. That people put down his dream too. That bugged the teen greatly, how could the number one student of the Hero Course be told that he should give up on his heroic dreams?! He didn’t see the guy actually use his Quirk during the Obstacle Course, but he did see the crazy decked out Mecha race on by. Maybe…this guy’s Quirk is more unique then he gives credit for. Maybe it’s unreliable and he worked to make it work for him? Something he wishes he could do.

The teen frowns. “Yeah…I did.”

“Then you know what I’ve been through! Because you’ve been through the same thing…you’re going through the same thing.” Izuku grips the Omnitrix. “You see…I’m kind of a late bloomer, and I mean **late**.” 

The teen’s eyes widen in shock as it finally dawns on him. They really are alike, aren’t they?

“And I believe that together we can win this event and move on to the final event! We can win this!”

The indigo-haired teen is really getting thrown for a loop here. Just what’s with this guy? “Why are you so hooked on getting me on your team? You don’t know my Quirk or me. Sure, you may understand how I feel, but why do you think I’ll be a good fit? What makes you think… **we** can win this?”

Izuku doesn’t even have to think about his response. “Because guys like us don’t know when to give up.”

That strikes a chord within the teen’s heart. This guy…Izuku Midoriya really does understand doesn’t he…

He takes a deep sigh, accepting the inevitable. “Fine…”

Izuku blinks in confusion. “Excuse me?”

“I said, fine. I’ll join your team.”

“Really?!” 

The teen looks away rubbing the back of his head in annoyance. “Yeah, fine. But you know everyone is going to be after us.”

Izuku smiles. “Not to worry. I already have a plan to deal with them.” There’s just one more thing they need to take care of. “Oh, my name is Izuku Midoriya by the way.”

“I know.” It’s hard not to know the name of the guy that snagged first place.

Izuku smiles sheepishly. “O-oh, r-right…”

The teen eyes him, he doesn’t understand how someone like Izuku could exist. Someone that’s somehow both determined, and a nervous wreck should be impossible, but here it is in front of him. And…there’s something to admire about that.

“Shinso.”

Izuku’s head snaps up. “Huh?”

“Shinso…my name is Hitoshi Shinso.” The teen looks away, he might actually be embarrassed.

Izuku smiles in appreciation. “Nice to meet you, Shinso. Now are you ready to win?”

Shinso considers it and offers up his own smirk “Yeah.”

Looks like Izuku’s finally got a teammate now if only they can get two more.

“Do you have room for two more?”

“Kero.”

Izuku and Shinso turn to take a look at what may be their newest teammates.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Would someone please join my team?!” cries Ochaco as she wanders around from contestant to contestant.

Each one of them has a similar response:

“Sorry.”

“I’m already part of a team.”

“Maybe if you give me your number.”

“I don’t want to be a target.”

“Nope!”

It’s been the same, nothing but rejection. Is this how Mineta feels?! Maybe she should have accepted Deku’s offer… No! It’s good that she didn’t and she’s going to stand by her decision. She’ll find a team no matter what it takes! She just needs to pump up the charm and use those persuasion skills that she never developed. After all, it’s not like a teammate is just going to willingly come to her.

A mad giggling encroaches on Ochaco from behind. “Oh, perfect, you’re still alone. And you’re the star.”

Ochaco curiously turns around to see who’s talking about her.

Hatsume rockets forward nearly smashing her face against Ochaco’s “Team up with me, person in first place!!”

How rude?!

Hatsume smiles as she removes her steampunk-like goggles revealing her yellow cross-sectioned eyes. “The name’s Mei Hatsume of the Support Course.”

Ochaco’s head slouches downward as she deadpans. “I know who you are…”

Hatsume is thrilled by the news. “Really?! Am I that famous already?!”

“No!” snaps Ochaco. “We’ve already met!!” Twice in fact.

“I don’t remember ya!” She’s not even ashamed to admit that.

“Ugh!” Ochaco facepalms. “You know…! You’re building the support item to help me fly.”

She can almost see the gears turning in the odd-girl's head.

“…Oh right!! You were the one that made the horrible design of a gadget!”

“Is that how you remember me?!”

Hatsume brushes off her outburst. “Anyway, I want to use your current fame to my personal advantage.”

“That’s so straight forward!!”

Hatsume practically zips forward in a blink of an eye, as if getting closer to Ochaco physically will make her agree, while chatting away at super lightning speed. “If I team up with you then I’ll be in the spotlight! Part of the team that everyone is keeping their eyes on.” She zooms closer, making Ochaco step back in fright even more. “That means my super-cute little babies will inevitably be seen by the big CEOs who’re tuning into the Sports Festival!” She zips forward again, so close that Ochaco can actually see the veins in her eyes. “And following that line of reasoning this is the best way for me and my marvelous gadgets to get recruited!”

Ochaco scrambles backwards. “Could you slow down a minute?” This girl is a complete riddle to her, a very confusing riddle. “Did you bring babies here, or-”

Hatsume isn’t done yet. “Plus, you will definitely benefit from…” She continues to ramble on as Ochaco is forced to hear her out.

_‘Oh, she doesn’t actually care about my opinion.’_

From seemingly out of nowhere Hatsume pulls out a massive chest and opens it up revealing a trunk load of gadgets and machines. “As you know, the Support Course specializes in creating equipment that helps heroes deal with their Quirks and enhance their skills.”

Hatsume digs through the trunk showing off each invention of hers, cackling with far too much enthusiasm. “Hehahaha! I packed a ton of powerful babies to bring with me. So, I’m sure you’ll find something you like floating around my arsenal!”

Ochaco scans the trunk and a peculiar item stands out to her. 

Hatsume catches on that she’s got Ochaco’s interest now. “Oh, I see one’s caught your eye.” Hatsume pulls out a jetpack.

“Is that support item for me?!”

“Ha ha ha, nope! I have something else in mind for you.” Hatsume hoists up the jetpack and smirks. “But since we’re on a team, I’ll let you use it if you want to.”

 _‘I never officially agreed!!’_ Ochaco shouldn’t really complain though now that she can actually form a team, but still…it be better if they could somehow get two more people 

“Excuse me, you’re Ochaco Uraraka correct?”

Ochaco blinks up and finds two strangers approaching her. “Yeah, I am. Why do you ask?”

“If it’s not a burden, we would like to join your team. If you will allow it.”

Ochaco is not about to look a gift horse in the mouth. “Of course! Welcome to the team!”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

The teams have officially formed but with time still left on the clock many of them are huddled away from each other so they can each come up with strategies.

Such teams include those that are composed of Class 1-B.

“Almost everyone in the audience is foaming at the mouth for Class 1-A. Why is that?” The blonde-student of Class 1-B does not expect an answer from his teammates. “They’re so full of themselves. Just like Tetsutetsu said earlier. Why are they stars?” The blonde says wickedly as he eyes his three teammates. “The only difference between us and them is that they fought a couple of villains. Just because we’re Class 1-B doesn’t mean we’re second rate or can’t win this whole thing. So, let’s step it up and show those jerks what we can do. Are ya with me?”

They are.

But they’re not the only ones with a set goal in mind.

“I chose the three of you because I believe we’ll make the most stable formation possible.”

Todoroki’s team remains silent as he addresses them.

“Kaminari’s our left wing. He can use his Quirk to keep enemies at bay.” Todoroki turns to his next teammate. “Yaoyorozu you’ll take the right wing. Focus on insulation and defense.” And finally he turns to the last member. “Iida, you’ll take the front. We’ll rely on you for mobility and physical defense.”

Iida likes this strategy, but he wants to clear something up about the plan. “And you’ll be attacking and creating diversions of ice and fire. Is that right?”

“Not quite.” Todoroki isn’t offended by the question, but he looks away towards a particular part of the stands. “When I’m in battle…” His fists clench up tightly as he spots the target of his fury. “I never use my left side.” It’s clear that there will be no changing his mind on the matter, he needs to prove that only his ice, only his mother’s Quirk, will be enough for him to become a hero.

Kaminari decides to keep the ball rolling. “So, are we going to go after Midoriya first or what?”

Todoroki pries his eyes away from whatever had his attention. “No. We’ll save him for last.”

“Huh, how come?!”

Yaoyorozu offers up an answer. “Think about it. Midoriya’s Quirk, One Man Army, may be able to use multiple Quirks but he can only do so one at a time.”

“And for only ten minutes at a time.” adds in Iida.

Kaminari smiles. “Oh, I get ya.”

Todoroki nods. “Right. We’ll let him tire himself out and when he’s reached his time limit, we’ll go after him.” It’ll be easy pickings to take it from him, and if his team strategy works out like he thinks then they’ll definitely win this event hands-down.

All too soon the fifteen minutes are up and a siren signals that the Cavalry Battle is about to begin.

“Oh, goody.” Midnight stretches her arms excitedly as she smiles down at the curiously formed teams. “It’s time to get this party started.”

Present Mic cuts in. “After fifteen minutes to pick teammates and talk strategy. Twelve cavalry teams are preparing to go head-to-head!”

Aizawa leans forward examining said teams. “I see some unexpected student combinations.”

Present Mic takes over again to get the crowd pumping! “Come on, everyone get your hands in the air! It’s time for an arena-thumping U.A. battle royal!!”

Izuku tightens his 5,000,360-point headband.

“Let me hear ya scream!!”

The crowd cheers as the competitors line up around the field.

The number one target peers down at his teammates. “You ready?”

At his front, Shinso eyes Izuku before smirking. “Yeah…” 

Izuku nods and turns to the horse on his left. “Asui?”

Tsuyu blinks up at the boy. “I told you to call me Tsu?”

“Jiro?”

Jiro’s Earphone Jacks stand at attention. “I’m good.”

Izuku inhales before declaring with as much enthusiasm as possible. “Let’s do this!!”

He is so grateful that they both willingly sought him out to join his team. And it makes sense why. Tsuyu knows what Izuku is capable of, she’s seen him act on his feet in dire situations before. So, she’s fairly certain in his capabilities here and now.

As for Jiro…it’s more or less the same reasons. That and she just sort of took pity on the boy, especially after hearing what he went through during the Student Pledge. So, she just feels like she should help him out as if to help him get back at those who were wrong about him. Plus, she was all in after hearing Izuku threw together a rather solid plan.

“Okay, all you first-years! I hope you’re happy with your chosen teams!” shouts the boisterous commentator.

Ochaco grips her own headband tightly because if she loses it then she loses a total of 5,000,257 points! She then adjusts the clips of Hatsume’s jetpack before shifting her attention down at her valued teammates. “Are you ready Hatsume?”

From the right-wing, Hatsume chuckles in response.

“And what about you two?”

Itsuka Kendo and Ibara Shiozaki offer up confident grins from the front and left respectively.

“We’re good to go!” cheers Kendo.

Itsuka Kendo has a similar muscular build to Ochaco. She has teal eyes and long, ginger hair that she wears tied into a high ponytail on the left side of her head.

Ibra nods. “Our victory will be assured.”

Ibara Shiozaki has green, thorn-covered vines for hair that rests just above her waist. She carries a certain air of calmness and reason around her, that just seems to make her seem more pleasant to the eye and to be around.

“Let’s get this party started!” declares Present Mic. “One final countdown before the game starts!”

Every single team ready themselves, and nearly each one of them has their eyes trailed on the same targets. 

“Three!”

“Get ‘em.” Bakugou cracks his knuckles from atop Kirishima, Tokoyami, and Mina.

“Two!”

“They’re ours.” states Todoroki from atop his team.

“One!”

Izuku gulps as he places his hand over the Omnitrix and at the same time from the opposite side of the field Ochaco grips her teammates’ shoulders.

Midnight cracks her flogger-like whip. “Begin!!”

Almost every single team takes off and right to two targets worth over five million points.

At the exact same time Izuku disappears in a flashlight, his teammates nearly topple down as more weight pulls them down as Terraspin appears above them with the headband’s strings waving behind his head.

“Woah!! Izuku Midoriya has just transformed himself into a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle!! So rad!!” Present Mic is really geeking out here, he loved that franchise as a kid! So, seeing something similar in the flesh is almost a dream come true!

“Stop geeking out.” Leave it to Aizawa to bring down the moment. 

Tetsutetsu’s team takes the lead during the initial charge.

His front horse, Juzo Honenuki, is at a complete loss. “Woah, did he just transform or something! Is that his Quirk?”

Juzo Honenuki is a pale-skinned young man with mid-length spiked hair of beige color. His most unusual feature is his mouth; he has no lips and as a result his teeth are always on display giving him a skull-like appearance.

Tetsutetsu scowls, never pulling his eyes away from the prize. “It doesn't matter! If Class 1-A’s top student’s Quirk is just to become a turtle, then we’re definitely going to put them down to size!”

They’re not the only ones after Midoriya’s Team, everyone wants a piece of the pie. No, they all want the entire pie, the 5,000,360-point pie.

With no time to waste Terraspin jumps up into the air. “Let’s fly!!”

He immediately begins to hover in place, he then glides down just as Tsuyu wraps her tongue around their teammates and jumps up allowing Terraspin to catch them in midair.

“Team Midoriya’s members have switched positions!”  declares Present Mic.

“What the hell?! That turtle guy can fly?!” shouts Tetsutetsu.

A flying turtle?! How does that make any lick of sense?!

“Is that even allowed?!” yells Juzo as they keep running.

Midnight smirks, licking her lips. “Why of course it is! Changing positions while in the middle of all the intensity keeps things fresh and exciting!!”

Plus, it’s not actually against the rules, and he never touched the ground so it’s all good.

Aizawa is really regretting that he agreed to commentate with these two. “Stop making innuendos. You are aware that children are watching this.”

Terraspin immediately takes off for the sky, leaving behind all the poor suckers who were not blessed with the ability to fly. “Everyone hold on tight!!”

Shinso grips the front of Terraspin’s shell while also laying down. Tsuyu’s natural ability to stick to walls keeps her in place. And Jiro grips Shinso’s shirt as a way to hold on.

Tetsutetsu’s team comes to a halt, their hair gets whipped around as Terraspin flies right over their heads.

Tetsutetsu ducks down until they finally fly high enough away from them. “Hey, get back here!”

Juzo spots something. “Where’s the headband?!”

Tetsutetsu grabs at his head, their headbands missing!! He peers up and spots one of Jiro’s Earphone Jacks pulling itself back to its owner with their team’s headband wrapped around the end.

“DAMMIT!!!” Tetsutetsu is absolutely infuriated, he was so going to show up the Class 1-A jerkwads!

“What’s this?! Team Midoriya is just full of surprises!” Present Mic turns to his co-host. “Yeah!! How about some insight?”

Aizawa complies. “Midoriya’s current form allows him the ability to fly while also generating gusts of wind. Combine that with Jiro’s and Asui’s extendable reaches they make for a dangerous combination.”

Basically they can keep themselves far from danger while also playing an active role in stealing more points. Aizawa can only assume that Midoriya is aware that he will eventually have to land and that when they do there is a chance that they'll lose their five million points. So, having more headbands will help ensure that they stay in the game.

Jiro snags the headband, it seems Midoriya’s plan is working out better than she had thought. “This is so cool.” Jiro grins down as everyone is now trying to follow them on foot, hoping that eventually Midoriya’s team will have to land eventually. “And you can keep this up indefinitely?”

Terraspin sticks his head out and offers a smile “Oh, yeah. I can keep this going for a while.”

Well at least until his ten minutes are up. For now he just wants to observe and keep their own points as safe as they can be.

While he has his head out Tsuyu takes the headband from Jiro and wraps it around as best she can around Terraspin's neck. His neck is so short that it’s tucked inside his shell so it’s even more protected than the one wrapped around his head.

“Don’t think you’re safe just because you can fly!!” shouts Sero from below, as he rides Ojiro and Sato.

The grinning teen fires off a stream of tape that flies through the air right towards Terraspin.

“I don’t think so!” The propelling turtle simply shifts his body and amplifies his air currents, generating a strong enough whirlwind to deflect the tape. “Sorry but taking our points isn’t going to be a breeze for you!”

Tsuyu actually groans. “Midoriya, please stop with the puns.”

“He he, sorry I can’t help it. Blame my transformations.”

Sero’s team continues to run after them. “Ojiro! Sato!”

“Right!”

“We got you!”

Sero positions himself onto Ojiro’s tail and Sato places his hand underneath. Together the two horses use their combined strength to launch Sero right into the air.

Midoriya’s team is in for a surprise as Sero quickly reaches their height.

“Those points are mine!!” Sero fires off twin strands of tape onto the flying turtle’s shell and quickly begins to reel himself in.

“Woah!!” shouts Present Mic. “Sero purposely flung himself away from his horses! Is that against the rules?!”

Midnight’s voice cuts in through the intercom system. “He never touched the ground so technically it’s okay.”

Terraspin tries to swerve around in the air but it’s not working, if he does anything too dramatic, he might just lose his own teammates. “Tsu! Jiro!”

Tsuyu’s tongue lashes out right for Sero whacking him across the head, while its natural stickiness snags the headband. While Jiro’s Earphone Jacks rip through his tape.

With the tape cleared Shinso gives the go ahead. “Move it! Shellhead!”

“Call me Terraspin!” The temporarily named Shellhead snaps as he swerves away from Sero.

“Oh, man.” The falling teen frowns as he shoots a tape to his muscular teammate who grabs it and pulls him in, where they catch him.

He was trying to take points not lose his own.

“Nice try!” jeers Jiro as they fly off.

Even Tsuyu is smiling, gripping the newly acquired headband in her hand. “Midoriya, this plan of yours it’s amazing.”

Terraspin chuckles. “I can’t take all the credit. None of this would have worked out if it weren’t for all of you.”

Jiro and Tsuyu grin, but Shinso looks a bit ashamed that he can’t really do more but hold on.

The morphed Izuku picks up on his sullen silence. “And you have an important job, too. While we’re all busy you need to be our eyes.”

That’s right, because Geochelone Aerios can only see what’s directly in front or below them when they use their abilities. So, Shinso needs to be on his guard to watch their sides and their flank. 

Shinso nods. “You got it. Just try not to get shell-shocked when someone else tries to come after us.”

Terraspin tries to choke back a laugh but fails.

Tsuyu shakes her head. _‘Guh, there’s two of them.’_

Jiro smirks and scans the area; from the other side of the field she can see that they are not the only ones who’ve taken to the sky for safety.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Meanwhile, at the other side of the stadium, at the exact same time as the match began.

Ochaco uses Zero-Gravity on herself, Hatsume, and Ibara as the rest of the opposition make a beeline right for their 5,000,257-point headband. “We got this!”

The other teams are already charging right for them, hoping to secure what they think will be the key to their victory.

“They are not even going to offer up mercy to us. How brazen!” Ibara frowns. “Such is the fate of those that seek those who are persecuted.”

Kendo readies herself; she’ll be the main runner since everyone else is weightless. “This is it.”

Despite the fast approaching enemies, Hatsume is still smiling. “Here they come.”

Ochaco glares as the approaching foes. “Then get ready!”

Before they can enact their plan, a member of Class 1-B fires out a glue-like substance from the many holes on his face.

He is very large and muscular in stature, possessing very wide shoulders in comparison to his slender waist, and unusually sizable hands. His skin is a yellow straw-like color, and his head is shaped somewhat like a glue-dispenser with a lappet on top, along with seven "eye-holes" on his face.

The glue comes flying at them like a gushing wave.

“Shiozaki!” shouts Kendo.

Ibara’s vine-like hair quickly embedded themselves into the ground and before the wave of gunk can strike them a wall of vines shields them, acting as the perfect barrier, blocking the glue.

“Would you look at that!” shouts Present Mic. “Class 1-B’s Shiozaki has successfully stopped her classmate’s attack!” 

Glue drips off of the edges of the vines, slowly seeping through.

“What is that?!” cries Ochaco.

Kendo pulls her team behind her; she enlarges her hands to have a better grip over them as she begins to run away. Her agility really is something. It’s probably on par with Ochaco’s, but Hatsume’s hoversole boots might also be helping along with that.

Even while running she is able to offer up an answer.

“That’s Kejiro Bondo’s Quirk, Cemedine, and it’s essentially a fast-acting glue, so if we get caught in it, we'll be done for!”

“Really?!” shouts Ochaco.

Then it was a good thing Ibara and Kendo acted so quickly.

“Wow, Shiozaki you’re Quirk is really something isn’t it?!”

Ibara smiles up at the rider. “Thank you for the praise. But I’m afraid our battle has only just begun.”

“Hahaha!” cackles a shirtless Hagakure as a blushing Aoyama and Koda carry her forward. “We’ll be taking that headband, Uraraka!”

By his rider’s command, Aoyama fires off a series of laser bolts. 

Without waiting Ibara generates another vine shield.

“Ooo! And Shiozaki’s vine wall has returned for a second showing!! But will it be enough to protect her and her teammates from this onslaught?!”

Ochaco can smell the vines being burned away and the longer they remain behind the vine wall the more surrounded they are becoming. “Hatsume!”

“Yeah?” replies the engineer.

Ochaco gestures to the jetpack. “You sure this is going to work?”

“Of course!” She’s actually offended that Ochaco would think otherwise.

Suddenly before they can do anything else Mineta’s maddening cackle rings out from nowhere. “Hahaha!! Hahaha!!”

Ochaco spins around but she doesn’t see Mineta all she sees is a spring Shoji racing right towards the. He has his arms up behind him acting as a tent for his back. She can only assume that Mineta must be inside.

“This is too easy!” declares the purple shorty. “It’s not a fight! It’s more like a massacre!!”

“Who the hell is that?!” shouts Kendo.

“Language.” snaps Ibara.

A shiver runs down Ochaco’s spine. “It’s Shoji and Mineta!”

Hatsume is actually worried as she peers around at Hagakure’s and Bondo’s teams charging for them. “Hey, we gotta get moving!”

If they stay, they will be trapped by multiple opponents. And their likelihood of winning will go with them.

“We have to get out of here!” yells the brunette of the group.

“I won’t let you!!” shouts Mineta.

Like a gatling gun from within a heavily armored vehicle purple Sticky Balls shoot out from between Shoji’s arms.

Bondo releases another wave of glue from his eyes.

And a flock of birds, under Koda’s control, zip past him, Hagakure, and Aoyama.

Ochaco glares at the oncoming teams and their attacks. “It won’t be that easy!”

She closes her eyes and focuses and before any of the attacks can land a sphere of heavenly pink light booms out, pushing back the attacks, before they all stop and float in midair.

“Oh, no!” cries Hagakure.

Hagakure’s team tries to stop, they recognize that move, but it’s too late. They get swallowed up by the pink light as do the other teams and begin to float up into the air. Their legs flail about as they try in vain to regain traction.

“Hahaha! There it is! Uraraka’s famous Zero-Gravity Field, just look at that thing it’s like a giant dome of dazzling light!”

The crowd erupts into cheers, they can’t get enough of Uraraka’s surprises, they’re totally freaking out.

Kendo is sort of freaking out as well, sure Uraraka said she could manipulate gravity, but she didn’t think it was to this extent.

Ochaco’s voice cuts through the cheering of the crowd. “Kendo!”

Kendo snaps out of it and repositions herself, the hoversoles fire up just as Ochaco fires up the jetpack, and then they are all launched high into the air and away from the danger.

Ibara gazes down as they rise into the air and everything has pink hue to it. “What is this heavenly light?”

From what she can tell the sphere of light seems to be following Ochaco and it stretches about a quarter the width of the whole field. If she were to stray too close to the audience, then she’d most likely affect them too.

“It’s part of my Zero-Gravity Quirk. If I focus, I can unleash it over a big area.”

Kendo shivers with goosebumps. “Sheesh, I knew you had some power in you, but this was totally unexpected.”

As they continue to fly up, Ochaco takes a few seconds to admire the looks of determination and thrill of the teammates that belong to Class 1-B. They have no idea how grateful she is that they joined up with her.

##########(Flashback)#########

“You want to join my team?!”

Kendo isn’t offended by the question; in fact she was kinda expecting it. “Yeah, we do.”

“Um, not that I’m ungrateful or anything, but…why?”

Ibara claps her hands together as if praying. “Your spirit has sung out to us and we wish to put our faith in your capabilities to lead us into victory.”

Ochaco looks to Kendo for translation.

“We saw how you went from zero to a hundred, and we think we actually have the best shot at moving on if we join you.”

Ochaco blushes. “Really?!”

Did she really inspire them with just her performance?! Guess actions do speak louder than words.

“But are you sure? Don’t you want to be with members of your own class?” That’s what everyone else is doing.

“Yeah, we could.” agrees Kendo.

Ibara continues the explanation. “Although that is strategic, there is something to be said by utilizing the best from both groups. Class 1-A is unaware of our Quirks, and Class 1-B will be intimidated by yours.”

Kendo nods. “So, if we use our differences to work together.” She thrusts her fist forward like throwing a punch. “Then we’ll seriously kick some ass!” 

Ochaco smiles, she really likes this girl. She has that older sister type vibe about her, but if you get on her bad side then she can kick your ass easily.

“Well I see no reason to say no so… Welcome to the team.”

Kendo smiles. “Thank you for having us.”

Ibara is grateful too. “We put our faith in you, Ochaco Uraraka.”

########(End Flashback)#######

Ochaco releases her Quirks and the jetpack goes silent when she feels like they’ve reached a good enough height.

Hatsume smiles up at Ochaco. “So, what do you think of my babies? Aren’t they just precious? Cuteness can be manufactured you know!”

Ochaco chuckles, she’s actually starting to find this odd girl somewhat charming in her own strange way. “They’re working just fine! Your babies are really something, Hatsume! I can’t wait to see what you come up with for my own support item.”

“Aw, thanks! And I promise it’ll be one of mine best creations yet!”

And now they use her gadgets to keep them in the air. For as long as they can, they’ll use the jetpack and hoversoles to drift back down to the ground. In the meantime, they can let the other teams duke it out between themselves now that they can’t even reach the five million points.

Heck it seems like Hagakure’s Team has lost their own headband somehow after the pull of gravity returned.

“Yeah!” cheers the humanoid cockatoo. “Watch those headbands! You can even ignore the five million points and go after other chart toppers!”

Ochaco can’t help but smile with the thrill of a challenge making her heart pump. This competition is really starting to heat up. But she better stay on her guard, there’s still quite a bit of this event left. And all it will take is for someone to step in the way of their victory.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Terraspin’s passengers hold on tightly as their ride bobs and weaves in the air, avoiding a pair of incoming projectiles.

After getting away from Sero’s team, another team decided to step up to the plate and challenge them. And it was a girl from Class 1-B.

The girl, Pony Tsunotori, is short, with a round face, and a short equine muzzle. Her face is framed by thick, wavy blonde hair which reaches halfway down her back. Her eyes are very large and round and blue in color. Her calves are notably rounded, shaped similarly to those of a horse, and she has brown hooves for feet. There’s also a short horse tail poking out from the end of her tailbone. But what really stands out is the pair of tall, lyre-shaped pale tan horns on her head.

Which is what she launched at them from the ground level.

“Midoriya's Team isn’t doing too hot! Looks like the skies weren’t as safe as they first thought.” It’s almost comical to the main announcer. “Class 1-B’s Pony Tsunotori is really giving them a hard time and without having to be anywhere near them!” 

From what the morphed Izuku can tell, Pony's Quirk allows her to fire off her horns and control their trajectory. But as of now she’s only controlling two of her horns while another pair has already grown back on her head. He doesn’t want to think how hard of time he’d be having when she eventually figures out how to control more than two at a time.

The horns buzz around Team Midoriya while two of its more long-range members try to bat them out of the sky, with little to no luck.

A horn slips through Jiro’s whipping Earphone Jacks and makes a beeline for her head.

“Ahh!!” she screams out, holding on tighter to Shino’s shirt.

With his teammate’s scream in his ear, Shinso does something unexpected. He leaps forward and catches the flying horn before it can slam into Jiro’s face.

Shinso growls. “Quick, get rid of it!”

Snapping out of her surprise. Jiro pierces the horn with one of her jacks, she sends a high-pitched frequency through it shattering the horn into pieces.

Both sigh in relief as the horn shatters away in the wind.

Shinso leans back onto Terraspin’s back. “That was close.”

“No kidding.” breathes Jiro.

“Don’t get too comfortable.” interrupts Terraspin. “We still got one more.”

The last horn zips around them as if looking for an opening. It finds one and zooms in from the rear.

Tsuyu lashes out at it as does Jiro but they both miss as their individual appendages clash. Actually just as fast as before, Shinso waits and kicks the horn away. The horn gets knocked back and caught in Terraspin's spinning arms where it gets chopped up and batted away.

“Phew.” The morphed Izuku is so glad that’s over.

A resounding boom comes from underneath them. As if to say that his worries are only going to get worse.

Terraspin looks down, his eyes widen with fear. “Bakugou!!”

A very angry Bakugou is rocketing through the air, propelling himself with dual explosions. “Don’t think for a second that you’re safe.”

Tsuyu and Jiro lash out at him, but the flying bomber knocks them away with a swing of his arm.

And all too soon he’s upon them. “I’ve got you!!”

Out of instinct Terraspin positions his body so that his underbelly faces his childhood friend and tormentor.

Bakugou thrusts his arm forward and releases a fiery explosion.

The crowd goes wild over the new development, finally someone is able to challenge Midoriya to a fight. By taking to the sky too!

Terraspin groans, as his underbelly feels like it was just thrown onto a patch of hot coal while his passengers desperately try to hold on for dear life. Tsuyu used her tongue to secure the other two, and Jiro jams her Earphone Jacks into Terraspin’s shell to keep her from falling off. 

“How’d you like that, Deku?!” God, it feels good to put Deku back in his place.

Bakugou throws his arms back and rockets straight for Terraspin.

Shinso scowls. “This guy is like a mad dog.”

Jiro can’t help but agree. “You have no idea. It doesn’t help that he’s had it out for Midoriya for a while now.” Yeah, it’s hard to miss all the death glares Bakugou gives to the greenette on a daily basis.

Terraspin tries to swerve away quickly, but Bakugou’s maneuverability is far more dynamic.

“Die!!” Bakugou sets off another explosion that strikes Terraspin from behind.

“That’s smart. Looks Like Team Midoriya is in a real pickle here! Looks like Bakugou isn’t going to let them go scot free!”

Not satisfied yet, Bakugou flies in to give a little more. “I want that headband, Deku!!”

Shinso has had enough, he didn’t want to use it yet. He was really hoping to save it until the final event where it’ll matter the most but if he wants to even make it to the last event then he has no other choice.

Shinso calls out to Bakugou. “Tell me, why are you so hell bent on Midoriya?!”

Bakugou glares at the indigo-haired teen. “Shut it-...” Bakugou’s eyes gloss over, much like how Ojiro’s were earlier.

Shinso smirks as Bakugou goes quiet and his explosions stop all together, and as expected he immediately begins to plummet back down to the Earth.

“What?! What?! What just happened there?! One second Bakugou is an unrelenting attack dog and then the next second he’s just gives up?!”

Aizawa sighs. “There’s a little more to it than that.”

The silent and clearly out-of-it Bakugou continues to plummet but the sentient Dark Shadow zooms in from below and catches the ash-blonde. “Got ya!”

Upon impact Bakugou snaps out of his daze, while Dark Shadow carries him back down to his team. “Huh? What the hell happened?”

“Don’t know?” replies Dark Shadow. “You were attacking Midoriya and then the next thing we know you’re falling.”

“What?!” Bakugou tries to recall what just happened, he was stupefied for a brief moment back up there. It couldn’t have been Deku’s goddamned Quirk, and the other two can’t pull off something like that. So, it had to be that fucking extra’s fault. His Quirk must have made him freeze up somehow. Dammit, with him on Deku’s team he won't be able to get anywhere near the five million headband.

Dark Shadow carries Bakugou back to his team.

“Nice catch, guys!” praises Kirishima upon Bakugou’s return.

Dark Shadow drops the bomber onto their hands and gives a big thumbs up. “It wasn’t a problem.” 

“Shut up!” snaps an ungrateful Bakugou. “I was fine on my own!”

“You really weren’t…” murmurs Mina. 

Tokoyami appears to be unaffected by Bakugou’s tantrum. “Is that so, next time I will be sure not to interfere.”

Bakugou growls and glares at the crow-headed teen, not appreciating his sarcasm.

Meanwhile, Terraspin flies off and goes just a tad bit higher to ensure that Bakugou isn’t going to assault them any time soon.

Jiro looks back as Bakugou is safely returned to his team. “What was that?”

Tsuyu peers down at Shinso, who’s gone offlay quiet for some reason. “Was that you? Was that your Quirk?”

Shinso eyes her warily, but he doesn’t respond as he considers whether or not to divulge the knowledge of his Quirk to them. “Yeah…it was.” He winces, bracing himself for possible scorn. 

“Amazing!” shouts an overly enthusiastic Terraspin with sparkling eyes. “So, is your Quirk activated through speech?”

Shinso jolts up, he wasn’t expecting them to figure it out that quickly. “Y-yeah…”

“So, cool! What else can you do?”

Shinso becomes quiet again, he’s hesitant to answer. “I rather not say…”

The other members of his team frown, they can tell that something’s bothering him. Like he’s worried, not about the competition, but about something more personal.

“Aw, man…” sighs Terraspin. “I love learning about a new Quirk. You sure you don’t want to share?”

“Sorry, but you’ll just have to wait and see.” Maybe Shinso can dilute a little. “Just know that it only activates when I speak.”

Jiro grins. “Cool, just don’t use it against us, alright?”

She meant it as a joke but judging from Shinso’s frozen expression he doesn’t feel the same way.

Jiro frowns, she didn’t want to upset him. “Hey, it was a joke. You understand, that right?”

“Yeah, sure…”

Terraspin can tell that something's eating his teammate, the teammate that he can relate to the most. “Quirks are what you make of them, not what others think of them.”

Shinso and the others remain silent as Terraspin continues.

“All Might often said that in interviews and take it from a guy that can turn into monsters.” Well-aliens but still. “Quirks are what you make of them, not what others think of them.”

The team continues to soar in the air for a minute until Shinso finally speaks up. “Brainwashing.”

“Huh?”

“Brainwashing is the name of my Quirk. I can make others do whatever I want as long as they respond to me verbally.”

“Woah…” Jiro and Tsuyu are completely blown away, who knew a Quirk like that was on their team?

Shinso winces bracing himself for the indefinite hurtful comments and scorn. Good thing he’s with someone that’s far too sympathetic to others.

“That’s absolutely amazing!!”

He was not expecting that reaction.

Terraspin’s head pops out so he can try and awe at Shinso himself. “You can be an amazing hero with a Quirk like that!!”

Shinso’s entire demeanor lightens up, but he’s still in disbelief as if he’s dreaming. “Are…are you serious?”

“Huh?! Of course I am! You can stop hostage situations, calm down panicking victims, and even have villains arrest themselves!! And all with a few words! How can I not be amazed?!”

Shinso’s looks like he’s about to cry like he wants to believe Midoriya’s words, but he’s not naive. He knows that if he gets his hopes up, he’s only going to get burned…again.

Tsuyu nods. “That’s true…huh now I can see why you couldn’t get past the Entrance Exam. What a waste.”

“Wh-what?” Shinso blinks up at her.

Jiro agrees. “You’re Quirk only works on living things, right? Otherwise you’d have scored way higher on the Entrance Exam if we fought faux villains that were alive and not non-living machines.”

Are they serious right now?! This is not what the Brainwashing student was expecting at all. “That's right. I was essentially set up to fail from the start.”

“And that’s why you need to do well in the Sports Festival.” adds Terraspin.

Shinso leers down at the turtle. “Yes, I need to prove myself. And that my Quirk can be used for hero work…so that I can be a hero.” 

Terraspin smiles. “Then let’s make it happen.”

“Pardon?”

Tsuyu adjusts herself so she can look Shinso in the eye. “Don’t you get it? You’ve just become our team's secret weapon. Kero.”

Jiro nods. “She’s right. And with our combined powers we can definitely make it to the next round.”

Shinso still can’t believe what he’s hearing, or rather what he’s not hearing. Usually when people find out about his Quirk, they are usually so quick to say that it’s a villain’s Quirk or that he can use it to do and take whatever he likes. But that was never him, never the purpose of his Quirk. And now he’s being told by real people, people he scorned himself, that his Quirk is amazing and fitting of a hero. And now…now they want to work with him to win this whole thing.

He smirks. “You Hero Course students are really something aren't you?”

Terraspin chuckles. “You can say that. Now how about we win this whole thing?”

“Sure, why not?”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Back in the pro hero break room, the pro heroes are gathered around the television watching Midoriya and his team fly through the air.

“As expected, everybody is after the first-place teams!” announces Present Mic. “But both teams have taken to the sky for safety giving them each some much needed time to breath. Clever, ain’t it?”

Kamui Woods smiles from underneath his helmet. “Those two really are something?” Damn, if only he and the others cooperated with them, they could have been on good standing when they send them scouting offers.

Death Arms grins. “Wow, those Class 1-A guys are pretty good.”

Each one of them is unique with their own flashy Quirks. Hell those in the stands are starting to have a hard time about which ones they should watch.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

The aliens in Mr. Baumann’s store are going crazy. Class 1-A is really putting on a good show.

“Amazing!!”

“Way to go Midoriya! Way to go Uraraka!”

“The rest of their class isn’t too bad either.”

“Looks like the experience fighting villains made them level up superfast.”

Argit scowls. “Psh, they probably just got lucky and now full of themselves for livin’.”

“Na, they’re amazing!”

“Oh-boy! I can’t wait for the final event. It’s going to be epic!”

“Either way Class 1-A is doing an amazing job.

Mr. Baumann frowns at the screen. “I’m not so sure about that…” 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Back at the stadium the event has just reached its half-way point so Present Mic decides that it’s as good a time as any to check on the current rankings.

“Now who wants to take a look at each team’s points so far? So, let’s get those rankings thrown up on the screen!”

Everyone, heroes and civilians alike stare at their screens with the same assumptions: Class 1-A is in the lead. But what they see instead is far from what they could have expected.

The audience collectively gasps at the sight.

Not even Present Mic, or Aizawa, was expecting this. “Hold on here. This is an unexpected turn.”

As Present Mic’s voice echoes across the stadium, Bakugou can feel his headband being ripped away from his head.

“Other than Midoriya and Uraraka, Class 1-A’s not doing so hot.”

The member of Class 1-B that stole Bakugou’s points smirks.

“Even Bakugou is losing!” He currently stands at zero points!

Bakugou gasps, wheels around as a smirking blonde passes them by while on his own team.

The blonde smirks at Bakugou’s surprised expression. “Your class is too small minded. Think bigger.”

Mina gasps. “He got us!”

Her gasp is drowned out by Bakugou’s own outburst. “What did you say?! Come back here!”

The blond isn't even afraid as his team slows down allowing him a moment to rub the win in Class 1-A’s face. Around his neck he wears not only his own team’s headband but also Hagakure’s.

“Midnight said the Obstacle Course was just the first game and we figured they wouldn’t cut that many of us right off the bat. Would they?” The blonde, Neito Monoma, smirks back at Bakugou.

Monoma has slick blond hair that’s parted to the left. His irises are a periwinkle purple, and his pupils are white. His smirk fits comfortably on his face as if it’s part of his signature look making him look contemptuous.

Bakugou isn’t sure where this guy is going with his stupid rambling.

“Assuming they’d keep at least forty contestants for the next event, all we had to do was make sure we stayed within that group as we ran.”

And from there they watched how Class 1-A used their powers and abilities to clear the way throughout the event.

“From our spots in the middle ranks we could fully observe the Quirks our rivals had and judge their capabilities.”

Although Midoriya was the exception to that rule since they didn’t really get to see him in action.

But he doesn’t matter right now, what matters is putting Class 1-A in their place, mainly by putting down the one that is the most bloodthirsty for victory. “Only a fool would obsess over winning the preliminary rounds, wouldn’t you agree?”

Bakugou scowls, he gets it now. “You planned this as a class?”

Monoma chuckles. “It wasn’t totally unanimous. Hell some of my classmates have completely ignored our little rivalry.”

But even with those two traitors, the plan is still going over fairly well. Midoriya looked like he was really struggling to get away from Tsunotori’s flying horns. But that’s just proof that they’re strategy is working. Because Class 1-A has no info on any of their own Quirks. And often in long-term battles, those with the most knowledge win the war.

“It’s better than chasing after a temporary frontrunner like a horse with a carrot waving in his face.”

Okay showing how smart you are in one thing, but directly insulting Bakugou was just a stupid idea.

Monoma is completely oblivious to the spark he just set off as he continues to mock Bakugou. “You know it’s funny. Midoriya said he was the one to beat, but in truth it was really Class 1-B you had to look out for the whole time. Talk about irony, huh?”

Bakugou is really starting to get angry, more than usual somehow.

Monoma isn’t done yet. He’s absolutely enjoying the furious expression on Bakugou’s face. “Oh, while I have your attention. You’re kinda infamous, aren’t you? For surviving the attack by a sludge villain.” His smirk somehow becomes even more condescending. “You’ll have to tell me about it sometime.”

Bakugou is shaking with rage, his eye twitches as he glares daggers at the egotistical jerkwad.

“It must be strange to always find yourself in the role of the victim.” First the sludge victim and then the League of Villains. “I thought heroes were supposed to be able to save themselves, not the other way around.” 

And that…was the final straw.

“Kirishima, we have a change of plans.” Bakugou’s voice is burning with a silent rage that’s waiting to show itself at the right time.

Kirishima looks back at his rider and his face is absolutely terrifying as Bakugou radiates an inferno of rage around himself. The others feel it too becoming slightly concerned with their own safety.

Mina and Kirishima whimper in fright as Bakugou’s dark and raging aura dances around him. They would have never figured that his anger could get to this point.

Bakugou’s eyes flash red like he’s been possessed by a chaotic demon. “Before we take down Deku. We’re going to kill every last one of these B-list idiots!”

Monoma smirks once again unaware of how much he’s going to regret picking a fight with Bakugou.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Ochaco’s team lands again onto the field before they take off in a full sprint. They’ve been keeping with the same strategy, run for as long as they can and use Ibara’s vines to block attacks. And when things begin to get too hairy, they take to the sky to put distance between themselves and the other teams. But because both her team and Deku’s have decided to fly around, the other teams have now begun to target each other, seeing the two of them as impossible to catch.

Ochaco smiles with relief. “Everyone, I think we’re going to be okay.”

She may have spoken too soon as a new team intercepts their path.

Kendo hits the breaks bringing them to a sharp stop.

Standing before them is Todoroki’s Team and their leader has a very intense and determined look in his eye.

Not even Present Mic’s voice can cut through the intensity. “And now we’ve reached the halfway point of the game!”

Ochaco glares right back at Todoroki with the same amount of intensity. “I guess the funs not over yet.”

The crowd’s cheers ring out throughout the stadium, but none of their cheers reach the two opposing sides.

“As the cavalry battle enters its second half it’s still anyone’s game!”

How true as other teams begin to lose their headbands to each other.

“Class 1-B has made an unexpected showing, but who will wear the five million points in the end? That’s the real question, sports fans!” 

Todoroki and Ochaco continue to square off as they wait for the right moment to strike.

Todoroki makes the first move in the form of a declaration. “I’ll be taking that, now.”

Meanwhile, not too far from their position Mineta and Shoji spot the two foes squaring off and distracted.

“This is our chance.” cackles Mineta. “Shoji! Full-on attack mode!!”

Shoji’s arms rip away from each other and burst forward like huge bat wings with a multitude of arms and hands at the ends. And with no second to waste he takes off, sprinting right for the two leads.

Mineta shouts. “We’ll use all our power to steal the points from those two teams!”

They are not the only ones with the same idea as other teams charge in from all sides.

In the meantime, Kendo steps back a bit wary of the new challengers. “He really seems to have it out for ya, Uraraka. What’s with that?”

Ochaco doesn't move her eyes away from her opponent. “Pride.”

Kendo wants to request that she give a little more detail but it’s not really the time for that. “Well we can’t stop now. The event’s nearly over!”

Ochaco looks down at Kendo and nods in agreement.

In that brief moment when she looks away, Todoroki takes command of the situation. “Now, Iida. Forward!”

“Right!” Iida’s engines come to live and hot steam shoots backward, launching Iida’s legs forward.

The team leader addresses his left-horse. “Yaoyorozu. Be ready to protect us.”

“On it!” Immediately Yaoyorozu begins to manifest several items from her bare arm and belly.

Todoroki calls out his final teammate. “Kaminari-”

“Oh, I know what I gotta do.” interrupts the grinning blonde.

Ochaco grimaces the situation is getting dire as other teams are beginning to surround them. “Careful! They’re coming from all sides!”

Sparks fly off of Kaminari as they race towards the five million points. “I hope you made something strong, Yaoyorozu!” That’s the only warning he gives.

Todoroki grabs a blanket from the girl while she in turn stabs a rod-like structure into the ground, while they are still in motion.

“Indiscriminate Shock: 1.3 MILLION VOLTS!!!” Kaminari discharges his stored electricity, the bright burning energy dances and foods the surrounding area.

Ochaco flinches as does most of her team, but the ever calm Ibara thrusts her vines into the ground and a wall of greenery shields them from Kaminari’s attack. But not everyone is as lucky as they are.

All the other teams that went charging in, from Classes 1-A and 1-B, are treated to a special kind of shock treatment making them howl in pain as their body’s freeze up from the powerful jolts.

“Dammit, Kaminari!!” shouts Mineta between all the pain.

Soon the electrical boy shuts off his Quirk allowing Todoroki to ditch the insulated sheet.

Todoroki’s right hand begins to freeze up. “It’s time to make a move!” He grabs the rod-like structure on Yaoyorozu’s arm and uses it to direct his ice downward into the ground.

The ice flows down the staff, over the ground, and all before encasing the other teams’ feet, effectively locking them in place.

“Sorry, but there’s no other way.”

The teams struggle to pry themselves out of the ice, but it’s just too strong.

Present Mic is just as surprised by the move as they are. “Will you look at that! He’s stopped all those teams cold in their tracks!”

Aizawa has something to add about that. “But only after Kaminari had immobilized the students using his electricity.” Aizawa recalls how Todoroki froze many of the students at the beginning of the last event. “In the Obstacle Course, he was surprised by how many people avoided his attack.” In other words. “He’s adapting his strategy.”

Present Mic gives his friend a thumbs up. “Nice commentary.”

Back down on the field Todoroki raises his arm up as he passes by the last frozen team. “I might as well take these.” In his hand are a couple of headbands.

“Get back here!!”

“What mine too?!”

“Damn you, Todoroki!”

The dual-haired teen ignores them as large icicles burst out of the ground behind him.

Ochaco’s team backpedals quickly while Ochaco tries to fire off the jetpack, but instead of it starting up it gives a weak puff before breaking down. “The jetpack’s stopped working!”

Hatsume is devastated by the news. “Baby! Guess it needs some upgrades…”

Kendo tries to use the hoversoles while pushing back on her team, but it’s not enough, Iida is just too fast. “We can’t get away!”

“Allow me to disperse them!” Ibara’s hair lashes out as one moving appendage right for their pursuers, but she unknowingly aims for Todoroki’s right side.

“No wait!!”

Ochaco’s warning comes too late as Todoroki throws his hand forward and ice rushes through the vines freezing them in ice.

Ibara gaps as the ice encroaches quickly towards her and her team.

To Ochaco it’s almost as if everything is in slow motion while her mind works into overdrive. She can’t allow his ice to make contact with them. Otherwise it’ll all be over. She needs a pla-NO she needs to act!

As the ice is nearly upon Ibara, Ochaco throws her arm down as a pink hue surrounds it. With One For All boosting her strength, her arm chops right through Ibara’s vine mere inches away from the oncoming ice.

With the frozen vines still in his grasp Todoroki gets pulled down by the sudden weight, slowing his team down slightly.

Kendo makes use of the opportunity to put as much distance as she can between them all.

Ibara examines her hair with regret, it’s up to her shoulders, which is way less than what she had before. She looks up at Ochaco who’s holding her aching and red-colored arm. “Dear Uraraka, what did you do just now?”

Ochaco winces as she braces her delicate arm. “It's an aspect of my Quirk that gives me a boost of strength!”

And hurts her in the process. She takes note of her injured arm and figures that she still needs to control the output of One For All. It also hits home that she may have gotten lucky during the last stretch of the Obstacle Course. Otherwise who knows what would have happened.

“Are you for real?!” shouts a disbelieving Kendo. “I thought your Quirk was Zero-Gravity!”

“It is!” defends Ochaco. “But this is new, I’m still figuring it out!” That’s true at least. “Gah!”

Her team comes to an abrupt stop. She spins around and sees that they’ve been backed against the playing field’s end, one step backwards and they’ll be disqualified.

Present Mic’s voice cuts through all the tension. “Team Uraraka has nowhere left to run.”

Ochaco scowls about how true that statement is. Not only is the jetpack kaput, but Todoroki has cut them off from the rest of the field.

Ice rushes around them from both sides creating a large jagged glacier, trapping the two teams inside. The circular glacier is so vast that it’ll definitely keep other teams out while also creating a miniature stadium for the two teams to fight it out.

With little chance to escape Team Todoroki makes a final run at them.

“What do we do?” cries Hatsume.

Kendo doesn’t take her eyes off their opponents. “What about your Zero-Gravity Field? Or that move you pulled earlier?”

Ochaco shakes her head. “Zero-Gravity isn’t that reliable.” Especially under these circumstances, if she uses it now, she may just push her own team out of bounds. Plus the hoversoles aren’t meant to fly them up but to help them land and move on the ground, so it just adds to the risk. “Also, if I use the same move again, I’ll just be putting myself out of the game.” Ochaco gestures to her red left arm.

Kendo swallows her spit with worry. “Then…what now?”

She has no idea. They can pray for a miracle… Or they can make one.

“I don’t know…but I’m not going to take this lying down!”

That’s right, if she wants to survive against Todoroki then she needs to take action.

Ochaco glares with determination as Todoroki and his team continue to charge forward. And that’s when her eyes land on Todoroki’s left side…the side that he outright said he would not be using today.

All Might’s successor gives a sly smirk as an idea pops into her head.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Kirishima, we have a change of plans.” Bakugou’s voice is burning with a silent rage that’s waiting to show itself at the right time.

Kirishima looks back at his rider and his face is absolutely terrifying as Bakugou radiates an inferno of rage around himself. The others feel it too becoming slightly concerned with their own safety.

Mina and Kirishima whimper in fright as Bakugou’s dark and raging aura dances around him. They would have never figured that his ager could get to this point.

Bakugou’s eyes flash red like he’s been possessed by a chaotic demon. “Before we take down Deku. We’re going to kill every last one of these B-list idiots!”

Monoma smirks once again unaware of how much he’s going to regret picking a fight with Bakugou.

“Monoma.” One of Monoma’s teammates actually has some sense of self-preservation. “Don’t provoke him, man. That’s the kinda thing he would do.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Monoma throws his hands out to the side with full sarcasm. “It’s not very heroic of me.” He gives a dark smirk back towards his target of ridicule. “Besides, you know how these things work. Heroes are always being hounded by moronic villains desperate for some kind of revenge.”

Bakugou is shaking with rage, so much so that his horses are getting rather concerned.

“Calm yourself, Bakugou.” states the ever calm Tokoyami.

Kirishima very much agrees with that statement. “Yeah, you’ve gotta keep a level head or we’ll never get our points back!”

“Shut up!” Shouts Bakugou as he slams his fist against his palm, they flare up as they smash together. “I’ve never been calmer.” His voice is deadly calm, like he knows screaming isn’t going to help his case. “Can’t you tell? Now get after them, Kirishima!” There’s a maddeningly evil grin on his face that should belong to a villain, not a hero.

“Please, don’t make us regret this.”

And with that Team Bakugou takes off after Monoma who is staying rather composed even with Bakugou screaming his head off.

“You think you’re tough?!” Bakugou throws his arm forward fully intending to put this bastard in their place. “Die!!”

The smirking Monoma calmly shifts his head to the side while brushing his palm against Bakugou’s arm as his explosive hand misses and his team runs on by.

Bakugou is absolutely thrown for the loop. _‘How in the hell was he able to dodge that?!’_

He snarls, spinning around to try again but he’s in for a surprise when Monoma’s palm reaches towards his face and then… Boom. Monoma’s hand sets off a rather small explosion right into Bakugou’s face.

Monoma grins excitedly. “Huh. Wow. I see why you like this Quirk!”

As Bakugou reels back from the Explosion, Monoma throws his hand down, brushing his fingers against Kirishima’s forehead.

Bakugou shakes off the attack. “My power…” 

Kirishima seems to be in a more state of shock than his leader is. “Whoa, weird! That guy has your Quirk!”

Bakugou snarls, no way is he going to be shown up! He swings his arm at Monoma. “Damn it!!” As his hand slams into Monoma he releases a fiery detonation that envelops Monoma in smoke and heat.

However, there is no sound of pain or scream from within the attack, instead Monoma sounds like it wasn’t a bother at all. “You both have impressive powers.” The smoke clears revealing that the left side of his body has hardened up like a rock. “But I think you’ll agree mine’s better.”

Now Bakugou is surprised so much so that he actually gasps in shock. 

Kirishima and the others are just as stunned. “Huh? What? Mine, too?”

Mina frowns with worry. “His Quirk….is it like Midoriya’s?” Does he have access to several Quirks or something? 

“No.” replies Bakugou, gaining his team’s attention. “That bastard. His Quirk. He can copy other powers.”

Monoma chuckles. “Very good.” He can copy the Quirks of those he touches, but only for five minutes or so, and one at a time. “So even an idiot could figure it out.”

Bakugou is really getting tired of this bastard’s bullshit, but before he can make a move Bondo and his team appear, and the big lug spews out a steam of glue between Bakugou’s and Monoma’s teams.

Monoma smiles at his approaching classmates. “Nice one. Thanks for the backup, Bondo.”

Monoma’s teammate interrupts. “Monoma! If we keep those headbands, we’re good. As long as no one gets near us we’ll make our class proud.” With that Team Monoma begins to turn and run off away from Bakugou.

Bakugou scowls as Monoma runs away from their fight. “Stop ‘em!”

“It’s too sticky! Crap!” Looking down they notice that Kirishima’s leg has been ensnared by Bondo’s glue. “I can’t move!”

Mina presses her foot against the glue and acid begins to pour out from the soles of her shoes, melting away the glue. “No prob!” Steam rises as the glue begins to melt away.

Tokoyami observes how far Team Monoma already is. “Try to be quick about it. The longer it takes the longer we sit with zero points.”

Monoma must have heard that because he turns around and waves mockingly at Bakugou. “Oh, no hard feelings, right?” He sets off a pop of Bakugou’s Explosion. “If it makes you feel better, I’ll definitely be the one to take out Midoriya. After all, he’s **the one to beat**.” He really doesn’t know when to shut his trap, does he?

Bakugou grins with a combination of rage and excitement, like he knows exactly how he’ll make the fucker pay. _‘This isn’t over. I’m still gonna come out on top. And I won’t just make it to first place, I’ll be the undeniable champion.’_

As they move away from Bakugou and the other teams, Monoma checks out the scoreboard and sees that their team has a total of 1,095 points. “Third place. We’ve done pretty well for ourselves. Sure if we can take a few more points, but I think we can let the clock run out.”

Bakugou’s voice rings out from behind them. “Losers! Get back here!”

Monoma groans, what’s the use of yelling when he can’t even catch them? “Doesn’t he ever give up? Knowing you’ve been bested is an important part of being a hero.”

That is bullshit and Bakugou is going to show this bastard why.

Firstly, he blasts himself away from his team, charging in from overhead towards Monoma and his headbands, which are all wrapped around his neck.

Kirishima calls after his team leader. “Hey, don’t just fly off on your own!”

Monoma is actually surprised and worried now. “Tsuburba! Stop him!”

Monoma’s front horse inhales and then blows his breath out and a glass-like shield appears in midair. Unable to stop, Bakugou slams into the shield, but he quickly grips the sides of it to prevent himself from falling and being disqualified. 

Tsuburaba grins at the results. “Alright!”

Kosei Tsuburaba is nothing too unique compared to those in either class. He has spiky short brown-hair and oval-shaped eyes with large pupils.

Bakugou pounds his fist against the Solid Air but it’s not making a dent.

“Ha ha.” laughs Tsuburaba as their team turns away. “You look pretty stupid fighting with air.”

He should have kept his mouth shut too, because that gives Bakugou the drive to smash right through the air shield like it was glass. The ash-blonde grips the headbands.

Monoma only has less than a second to react, he grips the headband as Bakugou rips his hand away taking with him two of Monoma’ headbands.

“Crap, he snatched some of ‘em!”

The crowd roars, they are thrilled to see someone like Bakugou display his fighting spirit.

Bakugou leaps backward before Monoma can retaliate and Tokoyami’s Dark Shadow manages to catch the mad bomber.

“Let go of me, Bird Stand!”

Dark Shadow smiles, “Na, I want to join in.”

“Huh?!”

“Bakugou!” calls Tokoyami as the rest of his team try to catch up. “Don’t forget. You’re not the only one that wants to win this!”

And that is the fucking truth.

Bakugou grins, proud of his choice for minions. “Then let’s tear these assholes a new one. We’re going to be the indisputable champions of the game!!”

“Aye aye!” replies Dark Shadow.

Bakugou’s team charges forward with Dark Shadow way ahead of them with a grinning Bakugou in its claws.

“They’re coming!” cries Tsuburaba.

Team Monoma tries to run as fast as they can while using Monoma’s Copy and Tsuburaba’s Solid Air to defend from other teams.

“Not to worry!” Monoma grips the 655-point headband as if his life depends on it. “If we defend this one to the death and take a few more we’ll be able to move forward.”

Aizawa smiles from underneath his heavily bandaged face. “Now look at this. Class 1-B’s strategy was a reasonable one. But there’s one thing they never bothered to consider.”

Bakugou adjusts himself in Dark Shadow’s grip. “Bird Stand, get me in close!”

“Right!” Dark Shadow rushes forward like a black and winding rollercoaster.

While Bakugou is flown through the air, Toshinori watches the display of pride and determination with sheer amazement. ‘ _Young Bakugou. You understand something crucial, a truth no one had to teach you.’_ He watches as Dark Shadow pulls Bakugou back like it’s going to throw him like a baseball. _‘That there’s a difference between those who aim for the top, and those who will settle.’_ Dark Shadow throws Bakugou, its arm stretching and pushing Bakugou forward to give him more speed. _‘And that difference matters.’_

Aizawa finishes his thought at the same time. “Class 1-B didn’t take into account Bakugou’s overwhelming tenacity.”

Tsuburaba puts up one of the biggest Solid Air shields that he can muster, but it’s nothing compared to Bakugou’s own will power and rage.

The mad bomber throws his hand out, unleashing a fiery demise that completely obliterates the pathetic excuse for a shield, snagging his points right off the bastard's neck.

Present Mic and the entire stadium cheers. “Bakugou is a merciless force! A point hog! That was a shield break heard ‘round that arena! And I can’t wait to watch the replay!!”

Dark Shadow grabs Bakugou and carries him back to his team who are grinning just as widely as their leader is. “Now! We’re going after Deku!!”

Bakugou looks upward and spots the turtle-looking Deku flying towards the opposite end of the field where Todoroki’s ice is.

Team Bakugou turns to head right on over there, seeing no point in arguing with Bakugou anymore. However other teams have already diverted their attention towards them, intercepting and blocking his path.

Tokoyami frowns as Dark Shadow snakes around them acting like a living shield that’s ready to deflect any attacks. “It appears none of them are going to let us through that easily.”

“Fine then.” Bakugou grins excitedly. “Then we’ll tear right through them too.” They’ll all be a warm up for when he destroys Deku!

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Kendo swallows her spit with worry. “Then…what now?”

She has no idea. They can pray for a miracle… Or they can make one.

“I don’t know…but I’m not going to take this lying down!”

That’s right, if she wants to survive against Todoroki then she needs to take action.

Ochaco glares with determination as Todoroki and his team continue to charge forward. And that’s when her eyes land on Todoroki’s left side…the side that he outright said he would not be using today.

All Might’s successor gives a sly smirk as an idea pops into her head. Even though that in a few short minutes the enemy will be upon them…or so they think. 

“In coming!!”

Iida comes to a screeching halt, his feet skidding across the dirt before Terraspin cuts his way between the two teams, drawing a line in the sand with his propelling blades as he flies past them.

Terraspin circles around before stopping and leaning back. His team jumps down to the ground with Shinso in front all before Izuku turns back to normal and lands on their linked hands.

Izuku smirks. “Sorry for cutting in, but I hate feeling left out.”

Shinso chuckles. “Nailed it.” He’s so glad he recommended that line.

Tsuyu just shakes her head in disapproval.

Todoroki is astonished to have Izuku willingly throw himself at them, and while he’s distracted Ochaco guides her team to a safer position. Thankfully Present Mic’s booming voice provides the right amount of cover.

“After Todoroki put so much thought and effort into getting some alone time with the item of his attention, Midoriya swoops in interrupting the fun and is now their third wheel!” Present Mic laughs at his own joke.

Aizawa deadpans. “You’ve been hanging out with Midnight for too long.”

“But seriously why’d he bother transforming back now? I thought he’d be flying around the rest of the game.”

At that moment Aizawa decides to indulge that very answer. “Midoriya’s Quirk can only last for ten minutes and he has to wait another ten minutes before he can transform back.”

“Now that’s inconvenient!”

Inconvenient for Izuku perhaps, but for Todoroki it’s the most convenient thing to happen to him all day.

Todoroki’s team adjust themselves so that their leader can properly use the right side of his Quirk. “I wanted to save you for last, but if you’re just going to trap yourself then so be it!” He’s about to grip the staff but the look Midoriya’s teammate is giving him makes him hesitate.

Shinso smirks maniacally. “What’s the matter? Aren’t you going to attack?”

Todoroki is hesitating and for good reason: that guy looks so calm like he wants him to attack, even Midoriya is smirking like he knows something that Todoroki doesn’t, hell his team isn’t even moving like they think they’ll be safe if he strikes at them.

Shinso eggs him on some more. “What’s the matter? Feel free to attack, we won’t even move.”

Iida doesn’t like the look of them either. “Todoroki what do we do?”

Todoroki scowls before checking on Uraraka. Her and her team have moved away from the edge of the field and have now positioned themselves to Todoroki’s left, and away from his ice Quirk.

Yaoyorozu’s eyes switch between the two teams. “This isn’t good. We’re the ones who are trapped.”

Izuku smirks, happy to hear that their bluff is working. He and his team watched as Class 1-B took on Bakugou and their other classmates, and now that they are reaching the end the others are getting more desperate for points. But in here, they have a better chance of winning and moving on to the next event. Their main plan is for Shinso to act as a red herring by instigating Todoroki who is far to level minded to carelessly attack anyone. And that’s what they’re banking on, that Todoroki will think that Shinso’s Quirk can somehow counter his ice. Of course to pull this off the rest of them have to act as calmly as possible as if they have nothing to worry about, Tsuyu is unsurprisingly good at that actually.

Besides this place offers some other benefits, sure it puts them with some of the most powerful competitors but if they lose their points in here then they will have a better chance of recovering said points then out there where it will undoubtedly be a feeding frenzy.

And this is working out so much better than he could have hoped, Todoroki looks flustered. He wants to go after Izuku but there’s just one issue.

 _‘That guy…he’s from General Studies, right?’_ Todoroki eyes Shinso. _‘Dammit, I have no idea what his Quirk is. For all I know it can counter my ice or any of the other’s Quirks.’_ And then there’s Uraraka to consider.

 _‘She’s staying to my left side. That’s her strategy. From this position if I try to freeze them, I’ll hit Iida.’_ Sure he could redirect himself to go after Uraraka, but he can tell that she’s using his own promise to himself as his own weakness. She’s trying to keep her team on his left side, the side he promised that he’d never use. _‘Damn her!’_

And if he readjusts himself to go after her, there’s nothing to stop Midoriya and his team from attacking him. And the same is true if he goes after Midoriya.

 _‘Plus, the girl from Class 1-B, with the vines, can defend against Kaminari’s electricity. And for all I know that indigo-haired guy can counter it too…’_ He eyes his two opponents. _‘You bastards.’_

Looks like Yaoyorozu was right. Rather than trapping Uraraka in a cage, he ended up trapping himself in a cage with two powerful foes.

And so they stay there, each team gauging each other for an opening. Each one of them wants to win this and they’ll do anything to do it. That said this is not a real two on one fight, Ochaco and Izuku keep sending each other looks like they know that this truce is extremely temporary, because the moment anything happens, then it’s all out on the table. Today they are both **friends and foes**.

This stalemate continues, every now and then someone would cautiously make a move to a new position, but the others would mimic the response. By the time three minutes pass everyone is walking on eggshells, waiting for the inevitable bomb to go off.

It’s then Iida decides that now is the time to take some drastic measures, after all he has something to prove too. “Everyone, we have less than 120 seconds. I’m gonna do something that’ll make me useless to you.”

This takes Todoroki and the others by surprise. “What are you gonna do?”

Iida props his leg forward as his Engines buzz at the ready. “Make sure you get that headband.” His Engines buzz even louder as Iida leans forward. “Brace yourselves. Hold on tight!”

That’s their last warning as blue flames roar out of Iida’s Engines, supercharging them and heating up so much that the metal turns red hot.

“Torque Over!!” Like a missile Iida rockets forward.

Ochaco gasps. “Watch the-”

“RECUPROBURST!!!”

But it’s too late, in a blink of an eye…Iida moved nearly as fast as XLR8 and in that time, Todoroki managed to grab her 5,000,257 headband. 

Iida zooms away before curving to the side and then coming to a halt as his Engines give out. But he was able to put some distance between his team and Ochaco’s but ended up closer to Izuku’s.

Present Mic is in absolute amazement. “Wha-ho-ho!! What just happened?! That was one big blur!”

He’s not the only one who’s in amazement so is the crowd, and Iida’s own teammates.

“Holy smokes, folks! Why didn’t he show off that super speed in the preliminaries?”

Todoroki is still wide eyed over the whole rush of the moment, as he wraps Uraraka’s headband backwards around his neck adding it to his collection. “Iida. What was that?”

Iida is trying to catch his breath, when he’s good does he reply. “Forced my torque and RPM into overdrive, which gave me explosive power.” The ends of his Engines are releasing streams of smoke as he speaks. “Unfortunately, the recoil stalls my engines for a while. It’s a secret move I’ve been saving. No one in the class knew about it.”

And it worked out, because both Ochaco and Izuku are at complete losses here. Izuku only assumed he’d ever see XLR8 move that fast, and Ochaco would have never guessed that he’d move so fast that they’d never get the chance to react.

Iida leers over at them both, before grinning with satisfaction. “I told you…I have something to prove too.”

The crowd loves this new upset, one of the main leaders of the game has finally been toppled after holding onto one of the top spots for so long!

“Insanity!! The entire game was just turned completely on its head! Todoroki’s team has five million points and Uraraka’s team is suddenly left with nothing at all!”

“We have to get them!” screams Ochaco.

“But his ice!” points out Ibara, her hair has grown back to its normal length.

“Let’s go!” Ochaco shakes her head in frustration. She can’t lose, not here! “We’ll get our points back! I know it!”

Kendo scowls at Todoroki. “Okay! We’ll put our trust in you.” She charges forward, the hoversoles giving her a much-needed boost.

Izuku has a similar idea. “Let’s go!”

“Right!” His team doesn’t even hesitate, Izuku has been a great leader for them so far, they are not going to question him now.

Izuku is determined to take Todoroki’s headband. _‘If we manage to take his points, then we can eliminate him from the competition here and now!’_ And possibly Uraraka, too.

Izuku and Ochaco are upon Todoroki in mere seconds.

The dual-Quirk user glares at his main opposition, the two top contenders for Class 1-A and possibly U.A. He can feel their determination emanating from their very souls.

As a result he doesn’t even hesitate or register what he does next to defend himself. He thrusts his left arm forward, igniting with flames, as to use it as a means to drive off his attackers.

Ochaco throws her hand out just as One For All flows through it giving it it’s signature pink hue. She didn’t even think about it until her fingers were mere inches away from the dancing flames.

Ochaco swings her arm to the side, extinguishing Todoroki’s flames and throwing his arm away, leaving him wide open to attack.

Todoroki internally gasps, not because of Ochaco’s attack, but because of his own. _‘My left side. What am I doing?!’_

He should really be paying attention to the real issue of the matter.

Ochaco briefly examines her hand, how it’s not injured, normally she’d be thrilled but now is not the time.

Izuku is upon Todoroki as well. And noticed how Todoroki has turned the bands around to hide their point value. Ochaco realizes this too, but they have no choice. Both latch onto a different headband, praying that it’s the five million points.

“I got it!” they both cry out as their teams race on by.

Izuku grins before checking the headband. “What?1! It’s not it!” It’s sure isn’t it’s instead 205 points.

He wheels around and judging from Ochaco’s devastated reaction, she didn’t get the five million points either.

Yaoyorozu clears it up for them. “We mixed the headbands up. There’s no way we’d leave the prize on top. You both underestimate us.”

The two scowl.

Iida checks on their leader who’s grimacing while glaring at his left arm for having a mind of its own. “Todoroki. Better watch yourself. That was too close!”

“Oh, no!” shouts Present Mic. “Neither Team Midoriya nor Team Uraraka got the points after all that! Is this the end for Team Uraraka?!”

Ochaco gazes at the scoreboard and sees that she only has 125 points.

“The game is almost over!”

Ochaco glares at Todoroki. “It’s not over, we still have a chance!!”

“Right!”

“Of course!”

“We’re with you!”

Team Uraraka charges fully intending to take what is rightfully theirs!! They will be moving on!!

While Team Midoriya watches on. _‘You can do it, Uraraka.’_ Damn, if only he can stop Todoroki here and now if only…if only… He can’t take it, something inside of him snaps, maybe it’s the pressure of the whole competition or the thrill of the challenge, but he knows he can’t let up. Not now! 

“Screw it!!” Izuku screams and desperately slams down on the Omnitrix, hoping in vain that it’ll work despite the lack of recharge time.

To his surprise and to those of his team, Izuku disappears behind a flash of green light. They all nearly topple over as Izuku’s weight miraculously becomes heavier than what it was.

Todoroki gasp as Ochaco’s team pounces at them while he throws the rubber sheet over them. “Kaminari!”

Kaminari unleashes his electrifying Quirk, but black tendrils with golden plugs wrap around Todoroki, binding his arms in place while also absorbing the electricity. “What?!”

“It’s over Todoroki!!” shouts Feedback.

And it is, with nothing to interfere, Ochaco’s team charges forward to claim victory. 

The side of the ice wall is blasted away as Bakugou leaps onto the scene. “Deku!!”

Feedback gasps, but Shinso reacts quickly enough. “Stay back!! Will ya?!”

“Shut-” Bakugou falls silent but Dark Shadow, who was following along, grabs him before he collapses.

Ochaco thrusts her hand out at Todoroki, meanwhile Ibara’s vines lash out in all directions giving them the look of Amazonian warriors out to make a kill through the jungle.

“You won't win!!” Cries Todoroki as he unleashes his ice, the ice courses down Feedback’s tendril but with the boost from Kaminari, he lets electricity to flow through his veins and act as a heater to slow the frozen attack.

While trying to hold up her team leader, Tsuyu lashes her tongue out towards the two clashing teams.

Bakugou, after snapping out of it, notices how everyone is directed on Todoroki and quickly assumes that he has the most points. “Dammit, Ice-Hot!!” He blasts himself right towards the teen.

And that is the current state of things as Ochaco just barely touches a headband, when Present Mic’s voice somehow cuts through all the action. “Time’s up!!”

Everyone freezes in place, even Bakugou somehow defies physics as he just plops unceremoniously to the ground below.

The crowd screams loudly after such a battle.

“And with that, the second round is officially over!”

Ochaco scowls in frustration, She couldn't get the last headband. _‘N-no…’_

Meanwhile, Bakugou’s team run up to check on their leader. “Bakugou!”

Kirishima makes it first. “Are you okay, man?”

Bakugou’s only response is to press his face harder against the ground, screaming his lungs off, while pounding his hand against the field like a child having a tantrum.

Todoroki jumps down off his team as Feedback releases him. “Damn it…” He lost again, to both of them…

Team Midoriya sighs in relief as they can finally let the much heavier and taller teammate down.

Shinso frowns. “Shit, how many transformations do you have?”

“11 and counting.” Replies a grinning Feedback with a thumbs up to boost their ego.

Jiro scowls up at Feedback. “You could have warned us before transforming you know!”

“I…didn’t think that would work.”

“Huh?”

Tsuyu frowns before she realizes something major. “That’s right, your recharge time is ten minutes but that was way less than that.”

Jiro finally registers it too. “Yeah, then how were you able to use your Quirk again so quickly?”

Feedback looks down, rubbing his neck as he thinks about it. “I…honestly have no idea.” He eyes the Omnitrix symbol on his chest. _‘Was…was it the lifeguard mode again…? It couldn’t be, it only does that when I’m in danger. Was it something else, or just a fluke?’_

Feedback shakes his head. “No matter, what matters is that we came in first.” Yeah, they did. That makes two events in a row where he came in first, guess he really is the **one to beat**.

“It is irresponsible to assume that victory could come so easily.”

Team Midoriya looks over at Ibara, who unlike the rest of her team doesn’t look like she finds their defeat all that devastating.

Ochaco chokes back a sob. “Shiozaki…wh-why do you say that?”

“Hm? Oh, my. My mistake, I guess I should reveal this.”

One of Ibara’s vines stretches out and at the end sits a headband. A headband with 5,000,360 points.

Everyone screams out all at once. “WHAT!?!”

During the last skirmish, when she threw her hair out, a few of them stretched over and took Team Midoriya’s headband while they were all distracted.

Feedback plants his palm against his head and sure enough his headband is gone. “No way!!” he gasps.

He falls to his knees. “Did…we lose…?”

“Nope. Kero.”

They all turn to the poker faced Tsuyu. “Shiozaki isn’t the only one who had a similar idea.” She sticks out her tongue cheekily, as she holds up Todoroki’s own headband worth 600 points.

Shinso blinks. “Wait, if you have that then that means…” 

Present Mic will happily reveal the answer. “Now, let’s take a look at who our top teams are!”

The scoreboard displays said teams.

“In first place we have the team that faced off against death and then spat in its face. It’s Team Uraraka!!”

That’s right! Ochaco and her team were able to pull away with a total of 5,000,485 points!!

Ochaco and Kendo inhale and then leap into the air throwing their arms up in celebration. “Yeah!!”

Ibara smiles at them enjoying their display of joy while Hatsume is not paying attention as she tries to fix the damaged jetpack. 

“In second place we have Team Todoroki!” They have 5,00,257 points and from just one headband.

Yayorozu sighs, although they didn’t exactly claim victory they did somewhat win and will be moving on. “We ended in second place, but it was too close for comfort.”

Iida clenches his fist in shame. “I’m sorry. I let everyone down, didn’t I?” Perhaps he used his special move far too soon.

“That’s not true.” His teammate offers him a kind and appreciative smile. “You’re the reason we won. Thank goodness for that special move of yours.”

While she comforts him, Kaminari is wandering around in the background. He has a stupefied expression on his face while thrusting dual thumbs up at everyone. His brain was fried during the last attack, even though Feedback was absorbing his power he didn’t realize it and kept it up until he fired his own brain.

“In third place, we have one of the front runners who managed to cling onto victory at the last second! Team Midoriya!!”

Feedback and the others stare up at the scoreboard where their team is displayed next to a point count of 1,760 points. Not as impressive as five million, but it’s enough to get them through and that’s all any of them could have asked for.

“We did it!” shouts Feedback

Shinso looks like he’s in complete disbelief, but grins excitedly at the board. Soon he will have his chance to shine.

Jiro smiles and gives Tsuyu an appreciative shoulder pat. “Way to go back there.”

“Thanks, but I had a lot of help.” Tsuyu looks at Feedback. “Isn’t that right, Midoriya.”

Feedback flashes her a giant grin.

Jiro tilts her head to the side. “So, how come we’ve never seen this guy before?” He seems pretty useful; he can absorb electricity and has appendages similar to her own. Is he copying her?

Feedback examines his current physique. “Oh, Feedback. Yeah, I don't always get to use him but when I do, I promise it’ll be one heck of a show.” Assume the Omnitrix would give him the Conductoid.

Present Mic finishes off the rankings. “And finally bringing up the rear, it’s Team Bakugou!!”

This team sits at 1,095 points, enough to pass.

Mina shakes her hands, as if shaking off her stress. “Ugh! We were so close to snagging first place.” They really weren’t, if they had a few more seconds who knows if Bakugou would have been able to do something about it.

Tokoyami hums. “Hm. Perhaps, but it is not best to dwell on things. We are moving on to the final round, and we should be grateful for that.”

Kirishima sheepishly smiles, he is not convinced. “I don’t think our leader would agree with you.” He watches as Bakugou sits up on the ground, he’s shaking, but not from pain. “Like at all.”

Bakugou screams with fury. He lost!! He fucking lost not only to Deku but to the other bastards, too!! For a second event in a row.

“With the guidance of the same exact winners of the last event, these four valiant teams will advance on to the final round!!”

From the stands, All Might and Thirteen release sighs that neither knew they were holding.

Meanwhile, a very quiet and somber Todoroki is eyeing Izuku and Ochaco. He may have gotten second place, but in technicality he actually lost to the two of them.

He then draws his eyes to his offending left arm. _‘I said I’d never use this to attack. I even made a point of it earlier…but as soon as I was overwhelmed, I broke my own promise.’_ He clenches his left fist, digging his nails into his palm. “At this rate…he’ll win, and I’ll end up exactly who he wants me to be…” He cannot allow that to pass, no matter what.

Up in the stadium, the crowd disperses for snacks, restrooms, and other needs.

“Now, let’s take an hour lunch break before we start the afternoon festivities! See ya soon!” Present Mic turns to his co-host, forgetting to shut off his mic. “Hey Eraserhead. Let’s grab some food.”

They can hear Aizawa plopping to the ground in his sleeping bag. “I’m taking a nap.”

“Whew.” huffs Present Mic.

Back on the field, the students begin to make their way to the exits.

“Way to go Deku, you’re moving on!” cheers Ochaco.

Sure they’re rivals today, but that doesn’t mean they can’t cheer each other on too.

“And so are you!” shouts Feedback. “And way to snag first place.”

“He, thanks, but I had a pretty great team on my side.”

“I hear ya.” Feedback flashes a smile and points at his own team. “The same goes for me.”

Shinso smirks back at him. “Thanks, but I only joined because I pitied you.”

“What?!” Feedback can’t believe this. “Dude, I thought we bonded. We had a moment together! We made puns!”

Tsuyu passes by with an annoyed frown, she definitely could have lived without those puns.

Shinso chuckles at his face. “I’m just messing with ya. But I have to admit.” He eyes the taller being with a healthy amount of respect. “Thank you…for giving me a chance.”

Feedback understands, he’s thanking him for sympathizing with his dreams. “Any time, and good luck in the final round.”

“You two, but if we face.” Shinso jabs a finger at his chest. “Then don’t expect me to hold back.”

“Hehe, I wouldn’t dream of it.”

Shinso smirks one last time before leaving to get some food.

While other students pass on by Ochaco leans up to the Conductoid. “So, um quick question. Why are you Feedback?!”

Feedback leans in close before whispering. “I…don’t know. It was some kind of quick recharge or something, but I don’t know what caused it.”

“Was it the lifeguard mode, you mentioned it a few times here and there.”

“Um, maybe but I’m not so sure, hm…”

While the two ponder and make their way through the exit, someone interrupts their wandering minds. 

“Hey, um sorry, Kendo here.”

Feedback spins around and finds Ochaco’s teammate waving up at him alongside Ibara. “Oh, hello.”

Ochaco beams. “Kendo! Ibara!” She leaps forward grabbing both of their hands. “Thanks again for joining my team. You were both so amazing and I couldn’t have done it without either of you!”

They smile and Ibara returns the hand holding gesture. “We should be thanking you. We put our faith in you, and you didn't let us down. You are strong willed, and I wish you the best during the next challenge.”

“Awe, thanks.”

Kendo raises her hand. “I have a question to ask.”

“Okay, shoot.”

Kendo actually addresses Feedback. “What is your Quirk exactly?”

Feedback is a bit taken back, not expecting the question, but after everything he did it makes senses people would have questions.

“It’s called One Man Army; I can transform my body into different forms that grant me different abilities.”

Ochaco chips into the conversation. “Like how his turtle form allows him to fly.”

In the distance Tetsutetsu’s yells rigs out. “That still doesn’t make sense!!” Feedback moves on ignoring the loud member of Class 1-B. “Yeah, and I have more forms. Each with their own power sets and skills.” And weaknesses, but no need to tell anyone about them.

Kendo and Ibara gasp, even other students of their class who were listening in gasp in surprise.

“Aw, man! How can someone like you exist?!” whines Tsuburaba.

Juzo frowns. “I know right?” He never even got to use his Quirk just because Midoriya could fly.

Ibara strokes her chin. “It’s almost like Monoma’s Quirk.”

Like a demon summoned from hell, Monoma literally pushes himself into the discussion, with a desperate grin on his face as if trying to pretend his loss to Bakugou isn’t eating away at him from the inside. “There’s no way! No one can have a Quirk like mine!” Is this serious?! Can this plain-faced kid really have a Quirk like that?! There’s no way it’s got to be a trick. “Well with power like that, you wouldn’t mind sharing it would you?!” He desperately reaches his hand out to touch Feedback’s arm. “I bet it’s just an illusion or something! No way Class 1-A has someone like you. I bet you cheated. I’m sure of it!!” he rushes forward. “Hahaha-Ack!”

He collapses onto the floor with a thud and a bump on his head.

Kendo sighs as she lowers her hand after delivering a swift chop to the back of her classmate's head. “Sorry about him. He’s just compensating for his loss.”

In the background Bakugou is grinning, finding the display rather amusing.

Meanwhile both Feedback and Ochaco are stunned, how could Kendo of all people consciously hurt her own classmate like that?!

“She was so composed!”

“Has she done this before?!”

Kendo enlargens her hand and picks up the unconscious yet hauntingly still grinning Monoma. “And sorry about him. And thanks for answering my question.” She shakes her head with a smile. “I guess it goes to show you that there are all sorts of Quirks out there huh?”

Ochaco grins. “You have no idea.” Seriously, she has no idea.

Kendo gives a final wave before running off to catch up to the rest of her classmates, Ibara strides alongside her. “Anyway take care you two, and if we face off in the next event then let’s make it a good one!”

Ochaco waves after her. “You got it!”

Meanwhile, other teams and students are having similar interactions.

Tsuyu walks up to Mina. “Mina, congrats.” Both of them are moving on.

The pink-girl doesn’t feel the same way. “Thanks, but Bakugou only asked me to join because I could melt Todoroki’s ice. That or hurt Midoriya somehow.” Her frown then changes to a smile. “But I heard you did real well. I was told you snagged the winning headband for your team.”

“I did.”

Sero is walking alongside Jiro. “I can’t believe you guys stole my headband, that was just cold.”

“Well, you attacked us. Seems only fair.”

Nearby Ochaco and Izuku have caught up to Iida.

“Iida, you were holding out on us!” Exclaims Ochaco as she runs in place, a poor imitation of Iida’s special move.

Feedback nods his head rapidly in agreement. “I had no idea you could do that!” He wishes he had his Quirk Analysis notebook, maybe later he can try and record Iida’s speed or something.

Iida waves his hand. “Rest assured it wasn’t my intention to deceive any of you. I was just being strategic.”

In that moment, a stupefied Kaminari joins the conversation, but all he can contribute is a stupid grin, far off look, and two thumbs up.

“I merely wanted to show that I could compete with you both.”

The morphed Izuku smiles. “And you sure did. That was absolutely amazing.” He gives his own thumbs up alongside Kaminari.

“Midoriya. Uraraka.”

The ones that were called out turn to face a cold faced Todoroki. And immediately all their feelings of joy and exhilaration are gone and replaced with a sense of dread. It's almost as if Todoroki is emulating the use of the cold-side of his Quirk to affect their own psyches.

Ochaco decides to break the ice first. “Wh…what’s up, Todoroki?” 

He doesn’t respond not right away but when he does, he has one simple demand. “Come with me. I need to speak with the two of you.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Meanwhile, within the halls of the stadium a loan hero roams with flames dancing across his body.

This flaming hero is a tall, sturdily-built man with a very muscular physique. He has short crimson hair which he wears spiked up around his head, and sharp turquoise eyes. His beard and mustache appear to be made of fire. His hero costume consists of a tight, navy turquoise bodysuit with lines of flames streaming across his chest, upper torso, arms and most prominently his shoulders. He uses his flames as a makeshift mask around his eyes, and the tall boots he wears appear to be either made of fire themselves or constantly left alight, as only their soles and laces are visible around the flames. He sports white bracers on his lower arms, styled in a cage pattern, and a blue belt with a pouch attached on either side.

This man, this pro hero, marches on with a sense of motivation and pride. He is on a mission and he would rather not be interrupted. But he’s not as alone as he would think.

**“YO!”**

The pro hero stops, he can never mistake that voice.

All Might smiles down at his fellow pro hero. **“LONG TIME NO SEE! LET’S CATCH UP. ENDEAVOR.”**

Endeavor’s flames dance upward as if responding to their master’s will. “All Might.” Endeavor turns to leer at the Number One Hero as if his very presence is an insult to the Flame Hero.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that was Ch.22 Friends and Foes. Like I said, it was a long one. And soon we will begin the individual battles. Those chapters may be shorter than others because I’ll want to focus on some major character elements later. But hopefully that means I can get the next chapter out sooner rather than later, no promises though.
> 
> *This chapter made up nearly 3 episodes from the anime. I was going to split it in half-but I'd rather get the Cavalry battle out of the way so we can get to the really good parts: the Tournament!!
> 
> *Throughout the chapter you could probably tell that I didn’t describe every team in full detail. That was on purpose because I thought it would distract from the main action and dialogue throughout the chapter. But here is a list of the teams and how many points they had in total. 
> 
> 5,000,360: Izuku Midoriya, Hitoshi Shinso, Tsuyu Asui, and Kyoka Jiro
> 
> 5,000,257: Ochaco Uraraka, Mei Hatsume, Itsuka Kendo, and Ibara Shiozaki
> 
> 655: Katsuki Bakugou, Eijiro Kirishima, Mina Ashido, and Fumikage Tokoyami
> 
> 600: Shoto Todoroki, Momo Yaoyorozu, Denki Kaminari, and Tenya Iida
> 
> 495: Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu, Juzo Honenuki, and Yosetsu Awase
> 
> 460: Hanta Sero, Masahiro Ojiro, and Rikido Sato
> 
> 295: Neito Monoma, Kosei Tsuburaba, Sen Kaibara, and Shihai Kuroiro
> 
> 265: Mezo Shoji and Minoru Mineta
> 
> 205: Yui Kodai, Reiko Yanagi, Setsuna Tokage, and Kinoko Komori
> 
> 150: Nirengeki Shoda, Kejiro Bando, and Manga Fukidashi
> 
> 145: Tooru Hagakure, Yuga Aoyama, and Koji Koda
> 
> 125: Kiryu Rin and Jurota Shishida
> 
> 70: Togaru Kamakiri and Pony Tsunotori


	23. What We Are

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Round 1 of the Tournament begins. But first Todoroki has something to address with Izuku and Ochaco.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Mother's Day! Let's try and make it a good one for all the wonderful mothers in the world. 
> 
> Alright, let’s start off the best part of the Sports Festival with Round 1 of the Tournament fights. But before that we must ask the question of who our characters are and why?

Izuku Midoriya shutters under Shoto Todoroki’s cold gaze. _‘Why'd he bring us here?’_

He peers over at Ochaco Uraraka who is just as uncomfortable as he is in this dark and empty passageway.

They’ve been here for a minute now allowing the other students to leave and, in that time, Izuku turned back to normal. But that was a minute ago and the uncomfortable and cold tension is really starting to build up.

“So, you brought us here. Now what?”

Todoroki doesn’t give any hint of a response, nor a reaction to suggest that he even heard the nervous greenette. Instead he just stares at them both with a cold indifferent stare, making it difficult for them to read his thoughts.

Ochaco tries to offer up a friendly smile, but none of the confidence is there behind it. “W-we should really get something to eat. Don’t want to be hungry during the next event, r-right?”

No response, no reaction, the dual-haired teen is unfazed and unresponsive as he stares at them unblinking.

Ochaco and Izuku share a look, they’re starting to get worried now. They know Todoroki’s not going to attack them or anything, but…they’d like answers. He dragged them over here and yet…nothing. 

Izuku gulps. _‘He’s all cold intimidation, way different from Bakugou.’_ He grips the recharging Omnitrix for a sense of comfort.

“I was overwhelmed.”

They both gasp, he finally said something and it’s not at all what they were expecting.

Todoroki’s face remains indifferent, but there’s a hint of anger. “And it made me break the promise I made to myself a long time ago.”

Ochaco’s eyes drift down to Todoroki’s left arm. She recalls how he used his flames during the Battle Trial and U.S.J. Incident, but he was so reluctant and upset when he did so. And if he's talking about a vow he made to himself before U.A., then she forced him to break it…several times.

Izuku eyes Todoroki’s left side too from his burn scar on his face to his left hand hidden away in his pocket. _‘It would have given him such an advantage to use his left side.’_ He could have easily taken the lead in the last two events if he used his flames: given him a speed boost, melt Grey Matter’s mech, and he could have used them to fight both his team and Uraraka’s team back at the Cavalry Battle. _‘And yet…he didn’t.’_

Todoroki pulls his left hand out from his pocket and glares at it like it’s the culprit. “Iida and Kaminari…Yaoyorozu, Asui, and Jiro… None of them felt it.” He glares at the two of them as his mind recalls how they all clashed with each other at the end of the Cavalry Battle; how they both overwhelmed him with their spirit and power. But specifically he recalls what he felt with Uraraka used her Quirk to brush his flaming arm away. “In that moment, I was the only one who could sense your true power. It reminded me of something…” He thinks back to the U.S.J. Incident and how he felt when he witnessed All Might use his own power to take out the Nue villain with a single blow. “Experiencing All Might’s Quirk.”

“Oh, yeah? Okay…” Ochaco is rightfully worried now, and she’s trying not to show how uncomfortable she is on where this conversation has led to.

Izuku is quiet, his eyes drifting from Todoroki to Ochaco and back.

Izuku gulps. “I-is that all?”

The heterochromia eyes of Todoroki shift to him. “And your power…powers are like nothing that should exist.” 

“Wh-what are you s-saying?”

Now Izuku’s wrought with worry alongside Ochaco, both scared that Todoroki may know something he shouldn’t and he’s on the cusp of revealing some very sensitive and Earth-shattering secrets.

“Midoriya. Uraraka. Tell me.” Todoroki locks eyes with the both of them. “Why were you created?”

…

“WHAT!?!” Both of the teens are blushing profusely, they didn’t expect the conversation to go down this route.

Does this guy really not know? Shit! How should they explain it to him? Isn’t that a job for his parents?!

Izuku's blush floods his entire face. “Um, w-well when…a wife and husband-”

“You misunderstand.” Todoroki’s eyebrows furrow, annoyed that his classmates would think of him as that oblivious. “What I mean is…was there a purpose behind it?”

What is he talking about?

The dual-haired teen lets out an exasperated sigh, looks like he’ll have to be more direct. He’ll start with Ochaco. “Uraraka.”

Ochaco jolts up. “Y-yes?!”

“What is your relationship with All Might?” There is no hint of humor or sarcasm, he’s completely serious with his question.

“Huh?!” Ochaco’s jaw drops. _‘What kind of relationship does he think they have?!’_

But then she recalls what Todoroki said before the start of the Sports Festival: that All Might has his eye on her. Does he think they’re related somehow?!

She waves her hands back and forth in denial. “T-there’s n-nothin! N-nothing at all!” Well that’s a lie. But even if she told the full truth it’s not like Todoroki would even believe her. “I mean…he’s just my teacher is all.” Okay, that’s true but she’s not going to divulge how true that really is. “Anyway, I promise you’ve got the wrong idea. But…Why would you even think there was more to it?”

Todoroki is not convinced, and his leering eyes are a big give away. “I know there’s something between you two, but you’re not supposed to talk about it.”

Izuku eyes his friend curiously. Part of him wants to ask and bring up some things, but he can tell that she’s not comfortable with speaking about whatever it is. So, he’ll let it go for now. Right now, Todoroki is the center of their interest.

Todoroki glares at Ochaco and then to Izuku, pondering on how to best approach this situation. Perhaps he needs to give some context so he can properly get an answer from these two. “My father is the hero Endeavor. You both must’ve heard of him. Which means you’re both aware that he’s the number-two hero.” He eyes All Might’s successor. “So, if you’re connected to the Number One Hero, All Might, in some way… That would mean… That I have even more reason to beat you.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

All Might smiles down at his fellow pro hero. **“LONG TIME NO SEE! LET’S CATCH UP. ENDEAVOR.”**

Endeavor’s flames dance upward as if responding to their master’s will. “All Might.” Endeavor turns to leer at the Number One Hero as if his very presence is an insult to the Flame Hero.

All Might is oblivious to the Flame Hero’s hostility. **“I HAVEN’T TALKED TO YOU SINCE THAT PRESS CONFERENCE YEARS AGO. BEEN A WHILE. I SAW YOU AND FIGURED I’D SAY HI.”**

“Did you now?” Endeavor turns away, he has no interest in starting a friendly conversation. “Well then, if that’s all you wanted to do, we’re done.” That is an order, not a suggestion.

Endeavor continues down the stairs, already putting All Might and this conversation behind him.

**“HUH?”**

Endeavor really can’t believe how naive All Might really is sometimes. “Chatting like we’re old friends. What a joke.”

 **“HAHAHAHA!”** All Might, the ever oblivious, laughs as he spins over the number-two hero and lands in his path. **“COME ONE, WHY THE COLD SHOULDER?”** Get it, because Endeavor’s shoulder is on fire. It’s ironic, isn’t it?

Endeavor growls, not appreciating All Might’s flamboyance or games.

 **“YOU SHOULD BE THRILLED. AFTER ALL, YOUR SON’S DOING VERY WELL OUT THERE, JUST USING HALF HIS POWER.”** All Might’s grin widens. **“YOU MUST BE A GREAT TEACHER!”**

Endeavor’s eyes flash with danger as if All Might has discovered a dark secret or weakness of his. “Are you implying something?”

**“NO, I WANT TO KNOW YOUR SECRETS. HOW DO WE TRAIN THE NEXT GENERATIONS OF HEROES?”**

The number-two hero frowns. “Do you really think I’d tell you anything I’ve taught the boy?” He’s not going to divulge into his techniques just because the Number One Hero asked him to.

So, with nothing to contribute the hostile Flaming Hero marches on by the Symbol of Peace. “You’re all flash and no brains as usual.” His shoulder shoves past All Might’s. “Outta my way.” And he means it more than stepping aside.

All Might’s smile falters for a second, afraid that he may have offended his fellow hero. **“O-OKAY.”**

Endeavor continues to march away before stopping. He does have something he’d like to throw in the Number One Hero’s face. “Let me assure you of one thing, All Might.” He glares back at the Symbol of Peace with an internal raging inferno of ambition that refuses to be extinguished. “Whatever it takes… That kid of mine will beat you someday.” The Flame Hero grins widely, like when that occurs it will be the happiest and most prized moment of his life. “I’ll make sure of it. That’s why I made him.”

It finally hits All Might, who frowns as his gut fills with concern. **“YOU DID WHAT?”**

“He’s in a rebellious phase right now. But he will take your place. I’ll make sure of it.” Endeavor locks eyes, his blue eyes that are so narrow and filled with rage that there’s no doubt that if he had the chance, he would burn All Might here and now if he could.

But since he can’t he has no choice but dream of the day when All Might will be put in his place. And with that thought Endeavor leaves with a smile that could rival Bakugou’s while leaving All Might in a state of worry and…fear.

**_‘WHAT WAS THAT? THAT WAS NOT SOME WISHFUL THINKING, BUT THE EYES OF SOMEONE WITH A PLAN…WITH AMBITION. JUST WHAT IN THE HELL HAVE YOU DONE, ENDEAVOR?’_ **

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“My old man is ambitious. He aims for the top.” continues Todoroki. “He used his power to make a name for himself as a hero. But he was never able to best All Might, so the Symbol of Peace is living proof of his failure.”

Ochaco and Izuku are stunned and listen intently.

“He’s still at it, though trying to take down All Might… One way or another.”

Ochaco nervously rubs her arm. “Um, sorry, but…I’m not really sure what you’re getting at…”

Izuku nods, his eyes unable to meet Todoroki’s. “What are you trying to tell us, Todoroki?”

Todoroki eyes them hesitantly almost like he’s actually nervous about what he’s about to say. “Have you ever heard of…Quirk marriages?” 

Izuku goes rigid…he has heard of them.

Ochaco has no clue what those are but judging from the others’ reactions she can assume it’s nothing good.

“They became a problem in the first few generations after superpowers became widespread.” explains the dual-haired teen. “There were those who sought out potential mates solely with the intention of creating powerful children. Many people were forced into relationships. They were simply viewed as old-fashioned arranged marriages. But clearly it was unethical.” Not that it stopped any of it anytime soon, even now there are some cases of this occurring all across the world, but they aren’t as publicized and often covered up.

“My father has not only a rich history of accomplishments but plenty of money to throw at his problems.” Such as to fund shady deals and create cover ups. “He bought my mother’s relatives to get his hands on her Quirk.” He sounds disgusted and betrayed, and rightfully so. “And now he’s using me to usurp All Might.”

It hits the space cadets like a truck, and they are horrified with what they are hearing.

“It’s so annoying.” spits Todoroki in righteous anger and frustration. “I refuse to be a tool for that scumbag.”

And that is a vow he fully intends to keep.

Although he’s probably already said too much, maybe there’s a part of him that needs to get this stuff off of his chest. And so he continues on with his…story.

“In every memory of my mother…I only see her crying.” He can still hear her agonizing and fearful sobbing.

“I remember she called my left side unbearable…” Todoroki hesitantly reaches up and grabs at his burn scar as his eyes flashback to the very moment that he received it. “before she poured boiling water on my face.”

The space cadets gasp in shock and horror. Just…just what kind of horror did their classmate have to go through? Not only that, how could his own mother do that to him? They can’t ever picture their own mothers doing such a thing to them, and if they did…they couldn’t imagine how soul crushing something like that would be. But…Todoroki’s mother was just a victim, too… God, they feel like they should throw up after hearing how disgusting of a person Endeavor, the Number Two Hero in all of Japan, is really like. How can that even be? How can a “hero” do such a thing? And all for what? Power? Pride?

“The reason I picked a fight with you both was to show my old man what I was capable of doing. Without having to rely on his damned fire Quirk.” Todoroki removes his hand away from his scar revealing his hate filled blue eye. “You see. I’m going to show him that I reject his power, and I can take first place without using it.”

Ochaco and Izuku are in complete emotional whiplash. First, they are told about their classmate’s horribly tragic backstory and now…now he’s back to declaring war on them. But at least now…it makes sense.

Unbeknownst to any of them, they are not the only ones stunned by all the revelations as someone else remains silent and holds a soft gaze from down the dark hallway and remains out of sight.

This has all left a bad taste in the greenette’s mouth. _‘The life he’s led is so different than mine. It sounds terrifying.’_ He eyes Todoroki taking in how angry and…sorrowful he really is. _‘How strange that we could be aiming for the same thing despite such different childhoods.’_

Ochaco is just as horrified, yet…there’s something that still isn't adding up. “B-but…” She takes a deep breath. “Why…are you telling us this?” With all due respect everything he’s telling them should probably be reserved for a therapist or the police…then again, they’d all be bought out by Todoroki’s scumbag of a father.

Todoroki considers the question. “I wanted you to understand why I’m aiming to defeat both of you. But I also wanted to know…” He glares at them trying to disguise his inner turmoil. “If there was more like me.”

“Like…you…?”

He nods. “I wanted to know if we all shared the same background, came from the same place…” He grabs his scar. “have the same…scars.”

They get it…he wants to know…if they were born under similar circumstances. That they are not here of their own free will, that they were essentially created to become…weapons. 

He eyes Ochaco almost with fear, but not of her but her possible answer. As if asking such a thing would destroy whatever's left of him. “And I just need to know…did…did All Might create you, to succeed him? Did he craft you into what he wants you to be? And what did he do to do it?”

She knows what he’s asking of her…he wants to know if All Might, the Symbol of Peace, did the same things as Endeavor. To ensure his own glory and success. The sad part is that in a way, that’s actually correct. All Might helped in molding her to be his successor and he wants her to succeed him, to be the next Symbol of Peace. And he gave her his own Quirk to do it.

But that’s not what Todoroki needs to hear. He needs to hear that there are still heroes out there that he can rely on, that are real heroes and don’t use their name or wealth to get what they desire.

“I am not related to All Might in any way if you’re asking, and no he hasn’t forced me to do anything that I didn’t want to. He just…likes me because our Quirks are so similar in some aspects.”

Todoroki is visibly relieved to hear that. “That’s good…it’s good to know that whatever connection you two may have at least it’s a positive one.”

Todoroki turns to the other member of the conversation. “And you?”

Izuku is startled by being called out, but he’s mostly confused. Does Todoroki think All Might’s related to him too?

“There’s a lot I don’t understand about you, especially.” Todoroki’s gaze falls to the strange device latched around Izuku’s wrist. “You’re Quirk…despite your need for an external force to activate it…something like you shouldn’t exist.” His dual-colored eyes pierce into Izuku’s own jade eyes. “What are you?”

It’s a fairly simple worded question, but one with a lot of meaning. What is he? How can he have a Quirk such as One Man Army? How is that possible? Was he a result of generations of Quirk Marriages? Is he a weapon? And what is his purpose? Why is he here, trying to become a hero?

Izuku is shaking unsure how to respond: should he tell the truth? No. Should he give an off handed answer? No, that’d be a slap in the face to Todoroki after he just spilled his troubles out to them.

Speaking of, the cold teen scowls in anger and grabs Izuku’s support item, raising it up to eye level, and snapping Izuku to pay attention. “Don’t give me the cowards act, it’s getting old.” he snaps.

Izuku can’t help but crumble a little under Todoroki’s enraged gaze.

The anger fades away as Todoroki composes himself, but he doesn’t release the Omnitrix instead he gazes down at it. “You are a complete enigma to me. Nothing about you makes sense, not at all.”

“Todoroki…”

“From your pledge, you stated that people said you couldn’t be a hero. And yet here you are, with a one of a kind Quirk.” Most people in this society practically worship those with outstanding and heroic like Quirks, which result in people like Bakugou. But Midoriya is not like that; he's shy, lacks confidence, and has a more heroic spirit than most.

“And then during the U.S.J., I learned some more things about you.”

Izuku goes stiff, he’s too afraid to ask. “L-like w-what…?” 

Todoroki’s grip around the watch tightens. “This thing, the Omnitrix I believe, was being targeted by that Tetrax guy.” His piercing gaze hardens. “And you personally knew that Nue guy. Hell, he even had the same powers as you. What’s with that?”

Izuku…has no clue what to say. He looks to Ochaco for some assistance, but she’s been brought to a stunned silence. 

“Just what are you?!” snaps Todoroki as he holds onto the Omnitrix pulling it towards him. “What is this thing? Why would someone be after it? How could someone else have the same powers? What are you?!”

Izuku can only stare back at the taller teen, his eyes shaking with fear from Todoroki’s outburst. But…after everything he’s learned about his classmate; he feels obligated to at least provide some kind of answer.

“What I am…to be honest I’m not sure.”

Todoroki looks like he’s about to snap again but Izuku continues.

“But…I know what I want to be.” He straightens his stance and makes sure to look Todoroki right in the eye. “I want to be a hero.”

Todoroki’s gaze softens with astonishment, as does Ochaco’s.

“For most of my life, I was looked down on, told that I could never be a hero…” By his so-called friends, classmates, teachers, and even his personal hero. “But that changed.”

He gazes down at the Omnitrix as it continues to glow red while recharging. “I was given a chance by some miracle and there were those who fully supported me.” His mother, Thirteen, Uraraka, Tetrax, and now his new teachers and friends.

“There were…bumps along the way.” He thinks back to how his friendship with Henzu crumbled away, the robot attacks, Dr. Animo, his battle with Bakugou, and the U.S.J. fights.

“However, every experience has helped me to move forward on my journey.” He learns what it means to be a hero, what he’s fighting for, gains new skills, gains new aliens, and all for the sake of others. But also for his own goal of becoming one of the greatest heroes that there ever will be.

“So, to answer your question: what am I?” The answer is simple. “I’m a hero.” With that he pulls his hand away from Todoroki freeing the Omnitrix, he holds it out in front of him like a shield. “And winning the Sports Festival will bring me closer to my dream. So, Todoroki…” The freed Omnitrix lights up and shifts glowing brightly with Izuku’s shining resolve. “I am going to beat you.”

Todoroki’s piercing eyes glare back at the short teen.

While Ochaco is in complete astonishment in response to Izuku’s answer and resolve.

Todoroki sighs leave it to the mysterious Midoriya to give him a vague yet honest answer.

Knowing he won’t get any more out of the two of them, he turns and exits the passageway. “Clearly you both have your secrets and I understand if you don’t want to share them.” He stops to look at them one last time. “But no matter what either of you throw at me or how fiercely you come at me in the future I will defeat you both using only my right side. I can assure you of that.” With that he leaves.

The two space cadets watch on as their opponent walks away and under a new light.

Ochaco’s eyes are filled with worry. _‘So, this is why Todoroki’s so focused and so serious. He’s like a comic book character. A hero with a tragic backstory. Fighting to rise above it.’_ That’s what he is.

But…what is she? Is she just a girl that got lucky? Someone hand-picked by All Might himself? Or was that just luck? A mistake? Can she really say what she is? A hero…

“Hey, wait!”

Izuku is surprised to see Ochaco run past him so she can catch up to Todoroki.

Todoroki stops dead in his tracks and turns to see Ochaco breathing heavily behind him. She stands tall looking him dead in the eye.

“I’m here…because I need to be!”

Todoroki’s eyes widen. What does she mean exactly?

Ochaco gazes down at her hands. “I’m here because I need to be. I have ambitions too.” She thinks of her family. “I grew up pretty poor, and my family was always scrounging for work. They sacrificed so much for me just so I can chase my dreams. And it’s my dream to help them.” She clenches her fist. “But that’s not all. I’ve always wanted to be the kind of hero All Might is. One that can make people smile with their presence alone.” A hero with the strength and courage to make people feel safe.

“Ever since I really began to pursue my dream, I’ve met so many amazing people and they’ve each supported me along the way.” She flashes a smile back at Izuku while also thinking back to her own loving parents, Thirteen, her friends new and old, and of course her mentor.

“I wanna be just like All Might and more. But I have to be strong enough to become number one…to become a symbol.”

Todoroki’s eyes narrow. 

“I know my ambition may seem dumb to you, but…” She glares up at her tragic foe. “It means everything to me.!!”

Izuku is stunned as well as Todoroki.

“I can’t afford to lose either. I owe it to everyone who’s supported me to try my best.”

Ochaco raises her fists as she speaks with no sign of doubt. “I am going to beat you.” She looks back at Izuku. “All of you. And I won’t give up until I do.” That is her own vow and who she is: someone that will refuse to give up until the bitter end.

The three competitors are left in complete silence, not even the wind dares to break the tension.

With each one having finished what they had to say they begin to take their leave. And they all understand now: that all of them are aiming for the top but only one of them can make it.

As Todoroki heads for lunch, Katsuki Bakugou peers around the corner and out of the shadows. His gaze is soft yet wary. He knows he heard a lot that he shouldn’t have, but yet it did give a bit of perspective on things. Things he will keep in mind as the Tournament commences.

Ochaco leaves after Todoroki leaving Izuku to stir in his own thoughts.

 _‘Todoroki… Uraraka…you’re both so driven. But so am I!’_ He gazes down at his Omnitrix, admiring its soft green glow. _‘Wait…it wasn’t ten minutes yet. How come…?’_

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Get those foam fingers in the air!” shouts Present Mic after returning to the commentator's box after finishing his lunch. “It’s almost time for the last round! But before that: good news for everyone who didn’t make the finals.”

Down in the stadium below all of the students from every course are walking back onto the field.

“Since this is a Sports Festival, we’ve prepared some super-fun side games everyone can participate in!”

A group of cheerleaders wearing U.A. themed orange outfits are performing on the sidelines.

“We even brought in cheerleaders from America to get your blood pumping!”

“Ah-” Aizawa notices something…peculiar. 

And so does Present Mic. “Hold up.”

“What are they doing?” questions Aizawa.

Many of the students are wondering the same thing, but not that many of the male population are complaining though. In fact most of them are blushing as they awe at the views before them.

“Looks like Class 1-A is goin’ full on fanservice!” shouts Present Mic.

And sure enough all the Class 1-A girls are wearing similarly designed cheerleader outfits. From the short frilly skirts, exposed midriffs, and even pom poms to boot. But judging from their faces, it seems as if they were not expecting to be humiliated as such.

Minoru Mineta and Denki Kaminari laugh and share grins while admiring their handy work.

Momo Yaoyorozu is steaming mad. “What?! You tricked us?! You’re gonna regret this!”

##########(Flashback)#########

During the lunch break Mineta and his partner in crime, Kaminari decided to pull a little…“prank” on their classmates.

Kaminari, with all seriousness, addresses their targets. “Yaoyorozu. Jiro.”

Yaoyorozu and Kyoka Jiro turn to face Kaminari and Mineta while they hold trays of food.

Yaoyorozu is oblivious to their intent. “Uh-huh, do you need something?”

Mineta responses first. “Well, I’m sure you already know since you’re like a class rep.” He then points to the opposite side of the cafeteria where a group of cheerleaders are happily skipping by. “But they said all the girls have to wear those uniforms for the big cheer battle this afternoon.”

Jiro is rightfully startled by the news as a light blush adorns her face. “Huh?!”

Yaoyorozu raises an eyebrow. “That’s odd. This is the first I’m hearing about it. Are you sure?” It’s a good thing Mineta turned around otherwise his face would give away the deception. “You don’t have to believe me if you wanna get in trouble. But this is coming straight from Mr. Aizawa.”

Kaminari is nodding his head, trying to help sell the act.

“I thought maybe you’d forgotten, so I figured I’d remind you, just in case.”

And it somehow worked! 

########(End Flashback)#######

Yaoyorozu falls to her knees in defeat and shame. “Why is that I always end up falling for the little pervert’s stupid schemes?” She’s nearly in tears because of their lies. “I even used my Quirk to make these outfits.”

Ochaco squats down and pats her friend’s shoulder in comfort, debating whether she should explain to Yaoyorozu how naive she can really be at times. She can only assume that it must be the result of being homeschooled all your life. This rich girl has little experience dealing with guys like Mineta and Kaminari. But how Jiro fell for it is a mystery.

Speaking of, the purple haired girl yells as she throws down her pom poms. “Ugh! I hate those guys!” She’s so embarrassed and is trying to save face by covering up her bare midriff while also glaring at the giggling perverts.

Toru Hagakure is completely unbothered by the predicament. “Well, we do have a little time before the finals start, and I kinda like these uniforms, so…” She shakes hips and waves her pom poms up and down in succession. “How ‘bout we just roll with it!”

“ARE YOU CRAZY!?!” cries a stunned Jiro.

Tsuyu Asui looks past the stunned Jiro’s shoulder, admiring Hagakure’s cheer moves. “Wow, Toru. You’ve got skills.”

Anyway let’s move on, at least that’s what Present Mic tries to do. “Have fun competing in these little side games, everyone!”

The big flat screens hung above the stadium light up as a tournament bracket appears.

“After they’re over, the 16 students from the top four teams will be duking it out one-on-one in a tournament-style fighting competition!”

Said students are getting pumped. 

“I promise you’re not gonna wanna miss these epic match ups!”

The crowd cheers as students view the screen waiting for the match ups to be announced. 

“Aw, yeah.” grins Eijiro Kirishima. “Finally gettin’ the chance to show what we’re made of.” His eyes are shaking with excitement. “I watch these finals every year, and now I’m actually in them!”

Mina Ashido, also wearing a cheer outfit, eyes him curiously. “So, wait. Is it always a tournament?”

Hanta Sero provides the answer. “The final’s always a one-on-one competition, but they switch it up every time.” This time happens to be like this. “Last year it was a foam sword-fighting match.” That actually sounds like fun.

Up on the little stage Midnight strides up with a big yellow box. “Come closer and draw lots to see who you’re up against. Then enjoy the pleasure of the recreational games before we start.” She gazes down at the competitors. “The sixteen finalists have the option of participating in those activities or sitting out to prepare for battle.” Some may need to calm their nerves or may want to use their time for other preparations. “I’m sure you all want to conserve your stamina.” She gives a seductive smile while licking her lips. “Now let’s find out who each of you will be fighting off against!” 

She has each finalist pull a number out of the box before moving on to the next fighter and all too soon they have their tournament bracket filled.

Midnight whips her flogger. “Take a look at the bracket, my dears. These are your opponents!”

The names flip onto the screens and the crowd screams in response, they are really looking forward to some of these fights.

**1st Match:** Tsuyu Asui vs. Izuku Midoriya 

_‘I’m the first match of the first bracket.’_ Izuku gives a shaky smile as he stares up at the screen. _‘Great.’_

Tsuyu approaches the greenette. “Looks like we’re up first. Good luck then.”

“Same to you, Asui.”

“Call me Tsu.”

 **2nd Match:** Fumikage Tokoyami vs. Momo Yaoyorozu

“I’ll give it my all.” declares Fumikage Tokoyami.

“Good.” responds Yaoyorozu. “That’s all that I ask of you.”

 **3rd Match:** Mina Ashido vs. Shoto Todoroki

Mina’s head drops. “Oh, man…so unfair.” She’s up against one of the most powerful fighters first. 

Todoroki is busy eyeing Izuku’s name. _‘He could be my third match.’_ He eyes his possible future opponent. ‘ _You must advance. So I can beat you with one hand.’_

**4th Match:** Tenya Iida vs. Mei Hatsume

Mei Hatsume walks up to Tenya Iida. “Hey, legs. You’re Iida, right?”

“Hm?” Iida takes notice of her. “Correct, I’m Tenya Iida.”

“Oh! That’s perfect!” Her eyes light up even behind her steampunk goggles. “I have something nice for you!”

 **5th Match:** Ochaco Uraraka vs. Hitoshi Shinso

“Hitoshi Shinso, huh?” Ochaco eyes her opponent’s name. _‘Wasn’t he that guy on Deku’s team?’_

“That is you, right? Ochaco Uraraka?”

The sudden appearance of Hitoshi Shinso makes her leap forward in surprise. She spins around to find her opponent silently judging her reaction. 

_‘It’s him! Wait…’_ She recalls how he’s actually the same one that declared war on Class 1-A from a few weeks ago, she almost forgot about that. Yet Deku took him on as a teammate…? 

Shinso doesn’t offer up a smile or a hand, but he does try to be civil. “It’s a pleasure. So, you excited?”

“Uh… Yes…”

Shinso smiles but then frowns, he spots Izuku watching him not too far away. Shinso eyes the nervous Ochaco before offering a smirk.

“Hm, good. So, am I.” And he walks off. 

_‘What’s with that guy?’_

Izuku remains silent as he watches Shinso wonder off. _‘Shinso… good luck.’_

**6th Match:** Eijiro Kirishima vs. Itsuka Kendo

Kirishima grins. “Bring it.”

“I will, just don’t hold back.” replies Itsuka Kendo.

 **7th Match:** Denki Kaminari vs. Kyoka Jiro

Kaminari grinds at his opponent. “Looks like we’re up first, huh?”

Jiro’s eyes light up like a cat that’s going to tear through a mouse.

 **8th Match:** Katsuki Bakugou vs. Ibara Shiozaki

Bakugou raises an eyebrow at his opponent’s name. “Shiozaki? Who the hell is that?”

Ibara Shiozaki frowns with dejection.

“Okay!” shouts Present Mic. “Let’s press pause for a momentary interlude before the battles begin. It’s time for some pulse-pounding side games!”

“Woohoo!!” Hagakure jumps into the air alongside the other Class 1-A girls each with varying degrees of enthusiasm.

“First, how about a scavenger hunt?”

Soon most of the finalists clear out and allow their fellow classmates to enjoy themselves. Many of the students run about the playing field until they find a card on the ground, grab it, and turn it over reading what item they have to seek out.

Sero looks to the crowd. “Hey, anyone up there got a bag they can give me?”

Rikido Sato eyes his card. “A cat? Anyone sneak a cat in?!”

Not everyone was as lucky such as Mineta who has to find “back fat” for some strange reason. Karma is probably at play here.

Neito Monoma waves his own card around, watching the others play. “What a joke. They’re actually taking these dumb side games seriously?” He smirks watching Kaminari find his item. “As usual, those Class 1-A idiots really need to get their priorities in check.”

“Monoma!” Kendo runs up to him looking very serious. “If you’re not playing, come with me.”

“Okay?” What could she want? Advice on how to take down Class 1-A?

She holds up her card, it reads “Perverse Person.”

She doesn’t even wait for his reaction as she grabs him with her enlarged hands and hauls him away to the main stage.

Monoma is a little less than impressed. “Uh…I think you may have the wrong impression of me, Kendo.” 

“Trust me. This fits.”

Even though they were told to have fun, most of those in the Tournament couldn’t relax. Some tried to come up with strategies. Such as Izuku who’s secluded himself in the locker room as he scribbles through his notebook with different battle strategies to use against everybody in the Tournament.

Some try to rest their bodies. Like Tokoyami who’s perched himself in a tree to help him relax. Maybe it’s a bird thing…

There were those who prepared for the fight. Like Iida who's chugging down cans of juice to refuel his engines.

Or tried to hype themselves up. Like Bakugou and Todoroki who have each secluded themselves outside the stadium to stew in their own thoughts and motives.

And others still who just focused on trying to calm their nerves.

Like Ochaco who’s going along with Hagakure’s cheering performance. Yaoyorozu is going along too but less enthusiastically, but she appears to be enjoying herself at least.

Then there are those that are routing for them to lose. Such as those watching from unknown locations.

And of course the ones that want them to win like their family and friends.

Each fighter wanted to be ready for anything. And before they knew it, the finals were ready to begin.

Down in the middle of the stadium Cementoss’ hand glows a light green as he bends the wet cement to his will creating a large and well-constructed battle field. “That’s it. I’m pretty much done here.”

The battle arena is a large rectangular stage made purely of cement. There are stairs leading up to where the contestants will enter from and on the four corners of the stage are pits that will be lit on fire at the start of each match.

“Thank you, Cementoss!” thanks Present Mic. “Hey sports fans. Are ya ready?”

Yes, yes, they are if they’re screams are anything to go by. 

“After all the action you’ve already witnessed. It’s time for the real battles to begin! Can you feel the excitement?!” He sure can.

Izuku nervously caresses the Omnitrix while he waits in the dark lonely gateway, waiting to be called into the arena.

Although Present Mic’s booming voice isn’t helping his nerves. “Our competitors are on their own now! Sometimes, heroes have only themselves to rely on! Heart. Skill. Strength. Wisdom. Courage. They’ll have to use all of these things to rise to the top!”

Izuku will be sure to use all of them.

Meanwhile, the students of the Hero Course have their own seating balcony so that they can watch the upcoming fights and cheer their classmates on. But unfortunately for some of them, both classes of the Hero Course have to share the same seating area.

Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu screams into the air. “Agh! This is so not fair! Why couldn’t I be in the finals?” Perhaps in an alternate timeline he could have participated, but a greater force must have intervened this time.

Kirishima tries to consult the similarly Quirked individual, “Don’t let it get to you, man. Just sit back and enjoy.”

“Easy for you to say!” shouts Monoma with a dark smug grin plastered on his face. “But you watch, our dear Kendo and Shiozaki will destroy you and your pathetic classmates! Hahahaha!”

The entirety of Class 1-A deadpan. _‘What a prick.’_

Kendo shakes her head in embarrassment, for herself and her class, and for Monoma.

“Shut it, loser!!” roars Bakugou from his seat alone in the corner. “Or I’ll kill you!!”

“Oh, that’s not heroic now is it?” Monoma turns to Bakugou with an insane look in his eye. “Maybe I should defeat you here and take your place in the Tournament! Hahaha!”

While laughing his head off, Kendo sneaks behind him. 

“Why you bastard!!” While Bakugou is fuming with rage, Ochaco sneaks up behind him.

Both girls shout as they strike their individual class mental cases simultaneously.

“What the hell?!” Bakugou rubs the back of his head after Ochaco slapped it.

Ochaco is steaming mad, her cheeks puffed out in annoyance. “Behave yourself will ya?”

Kendo glares down at the unconscious Monoma after she chopped him over the head. Even when knocked out cold, he’s still grinning like a madman.

A sweatdrop forms on Masahiro Ojiro’s forehead. “Huh. So, you guys have your own obnoxious nuisance.”

Class 1-B’s Jurota Shishida nods as he pushes up his glasses. “Yes, but we can rely on our Class President to keep him in check.”

Jurota is a tall young man with a very beastly appearance because of his shaggy, brown, chin-length hair, beard, and fur that covers most of his body. He has sharp teeth and his large jaw sticks out a fair amount, with two of his lower canines poking upwards from between his lips. He also wears small, rectangular glasses with thick lenses.

Juzo Honenuki is laughing while watching Kendo drag off Monoma and Ochaco forces Bakugou to sit back down. “Ha ha ha! Oh, man this is hilarious.”

Sato frowns. “I’m not so sure about that.”

The class settles down as flames burst from pits at corners of the battle field. However the flames have the opposite effect on the crowd as they scream and cheer in anticipation. Finally, the main event is about to begin!!

Present Mic’s voice echoes through the entire stadium. “All right, audience! Let’s cut to the good stuff and not delay these finals any longer. Welcome our first fighters!”

As he speaks the screens display pictures of the two fighters: Tsuyu Asui vs. Izuku Midoriya.

Tsuyu’s photo is calm as per her usual demeanor and her face unemotional. Whereas, Izuku’s photo kind of looks like he was being held at gunpoint while taking the photo.

“Whoa, he looks kinda scared in that picture, doesn’t he? Even though he’s and I quote **‘the one to beat’**.”

Izuku walks across the field with a nervous smile wishing he never declared himself that. Already he can feel the eyes of the world…worlds gazing down on him. Watching him. 

“It’s Izuku Midoriya!”

The crowd cheers in response to seeing him and hearing his name! This kid’s been in the top running since the beginning, especially since he gave such a rousing Student Pledge, they’ve been unable to take their eyes off of him. So, it’s understandable why they’re foaming at the mouth to see him in action without any other distractions.

“And his opponent is the level headed amphibian, Tsuyu Asui!”

The crowd cheers as Tsuyu walks across the field.

The two fighters stand at opposite ends of the arena.

“The rules are simple: immobilize your opponent or force them outta the ring! You can also win by getting the other person to cry uncle.”

Izuku inhales and then exhales, calming his nerves. “I’m not going to hold back!” he shouts.

“Ready?!”

“I hoped you wouldn’t.” responds Tsuyu

“Begin!!”

Izuku reaches for the Omnitrix. “It’s hero ti-”

“Na ha!” Tsuyu lashes her tongue out and grabs Izuku’s right arm pulling his hand away from his Omnitrix before he can even activate the dial.

“What the?!”

“Whoaaa!! Would you take a look at this!”

Izuku pulls against Tsuyu but her grip is too strong. He tries to bring his left hand up to his right while pulling against the stretchy and strong appendage but Tsuyu pulls his arm away, throwing him off balance and preventing him from activating the device. She tries to pull him towards the edge of the ring so Izuku plants his feet in place before she can pull him across.

“Hahaha! Looks like Midoriya is in a real jam here! He can’t activate his Quirk without access to his support item, and it looks like his own classmate is going to take advantage of that weakness!”

Aizawa chimes in. “It’s a fair strategy. If she can stop him from using his Quirk, then she can guarantee her own victory.” But from what he’s had the pleasure of seeing, Midoriya will find a way out of this situation. The only question is how he’ll do it.

Tsuyu and Izuku continue with their little tug of war game. Every now and then Tsuyu would pivot her body and swing him towards the edge of the arena but it’d always end the same with Izuku slamming his feet and free hand against the dirt to keep himself from being flung out.

“You’re really not making this easy. Kero.”

Izuku grunts. “Neither are you.”

He needs to think of something, and quickly. She’s just wearing out his stamina, she thinks that as long as he can’t use the Omnitrix then all she has to do is wait for him to get tired. Dammit, if only the Omnitrix was mentally connected with him or something!

But it’s not. And so he needs to find another way to activate the faceplate and slam it back down but how? His hands are literally tied up at the moment and if he even makes a move to bring his hands together Tsuyu will just throw him off balance again. So, what to do… _‘I got it!’_

Izuku lifts up the Omnitrix, not up to his hand, but to his face. He lines up his teeth and bits down on the two main points of contact and the dial pops up with a ding.

Tsuyu’s eyes flash with worry and she immediately kicks it into overdrive. She leaps back and pulls Izuku along with her, flinging him up.

“Ahh!” Izuku yelps while being flung into the air with Tsuyu’s tongue still wrapped around his hand. _‘I’m not going to lose here!’_

No time to be picky, he slams down the Omnitrix against his side.

The crowd roars as they recognize that flash of green light.

Tsuyu’s movement all but stops as something much heavier lands back on the ground kicking up a small dust cloud.

Tsuyu follows her tongue towards the small cloud as it begins to dissipate and reveals a grinning four-eyed beast.

“Oh, yeah.” grins Four Arms while Tsuyu’s tongue is wrapped around only one of his arms.

The crowd is going crazy over seeing a new and admittedly cool transformation.

And so is Present Mic. “There it is! Somehow Midor-sorry, I man Four Arms was able to pull off a transformation. Yeah!”

Aizawa eyes his co-host curiously. “Four Arms?”

“Oh, that’s the name Midoriya gave that form. During lunch I asked him to provide me a list of his transformations to help commentate.” In other words, he will be referring to Midoriya as his transformations rather than his name.

“That feels unnecessary.”

Four Arms grins at Tsuyu. “Sorry, for the delay. I was a little tied up.”

Tsuyu frowns in annoyance of the pun.

Four Arms reaches for her slippery tongue, but it slides off of him before he can get a grip.

He is hoping to throw her out of the arena himself, but it looks like he’ll have to get his hands dirty.

“Here I come!” He charges throwing his two right arms back, reading a dual-punches.

Tsuyu is rather calm despite the charging brute, she quickly squats down on all fours and leaps away just before Four Arms slams his fists against the ground.

Four Arms scowls but is met by two kicks to the face as Tsuyu plants her feet against his head and kicks off of him. Knocking him back a bit while putting more distance between them.

Four Arms rubs his cheek, that was not pleasant.

Tsuyu actually smirks. “That was for the puns.”

The crowd cheers and laughs as karma was just served.

Four Arms smirks back. “Fair enough.”

Four Arms springs back into action charging at Tsuyu but she just jumps right over him and bounces off his back before his other arms could grab her. While in midair she lashes out and uses her tongue like a whip striking his back.

Midnight swoons. “Ooh! She’s into that type of foreplay.”

They can hear Aizawa give an exasperated sigh over his microphone.

“Get back here!” shouts the Tetraman as he reels around and goes after his froggy opponent.

The following moments of the match go about the same with Fours Arms throwing punch after punch only for Tsuyu to use her much smaller size and agility to evade his attacks while using her tongue to trip him up every now and again.

At this point all she can do is wait Midoriya out at least until his ten minutes are up, but she’s actually the one draining her own stamina now so even that strategy isn’t sound.

“That’s the U.A. Sports Festival right there, despite the clear unbalance in power, Asui proves that speed and strategy can outwit any foe! Yeah! Especially the hulking red mass that is Four Arms.”

Tsuyu kicks off Four Arm’s shoulder, leaping away before he can grab her. Damn he may have a strong build but he’s too darn slow compared to her. _‘I need to throw her off balance, but how?’_

He needs to change up his strategy, but how? He watches her land back onto the ground before crouching down on all fours waiting for him to make the next move. She’s trying to read him.

 _‘Come on Izuku think! Asui is fast and can strike from a distance. And those are my biggest issues.’_ He gazes down at Tsuyu before his two pairs of eyes drift down to the cement ground. _‘That’s it!’_

Tsuyu’s eyes widen as Four Arms grins.

“Four Arms!” The red hulking mass raises all his hands over his head. “Smash!” He slams his fists down onto the ground as hard as he can creating a small tremor that tears apart the surface of the arena.

“What’s this?! Can he say something like that without being sued for copyright? But in any case, Four Arms has just smashed apart the entire of the ring!”

Tsuyu wobbles in place, temporarily losing her balance with her off balance Four Arms enacts the next part of his plan.

He jabs his hands into the ground and pries out two large chunks of rubble. With a roar he swings his body and tosses the first boulder, spins around, and tosses the other one right at the frog girl.

“Throwing rocks is that really your plan?” She jumps up and over the first flying chunk, but she inadvertently threw herself in the path of the second projectile.

She remains calm, however, and lashes her tongue out to the side where it grips the ground and like a fishing line, she reels herself towards the side and out of the way of the boulder before it can crash into her. She has no time to relax as Four Arms was expecting that and is already upon her. She leaps up and over him, but that’s okay because he expected that too.

The smirking Four Arms spins around but as he does so he jabs his right hands into the ground and swings them around and throws them out along with a barrage of broken up cement.

This wave of rubble is far too wide for her to simply dodge while in midair, so with no options she braces herself as she’s pelted by debris. She tries to block it with her thin arms and even tucks in her legs to help defend her body, but even so the damage has been done. Not only did the projectiles wear her down but they offset her balance when they collided with her so when she lands, she falls onto her back with a thud.

“Sorry, Tsu but I’m going to win this!” The morphed Izuku jumps high so he can deliver a powerful high jump kick.

Tsuyu’s eyes pop wide and she hastily rolls away, shoves herself off the ground, and leaps a few feet away from the original spot just as Four Arms muscular legs smash right in the same spot. His landing creates another tremor that shakes and breaks apart the battlefield even more.

Tsuyu scowls, this is not how she was hoping this would go. At this rate she’ll lose, she needs to end this quickly.

Four Arms’ eyes gleam with the thrill of battle as he turns around and throws dual-punches at her. “Rahhh!!”

Tsuyu allows the fists to get close before she sidesteps and jumps forward, she grabs Four Arms’ shoulder and then uses it to bounce off of, kicking him forward.

But he was expecting that, with a grin Four Arms uses his punches to dig his hands into the ground, and with two points of support he twists his entire body up behind and either by luck or good planning he back kicks Tsuyu’s side.

Tsuyu slams back on the ground, rolling across it before she plants her hands and feet in place. And with no time to waste she lashes her tongue out at him, aiming for his head.

But her sudden impatience will be her downfall as Four Arms grabs her tongue in midair.

“Let’s bring things in full swing, shall we?” grins Four Arms as he grips her tongue and swings her around like a centripetal ball throw before letting her go allowing her to fly through the air with no chance of her recovering.

And she is aware of this as her entire body flies out of the battle field, and out of bounds. ‘ _Well done, Midoriya.’_ She calmly lands on her feet, like a frog, onto the grassy field.

Midnight, the umpire, throws her hand up to signal the end of the match. “Asui has been thrown out of bounds! Midoriya advances to Round Two!”

The crowd cheers and howlers with delight, those two really gave them a bit of a show, a good way to start the tournament.

Four Arms and Tsuyu stand opposite each other back on the broken battlefield. The two shake hands and gaze at each other with respect.

“I may have won, but you definitely didn’t make it easy.”

“Thank, kero. But don’t relax now. Something tells me that your fights are only to get harder from here on out.”

Present Mic screams out. “Thanks for the show you two! Well done the both of you! But this was only the first fight of many to come, so hang because I’m willing to bet things are only going to get crazier!”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Way to go guys!” greets Ochaco as the two fighters of the first match arrive. “That was great!”

Tsuyu frowns. “Thanks, but it is disappointing.”

Four Arms sheepishly grins as he tries to maneuver his much larger body around the benches.

As he tries to get to a seat Iida intercepts him. “Well done, Midoriya! Your quick thinking and creative mind have allowed you to claim victory!”

At the same time Bakugou scowls. “Whatever, you just wait. I’ll show you all what a real winner looks like!”  
Sero eyes him curiously. “Sore-loser’s more like it.”

“What’d you say Tape Arms?!”

Juzo, of Class 1-B, eyes the Class 1-A students. “Class 1-A sure is a rowdy bunch.”

Tsuburaba nods. “No kidding.”

Ibara scowls. “He doesn't bother to learn his own classmates’ names. Shameful.”

Mina chuckles. “You think that’s bad. He’s never called Midoriya by his real name even though they’ve known each other since preschool.” At least that’s what she heard from Ochaco.

Bakugou turns his attention to the pink girl. “Shut up!! Of course I know shitty Deku’s name!”

“Oh really?” Mina’s voice is laced with sarcasm. “What is it?” A simple yet effective question.

An irk mark forms on Bakugou’s head, before turning away in annoyance. “It doesn’t fucking matter!! Shitty Deku is shitty Deku!!”

The boy in question is stunned, his jaw dropped while in shock. _‘Are you serious?! Or does he not care?!’_

Ochaco sweat drops as she pats Four Arms’ shoulder. “Don’t let him bother you.” She then leers over at Bakugou with a sly smirk. “He’s not worth it.”

Bakugou snaps. “Huh?!” He’s about to leap out of his seat but Kaminari and Kirishima grab his shoulder holding him in place before he does something that kicks him out of the Tournament.

While Bakugou curses up a storm, the Omnitrix beeps and flashes red and as such Izuku is able to properly plop down into his seat.

“Phew.”

The bright red light blinded a few students of Class 1-B who are not yet accustomed to Izuku’s transformations yet.

“My eyes!”

“So, bright!”

“How can someone so plain looking, become something so…alien?” 

Shoji smiles down at his shorter classmate. “Welcome back.”

Izuku smiles back up at the multi-limbed teen. “Uh, yeah, thanks. But I never left.” Even so the sentiment was nice.

Present Mic’s voice echoes through the arena. “Okay all you cheering Sports Fans who’s ready to get the match going?!”

The audience explodes in response.

“After such a smashing first match, our handy Cementoss has already repaired the arena. So, let's keep the ball rolling!”

Izuku lights up and he summons his Quirk Analysis notebook seemingly from thin air. The Sports Festival is the best time for him to get new notes on his classmates and plus whoever wins this fight will face him next.

Down below the next two competitors take center stage.

“Offense and defense in one! The dark samurai and his darker shadow! From the Hero Course, Fumikage Tokoyami!”

Tokoyami has his arms folded together as the pillar of flames dance at his sides.

“Versus! The great creator! She was admitted because of recommendations and I think we can all see why. Also from Class 1-A, Momo Yaoyorozu!”

Yaoyorozu has the look of someone ready to prove why she got in by recommendations. She’s aiming to prove that she has the right to be here. 

Ojiro leans forward in his seat so he can talk to Izuku. “How do you think this one will end?” He noticed Izuku’s notebook and its many scribbles. “Any clue?”

Without prying his eyes away from the fighters Izuku responds. “Timing is going to be the key thing here.”

“Oh? How so?”

Izuku leans in closer to his notebook, his pen at the ready to take notes., “You’ll see.”

Too bad he wasn’t around to give the black-haired girl some pointers because she has come up with her own conclusions. _‘Present Mic’s description of Tokoyami was accurate. With Dark Shadow he’s skilled at both attacking and defending.’_ And that puts her at a major disadvantage.

Heck, Tokoyami is definitely aware of his advantage as he stands across from her with a stoic and undetering gaze.

The top student continues to think strategically about her opponent’s possible moves. _‘He can also call upon the creature instantaneously. So, there’s little doubt he’ll start the match with a preemptive strike. If I can make a simple shield, I can block him.’_ There’s just one issue. _‘But I’ll have to be fast about it or else this fight will be over in a matter of seconds. Just like that. Then, if I have enough time to make-’_

“Second match. Begin!”

Yaoyorozu gasps, being taken by surprise, by the sudden start to the match. Her thoughts and strategy leave her just as suddenly.

And her hesitation will cost her as her opponent takes action.

“Go, Dark Shadow!”

The sentient being springs out of Tokoyami’s chest. “I’ve got her!”

Yaoyorozu scowls as light particles glow from her arm. _‘Quickly! A shield!’_ She creates a small iron shield and just in time too.

Dark Shadow rams against the shield but gets deflected upward.

With a quick opening, Yaoyorozu’s other hand readies itself to create something. “Now it’s my turn to attack!”

That’s not how this game goes, because Dark Shadow reels back around and divebombs her.

She barely has enough time to block its attack with her shield, but her Quirk was interrupted, and she remains weaponless. _‘I can’t focus on my Quirk!’_

And once again Dark Shadow dives bomb her again, but the living Quirk slashes out his claws and knocks away her shield.

Yaoyorozu yelps as she’s thrown back and left defenseless.

Dark Shadow is right back at her, swinging his claws but she’s fast enough to create a new shield to defend against it. The claws slam into her so hard that she's shoved away, thankfully she is able to keep her balance and prevent herself from falling, but the blow still did a toll. Heck she’s about ten feet away from where she was by that single attack.

But this distance could save her, she secures her stance and readies her shield for another attack. But it never comes, instead Tokoyami remains rotted to his spot with Dark Shadow hover above in the air.

She’s surprised. _‘Why has he stopped?’_ She throws her hand out and generates a metal bow staff. _‘This is my chance!’_

Before she can make a move, Midnight puts a stop to her whole plan. “Yaoyorozu!”

The girl in question is surprised by being called out as such but Midnight continues.

“You’re out!”

Yaoyorozu gasps in shock, that can’t be right? She must have misheard Midnight, right? But still… The recommended student gazes down and sure enough, that last attack pushed her right foot straight out of the arena.

“This match goes to Tokoyami!” announces the umpire as the audience applaud and cheer for Tokoyami’s overpowering show.

The raven-headed boy recalls Dark Shadow and without so much as speaking a word the entire fight, bow in respect to his opponent before turning and heading for the exit.

Unfortunately, his opponent is still in disbelief and left there feeling like she wasted her opportunity.

“Yikes! Now that was a fast, overwhelming victory!” Present Mic really isn’t one for tack. “Is it possible that Tokoyami’s Dark Shadow is one of the greatest Quirks ever? I think so!” That may be jumping the gun. “But that said, his next match may prove that to be true, we’ll see!” After all, Tokoyami will now be facing Izuku in Round Two.

Yaoyorozu watches in continual disbelief and grief as Tokoyami leaves her behind and moves on to the next round. “I lost…I didn’t even…do anything.”

She’s not the only one in disbelief, however. “Tokoyami is way too powerful.” says the kid with the alien watch. “I can’t believe he forced her out of bounds by focusing his attacks on her shield. He obviously had a strategy worked out.”

Ojiro can’t help but agree with that assessment. “Yeah, I guess so. Maybe he didn’t wanna hurt her.”

Izuku nods in agreement.

Ojiro frowns. “I bet she’s really upset about how that went down.”

They both turn and watch Yaoyorozu, the recommended student, drag herself off the field; she walks slowly with her head cast down and an air of sorrow follows her.

“I feel bad for her.”

“Yeah, me too…” Izuku frowns as the disappointed Yaoyorozu makes her exit.

In that same moment the Omnitrix finished recharging, lighting back up to green instead of red. And Izuku instantly takes note that only half the time has passed for it to recharge.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

As Yaoyorozu and Tokoyami return to their seats, Todoroki leaves the waiting room so he can partake in his own match.

He didn’t really care for the second match, instead he’s still thinking about Izuku’s own match. _‘You won your first, Midoriya, just defeat Tokoyami and then it’ll be my turn.’_

He turns the corner so he can enter the field but his heterochromia eyes spots something unpleasant blocking his path. “What do you want?” His voice is laced with malice, like he doesn’t really care for the other person’s presence.

His father, Endeavor, glares down at his offspring, not appreciating his lack of respect for him. “You’re acting disgracefully, Shoto.”

The younger Todoroki doesn’t even acknowledge what his father had to say. Instead he marches forward intending to ignore his old man.

Endeavor’s cold yet furious gaze follows his child. “If you simply used the power in your left side you would’ve had an overwhelming victory in both of the first rounds.” His scowl deepens for a second as he spits out his next line. “You could have easily defeated that Midoriya brat.”

Todoroki remains silent, avoiding his father’s gaze, and he marches right past him.

“It’s time to stop this childish rebellion of yours.”

“Tch.” the young man scowls. Of course this jackass would see his resolve as childish.

“You have a duty to surpass the imbecile All Might.”

Still no reply.

“Do you understand what I’m saying?” The Number Two Hero watches his child continue to turn his back on him in both a literal and metaphorical sense. “You’re different from your siblings. You’re my greatest masterpiece.” Surely the boy will understand. 

Todoroki does understand, far too well. “Is that all you have to say to me, you bastard?” His fist clench, his nails nearly piercing through his skin, and he grinds his teeth together to keep himself from yelling out. “I’ll win this match and the next one using only Mom’s Quirk.” That will show the bastard that he doesn’t need him. “I won’t give you the pleasure of seeing me use yours.”

Endeavor cold, furious eyes drift away from his rebellious spawn. “Even if that works for you in this tournament, you’ll soon find the limits of that power.”

Unbeknownst to the pro hero, Todoroki is doing all he can to keep his emotions bottled up before he explodes with righteous rage and fury. The light of the sun as he enters the field shines down on him, but with his head casts downward and his terrible scowl; it all gives him the look of a rabid beast whose master has been pulling on its chain for far too long.

The flames outlining the arena burst back into existence signaling his and his opponent’s arrival onto the battle ring.

“Enough standing around!” shouts Present Mic over the roar of the crowd. “Now welcome to the ring our next players.”

The screens project images of the cold and indifferent Shoto Todoroki vs. the excitable and cheery Mina.

“She’s got skills! And some unique yet delightful looks. From the Hero Course it’s Mina Ashido!”

Mina thrusts her fist into the air in pure joy and excitement. “This is going to be so great!”

“Versus, an early frontrunner in the competition who’s way too strong for his own good! Someone who rightfully got into the hero course based on recommendations! It’s Shoto Todoroki!”

The dual-colored hair of his casts a shadow over his eyes.

The audience is oblivious to Todoroki’s inner turmoil as his rage and sorrow boils within him. However, from the stands both Izuku and Ochaco watch on with fearful gazes. Even from there they can sense that something is troubling their rival.

“And now, for the third match of Round One. Ready?” It’s a rhetorical question. “Begin!”

Mina charges in without a second thought. “I’ll give it my best try!” She’s grinning from ear to ear as she slides across the arena with her acid. 

Mina gets about ten feet away from him when she senses that something is wrong, her grin disappears and is replaced quickly with concern. And her senses may just save her from a cruel demise.

Todoroki’s dark cold gaze pierces through her, with no hint of sympathy. “Apologies.”

Ice rushes forward through his right foot and rushes towards Mina before exploding into a powerful earthshaking eruption of frozen water that rises above and out of the entire stadium.

In the moments following it seems like the entire Earth or even the galaxy is stunned to silence. Not even Present Mic whispers a peep.

Those in the Hero Course Classes gasp and back away from the giant impaling glacier that stopped a mere few inches from their faces.

And the pro heroes on guard outside the stadium such as Death Arms and Kamui Woods are completely gobsmacked by the powerful earthquake and the spiky glacier hanging off the top of the stadium.

“Holy crap.”

Death Arms’ words probably say it best. The glacier erupted from one side of the stadium and is so large that it blocks out the sun giving it the appearance of an impenetrable frozen fortress.

Within the stadium, Todoroki’s entire right side is layered in a thin sheet of ice, he exhales releasing a small seeable breath. That attack must have done more for him emotionally, as if it was a response to his inner fury.

As for Mina…she is alright just shaken up even with tears in her eyes.

Thanks to her preemptive senses she leaped out of the way before the ice could initially grab her, but now…now she is stunned as everybody else as she gazes upon his magnificent display of power. But what really has her in such a fright is his…emotion state.

Just before his attack…she could almost sense the boiling mess of anger that was just about to be released onto the world. Whatever that anger is, it has a source, an external yet deeply emotional source to it.

And even though he seems calmer, there is just a dangerous yet sorrowful air around him. As if any small amount of irritation will set him off again.

And she doesn’t want to be what sets him off. She’d like to choose life, thanks. “I-I…I g-give up…” It hurts to admit that, but…there’s just no way she can win. Especially when he’s like this.

Midnight, with half her body frozen by the attack and the other half is left shivering, tries to fulfill her role. “M-Mina A-Ashido h-has given u-up. T-To-Todoroki is t-the winner.” 

Even though it was such an amazing display of power, the entire audience is still left in a state of shock. Possibly because of how terrifyingly powerful the son of Endeavor truly is.

Todoroki releases a breath of air, trying to compose himself. “Sorry about that. It was a bit much.” His eyes fall downward…down to his left side. “I was angry, is all.”

Izuku watches with worry as Todoroki remains rooted to his spot, before his devastating ice eruption. But…for some reason, in that moment, the Omnitrix wielder can’t help but notice how incredibly sad the boy looks. Like he wished the match…that the entire Sports Festival could have gone differently.

Izuku can only assume that whatever is eating away and destroying Todoroki from the inside…it has to do with his accursed flames.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ch. 23 What Are We is over, and the next chapter will focus in on the rest of the fights of Round One. I thought about including them here, but I feel like it’s important to draw on Todoroki’s situation and including the other fights would distract from it. So just to be clear next time it will be these fights in this order:
> 
> 1\. Tenya Iida vs. Mei Hatsume  
> 2\. Ochaco Uraraka vs. Hitoshi Shinso  
> 3\. Eijirou Kirishima vs. Itsuka Kendo  
> 4\. Denki Kaminari vs. Kyoka Jiro  
> 5\. Katsuki Bakugou vs. Ibara Shiozaki
> 
> *Just to be clear Izuku will be facing Tokoyami, not Todoroki, for his next match.
> 
> *Present Mic is aware that Izuku has names for his transformations and will refer to each of them by name.
> 
> *If you’ve been wondering why I’ve been late with these updates it’s because of two reasons:
> 
> 1\. Busy life stuff.  
> 2\. Fire Emblem…I just started playing the game for the first time and it is so much more addicting and time consuming than I thought it was going to be.
> 
> So if you want someone or something to blame for these later updates…you can blame Nintendo for making a story rich and engaging game. Sure you can blame me for even starting the game, but it’s not like I’m going to stop any time soon. Either way I’m still going to write so I think it’s all good.
> 
> *Anyway, stay safe out there everyone. Make smart and safe decisions and take care of yourselves and those around you.


	24. Fight! Fight! Fight!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Round 1 of the Tournament meets its end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright here we go, let’s finish off Round One of the Tournament with a bang!
> 
> *Warning! There is a tiny manga spoiler within this chapter. It’s nothing that major but just a heads up.

“Rahh!!” cries Tenya Iida as he returns from his own fight, although fight may not be the right word to use. “That foul woman, she made me look like a fool!”

Kyoka Jiro chuckles. “It was pretty funny if you ask me.”

“Gah!!”

Itsuka Kendo shakes her head in disapproval. “Sheesh, I knew Hatsume was an odd one, but…”

Yui Kodai cups her chin while nodding in agreement. “Hm, hm.”

Yui has black bob-shaped hair with an athletic build, cerulean eyes, and she adorns a neutral expression on her face.

The beast of Class 1-B, Jurota Shishida, adjusts his glasses with a scowl. “I think it’s a disgrace to this Tournament. This is supposed to be an event that allows us the opportunity to show off our skills. Not be a ten-minute-long commercial for some degenerate’s toys and gadgets.”

Iida plops down into his seat beside Izuku with a frustrated scowl. “I still can’t believe I fell for it!”

Izuku shivers as he recalls Iida’s match. “Iida…you’re too sincere, you trusted her motives.”

Before the match, Mei Hatsume tricked Iida into wearing some of her inventions. She then proceeded to use his attacks and moves to help display and show off her gadgets to support companies watching the Sports Festival. But the way she went about it was a bit crueller then she needed to be. She absolutely humiliated Iida by demonstrating her gadgets and weapons out on him: flying over him with her jetpack, using specialized cables to fling herself away, capture nets, and many others.

Izuku sweat drops. “She probably made it sound like she was doing you a favor.”

“Well, I thought it was fine. You and Aoyama got to wear your devices!”

Yuga Aoyama cuts in. “That is true, monsieur, however.” He allows Izuku to explain further.

Izuku is happy to explain. “We put in the proper paperwork since we both need our items to use our Quirks.”

Aoyama needs his belt to control his Naval Laser's output, and Izuku needs the Omnitrix to help activate his transformations.

Iida grimaces. “Now…you tell me…”

Toru Hagakure offers up a smile, or she would if they could see it. “I say your match was a nice change of pace, especially after…the one before it.” She looks to Mina Ashido who’s been rather quiet since her match with Todoroki.

Mina notices her concern. “I-I’m fine…” She offers up a smile hoping to appear confident. She looks over to the corner of the Hero Course viewing box to where Shoto Todoroki is silently sulking in the corner. _‘Although he’s the one I’m more concerned about.’_

Juzo Honenuki shakes his head in denial. “You know I know Midoriya has quite the Quirk on him, but so does Todoroki. I mean that was just crazy.” Seriously some of them were nearly impaled by the giant icicles.

Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu scoffs. “Ha, it was nothing! I could have taken it!” Who knows, maybe he could have.

“Hahahaha!!” A very disturbed and maniacal laughter echoes through the viewing box. “Yes, it seems that 1-A has some prized geese in their flock!!” Neito Monoma, with a deranged grin, leaps in front of the unsuspecting and very much startled Izuku and Iida. “But all it takes for someone to steal the golden egg to make it big.” His grubby like fingers crawl in the air. “How about I try your power out for myself, huh?”

He slaps Izuku’s head.

Izuku, in typical fashion, flips out and grabs at his head. “Why’d you do that?!”

“Hahaha! Is my class and I that beneath you that you never bothered to learn our Quirks?!” Monoma only displayed and explained it a few chapters ago.

Monoma sighs. “Ah, fine I will indulge you.” He spins around dramatically poking his finger against Izuku’s eye making sure she gets the point while also personally attacking him. “I can copy other people’s Quirks when I touch them!”

While Class 1-A are stunned by the revelation, Izuku feels like the rug has been pulled right from underneath him while his stomach sucks in on itself. “What?”

“Hahahaha!! Yes, it is true! I now have One Man Army!” Monoma waves his hands about at his sides as if to allow his peers to take in his full glory. “Now I will utilize your Quirk and show you what Class 1-B can truly do! Hahahahaha!!” Monoma holds his pose with his mad deranged grin as everyone holds their breaths in anticipation expecting Monoma to disappear behind a veil of green light.

However, the flash of light signaling a transformation never arrives instead both classes are left in a disappointing awkwardness with Monoma just making a fool out of himself.

Monoma, still grinning, tries to save face. “Dammit, it appears you’re a Blank.”

“Uh, uh, uh…” Izuku is still way too stunned to form words.

So Kendo asks the question that’s bugging everyone. “A…blank?”

Monoma sighs with...defeat? “It appears Midoriya is a Blank.”

“A…what?”

The copycat sighs. “Well, it’s my way of saying that his Quirk requires something to be stored up first before it can be properly used.” He drags a hand over his eye as if trying to hold back his aggression. “My power only copies the bare-bones essence of a Quirk. But if the copied ability needs to convert some stockpiled resource into energy, or something else to even use said Quirk, then I won’t be able to replicate whatever is accumulated.”

Momo Yaoyorozu lights up as it all clicks together. “Oh! I get it. If you were to copy my Quirk you would need proper fats to use your lipids to create objects as well as the knowledge of the structure and materials needed to make such items.”

“That is correct!” Monoma is delighted that someone else was actually listening to him. “It’s an issue I run into, now and then…and the reason why I couldn’t manifest his One Man Army, even after copying it.”

Izuku internally sighs with relief. _‘Oh, thank goodness! For a minute there…I thought we’d have another Nue on our hands.’_ Just the thought of another mutant monster with his powers running around is enough to make his skin crawl.

“Hahaha!!”

That sudden laughter makes Izuku freeze up, he knows that laugh all too well.

Katsuki Bakugou is laughing his head off from his seat. “Hahaha! You kidding, not only is your Quirk to rip off others, it can’t even rip off Deku’s Quirk?! Ha, that’s rich!”

Monoma instantly turns his attention on Bakugou and begins ranting about his own superiority despite his Quirk’s newly established limit.

While Bakugou and Monoma have a little shouting match, Eijiro Kirishima turns to see who’s up next to fight. “Well in any case. Who’s up next?”

Rikido Sato responds. “It’s Uraraka.”

Hanta Sero raises an eyebrow. “Really? This should be interesting then.”

Kirishima turns to Sato. “She’s facing off against that guy from General Studies, right?”

“I think so.” replies Sato

Sero has another question to add. “But what’s his Quirk?”

Izuku internally gasps when he overhears their conversation. Ochaco left before he could even warn her about Shinso’s Quirk. Well, it looks like there’s only one way this match is going to end.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Ochaco Uraraka gazes out into the sunlit arena from within the dark passageway, where she is waiting for Present Mic to introduce her into the stadium. But while she waits, she tries to calm her nervousness through some breathing exercises and a few arm stretches.

And she has a good reason to be nervous, she’s about to face off against an opponent without really having any real knowledge about him.

But to be fair, she sort of did that on purpose. She needs to show her worth to the world and to herself, so she purposely avoided asking Tsuyu, Jiro, and even Deku for some info. She needs to prove her worth to herself, and in order to do that she needs to rely on her own strength, courage, and skill. Of course that’s easier said than done.

“Hey.”

Ochaco jolts with alarm but relaxes upon seeing that it’s only her mentor, Yagi Toshinori.

“Sorry I haven’t said hi. You’ve been doing great, I’m so proud.” Toshinori grins and offers up a big thumbs up. “You harnessed One For All!”

Ochaco shakes her head. “No…not yet any way.” It was just a bit of instinct and adrenaline at work when she used it and didn’t experience any whiplash. “But…I can feel a change. And I’m getting there. But still this power…there’s still so much I don’t understand about it. I’m still having trouble with the output, all those other times…I was just lucky. Even with all your training my body still can’t handle all of One For All yet.”

“Yeah.” Toshinori cups his chin. “If we’re talkin’ about how much of One For All you'd be able to use at this point. I’d say my closest guess would be somewhere between five or maybe ten percent.”

“Gah…! That low?!” That’s disheartening. “Then I have been really lucky in these last events.”

Without any warning, Toshinori karate chops his successor on the head. “All I want to hear is that you’ll do your best dammit. There’s no such thing as luck!”

Ochaco holds her aching head with an adorable yet puffed out pout.

“So, enough talk like that!” continues the Number One hero. “Besides, do you really think you got by on luck alone?!”

Ochaco begrudgingly thinks back on the past events: her use of One For All during the Obstacle Course and how she was able to call upon it during the Cavalry Battle.

“It was your will and determination to never give up that’s gotten you this far, and that attitude will keep pushing you forward.” Toshinori gazes down at his rightfully nervous successor, he’s putting a lot of pressure on her. But he knows she can handle it and even if she doesn’t win, he’ll still be proud of her. “You may not be the most skilled, have the most versatile Quirk, or even the smartest person here!”

Ochaco pouts. _‘I thought this was supposed to be a pep talk…’_

“Just remember.” Toshinori’s body steams and with a puff of smoke, All Might stands before the girl with a massive and inspiring grin. **“WHENEVER YOU’RE SCARED OR NERVOUS ABOUT ANY CHALLENGE THAT MAY COME YOUR WAY. JUST TRY AND DEAL WITH IT BY SMILING!”**

“Really is that it…?”

**“OF COURSE! THINK OF IT AS A SORT OF CHEAT SHEET TO GET RID OF YOUR FEARS. STAND TALL AND SMILE AGAINST ANY ADVERSARY WILL FILL YOU WITH CONFIDENCE!”**

Ochaco gets it, that it’s a good way to psyche herself into feeling more confident even if she’s against an impossible challenge. “I’ll give it my all! I’ll show everyone what I got!”

**“OF COURSE YOU WILL! AND DON’T FORGOT THAT I’M ROOTING FOR YOU, YOUNG URARAKA.”**

She smiles up at him feeling a bit better but still nervous. She turns and approaches the exit allowing the sunlight to shine down on her as All Might deflates back into his thinner form.

“Alright, alright, alright!” calls out Present Mic. “Admittedly our last few fights could have been a bit more on the rousing side of things. But even so I’m willing to bet that things will change here and now!”

The flatscreens light up with images of the two competitors.

“From Class 1-A’s Hero Course we have the warm yet bubbly space girl, Ochaco Uraraka!!”

The nervously smiling Ochaco strides across the field towards the battle arena as the audience cheer her name and wish her luck.

“She's up against the rather phlegmatic member of General Studies who managed to sneak his way into the finals, Hitoshi Shinso!”

Hitoshi Shinso remains impassive to the cheers of the crowd, keeping his lackluster eyes forward.

The two stand across from each other as Present Mic continues his commentary.

“Now I probably should have pointed this out sooner but bring on the injuries. Because we got our very own Recovery Girl waiting on standby!” He’s hoping that this will spur these two on to have a real fight. Seriously, they need a fight otherwise they may lose the audience. “So, put your morals aside and don’t be afraid to play dirty! But of course no life-threatening crap, folks. It’s not allowed.”

From down below on the field, Cementoss constructs a chair for himself out of cement and takes a seat before smiling at the contestants. “I’ll stop anyone who goes too far.” After what happened with Todoroki, they decided that he should remain ready and on standby by remaining on the field. “And I’ll be sure to stop any attacks from hitting the audience.” They had to thaw out some of the bleachers and even part of the audience. So it would be best if they can avoid that again. 

Ochaco inhales and then exhales trying to calm her racing heart.

“Scared, are you?” inquires the indifferent yet somewhat biting Shinso. “In a way, this is a test of how strong your spirit is” His dark cold yet staunch gaze hardens. “If you know what you want your future to hold for you, you can’t worry about what other people think.”

“Ready?!” shouts Present Mic.

Shinso continues to glare at his opponent. “Broccoli head up there believes that too. I can tell.”

“Begin!”

“But you…you’re not like him. Are you?”

Ochaco looks like she’s just been slapped across the face, is he saying that she’s not as…committed or as skilled as Deku? And if so…then she can’t help but feel like he’s correct. 

“You don’t understand what it means to work hard.” His glare hardens like Ochaco’s very existence is an insult to him. “You’re just a little girl with no sense of purpose.”

Ochaco snaps, her face turning into a scowl. How dare this punk say that about her! She’s gone through so much and has to work her ass off just as hard if not harder than others! No way she’s going to take this smack talk lying down.

She kicks herself forward. “You don’t know what I’ve been through!”

And like that something in her mind switches off, her eyes glaze over as she goes silent, and she comes to a stop.

Shinso continues to glare at her still form. “That’s it. I win.”

Up in the Hero Course section Izuku, Jiro, and Tsuyu watch on with worry. They’ve already figured out what‘s happened. Shinso tricked Uraraka into falling under his control.

Izuku groans. “Gah! Why didn’t we say anything?!”

Tsuyu Asui replies. “I tried to, but she cut me off saying she wanted to figure it out on her own.”

“Really?!” Could that be true? It does sound like her, but still?

“Yeah.” responds Kyoka Jiro while twiddling an Earphone Jack between her fingers. “She doesn’t want to rely on anybody, so she shushed us as soon as we tried to say something.” She pokes her chin in thought. “Although I did give her some advice, even if she didn’t want it.”

Izuku lights up. “You did?!”

“Yeah, but it wasn’t much. I just told her to watch what she says to Shinso.”

Izuku blinks unsure if that advice was actually useful.

Jiro shrugs upon seeing Izuku’s doubtful expression. “Hey, it was all I could say without her snapping at me to shut up.”

Izuku grimaces because as far as any of them can tell, that advice was not enough. If anything…Ochaco is officially out of the running. _‘She’s…going to be devastated.’_

And so Izuku can only watch on as Ochaco remains rooted to the spot with a blank and dazed expression as the stadium echoes with murmurs and questions.

Present Mic contributes to the confusion. “Huh?! Hey, hey, what’s the dealio? I promised a high stakes fight with tons of action! Don’t make me look bad you guys! Why aren't you moving?!”

Ochaco can’t even respond; it's like her entire body is devoid of any sense of will. 

“The fight has just begun and Ochaco Uraraka is…completely frozen? She’s not moving a muscle!”

The audience are stunned by the news. They have no clue what’s going on and are at a complete loss. They’ve seen this girl pull off some incredible feats so far and to have her brought to such a state so quickly is rather mind blowing to them.

“And what’s with that look on her face? Could this be a Quirk at work? Shinso seems to have Uraraka completely stunned!”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Present Mic continues announcing from within the announcers’ box. “He didn’t stand out in the first rounds at all but it’s possible Shinso’s crazy powerful! Who could have imagined this turn of events?!”

Shouta Aizawa could have. “It’s a perfect example of why the Entrance Exam isn’t rational.”

Present Mic raises an eyebrow at his longtime friend. “Huh? Why’s that?”

“You're not the only one who did some research during the break.” Within his casted arms, Aizawa holds up several sheets of paper. “Since we’re on the individual matches, I had some information compiled about all our competitors.” He gazes down at the info, specifically peering down at Shino’s file. “Shinso failed the practical exam to get into the hero course, albeit by a small margin.”

Shinso used his athletic abilities to get to the off switches located on the robots, but it wasn’t enough.

“Since he also applied for General Studies, he probably figures that would happen.” Mainly because of the nature of his Quirk. “His Quirk is incredibly strong, but that entrance test consisted of fighting faux villains. Robots.” Basically he can’t use his Quirk on nonliving things and with the rules they had in place that prevent examinees from interfering with each other, Shinso really had no opportunity to use his Brainwashing Quirk.

“The robots gave a huge advantage to those who have physical superpowers they could show off.”

Like Aoyama and his lasers, Feedback and his electrical powers, Bakugou and his Explosions, and especially Uraraka’s display of power that smashed an entire Zero-Point bot.

Aizawa eyes the indigo-haired boy, his eyes filled with what may be sympathy and admiration. “Despite his abilities, Shinso never stood a chance at passing.” He peers back down at the papers. “But he’s been putting in the effort.”

Along with the sheets, Aizawa has a timetable from the U.A. gym and on it lists out the various times Shino has used the facility since the start of the school year. The answer is that he’s been there nearly every single day. In other words, he’s been preparing for the Sports Festival and covering his weaknesses since day one.

_‘Impressive.’_

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Ochaco remains stock still, much like a puppet dangling from its strings while the puppetmaster simply examines his newest plaything.

“So, here we are.” Shinso fists clench at his side and a belligerent frown adorns his face. “You’re lucky to have been so blessed, Ochaco Uraraka.” After all she was born with such a unique and flashy Quirk. “Now turn around and walk out of bounds like a good little hero.”

Like a zombie, Ochaco slowly turns around and slowly stomps back the way she came.

“Uh…What?!” shouts Present Mic. “Ah! Uraraka, your opponent’s the other way!!”

Izuku’s fists clench white as he grinds his teeth together. “Come on, Uraraka. Snap out of it.”

Although Izuku sympathizes with Shinso’s plight, he doesn’t want to see his friend lose either. But then again, he doesn’t want Shinso to lose either, after all he honestly believes that someone like Shinso could be a hero. But if he doesn’t make a big impression, he’s not going to make it into the Hero Course… Dammit!

Izuku’s emotions are stuck between a rock and a hard place, but even so it looks like there is only one way this is going to end.

Iida flails his arms out like a robot beside him. “She can’t walk out of the ring! She’ll lose the match if she does!”

Bakugou remains seated with an annoyed scowl on his face.

Todoroki watches wondering if this is the end for her, and if so, that is rather disappointing. He really desired the chance to confront and defeat her himself.

Meanwhile, Toshinori is in a state of panic from within the dark passageway. His fingers are digging into the edge of the gate as he fearfully eyes his successor’s zombie-like demeanor. “What is this power?” It’s terrifying!

Present Mic finally manages to pry Shinso’s file away from Aizawa. “Oh, here we go! His Quirk is Brainwashing!” He says it like it explains everything.

Basically Shinso’s Brainwashing Quirk works as such: when an opponent answers his question, it flips a switch in their minds forcing them to do whatever he says. Not every question does it, though, because he only brainwashes when he wants to.

As in the case of the blank-eyed brunette who’s slowly approaching the out of bounds line.

The panicking Toshinori yelps out. “What are you doing, kid?! Get back in there and show ‘im what you’re made of!” What happened to her fighting spirit? Is this kid’s Brainwashing that strong?!

Unbeknownst to anybody, Ochaco is actually somewhat aware of what's going on. Although she is at a complete loss. _‘What’s…going on…? My body’s…moving all on its own…’_

In truth she can’t even hear the crowd or her own friends shouting down at her. It’s like Shinso’s voice is the only thing she can hear. That said, she can somewhat see and feel her own body moving, it’s an odd sensation like she’s a puppet that is unable to move unless her handler allows it.

_‘My head is…it’s so… foggy. Wh-what’s happening…?’_ Through her blurry vision she can see how dangerously close she is to walking out of bounds. _‘N-no…! I…I have to…fight…for everybody…! I’m…I’m such an idiot…I should have…I should have asked about his power. About his Quirk…’_ Through her foggy mind something finally gets through. _‘Hang on…it’s a Quirk. Which means…it has a limit or a weakness!’_ She just needs to figure it somehow, but what could it be? 

_‘But…even if I figure it out…there’s not enough time. I’m…going to lose! It’s all…over.’_ She is only a few steps away now. _‘Even though…so many…of my friends and family…are counting on me…’_

If she could, she’d be crying. She needs to show what she can do, so she can get scouted to a good agency so she can guarantee her success as a hero. Without that her parents will have to suffer even longer! All Might will have to wait longer for her to take over as the Symbol of Peace. And her friends and classmates will move on without her, they’ll get stronger while she’s still trying to figure out her own Quirks… _‘They’re all watching me… All of them! They’ll all see me fail them!’_

Something within her breaks through her sorrow, as if her very soul has been lit aflame. Her gaze trails forward for a moment to the dark passageway where her mentor stands watching.

But she doesn’t see him, instead from within the dark void are shining stars that are flashing various colors that flood her vision, but despite the bright color show she doesn’t flinch or gets blinded. Instead the rays of light flow into her as if giving her energy and the confidence she needs.

All too soon the color show dissipates, and the dark passageway returns to her vision but instead of being greeted by the sight of her predecessor she instead gazes upon several ominous and shrouded silhouettes. Each individual looks back at her with resolute gazes, but their gazes aren’t looking at her per say but her very soul. As if they are examining her character…

And all too soon, those bright lights before come flooding back, hindering her vision. But she feels something, something…almost supernatural as One For All activates all on its own accord. Two of her fingers glow brightly with a pink aura, she can feel it happening, but…she is not the one willing it to do so.

Shinso, unaware of the phenomena, continues to glare at Ochaco’s retreating form. “Even with a Quirk like this, I have my own dreams of becoming a great hero.” And he will make it a reality.

At this point her foot is nearly over the line.

“So, lose for me.” Lose for his dream. 

Sorry Shinso but whatever force is acting upon One For All has other plans. Because Ochaco’s fingers flick downward and instantly generates a gale of wind that sends out a powerful shockwave that shakes the entire battlefield and throws Shinso, All Might, Deku, and even Ochaco herself for a loop.

Ochaco pants heavily as her senses finally return and not too soon because her feet are less than an inch away from walking out of bounds.

Present Mic shouts into his microphone. “What’s this?! Uraraka stopped just in time!”

The audience is going crazy, this is such an upset. They truly thought it was all over then and there.

Iida shoots out from his seat. “That's the way to do it!!”

Izuku is just as excited. “Yeah, Uraraka!!”

“She did it?!” cry Tsuyu and Jiro, they didn’t think it would be possible to break out of Shinso’s Quirk unless an external force struck her.

From above Aizawa gasps as he notices Ochaco’s injury. _‘Her fingers.’_ They’re swollen and red. _‘She damaged them in order to stop Shinso’s Quirk…reckless but well played.’_

The panting Ochaco turns and glares back at the astonished and rather scared Shinso.

Shinso backpedals to get away from the powerful beast. “No. Impossible.” He growls before erupting at her. “You’re not supposed to be able to fight back! What did you do?!”

The panting Ochaco is still reeling back from what just occurred to even register Shinso’s demands. _‘What…what was that? My hand…used One For All all on its…own… No that’s not right. It was like someone else activated it…controlled it. But it wasn’t me. It was like people I didn’t know came into my mind. And for a split second…it was clear…could it be that…’_

She recalls the secret All Might shared with her about One For All: that it’s _“a sacred torch that’s been passed on from person to person.”_ And just like that it all clicks together. _‘Those silhouettes! Were they-’_

“HOW’D YOU DO THAT!?!” Shinso roars, his extremely aggravated voice interrupting her pondering.

Ochaco grips her injured hand, forgetting all about her theory for now. Right now she needs to focus on the fight, it’s not over yet after all.

“What the hell are you?!”

She opens her mouth to refute back but then stops…she realizes something. During the Cavalry Battle she saw how Bakugou went silent all of a sudden. And it was when Shinso called out to him. And then there’s Jiro’s advice. She said to watch what you say around this guy…was that a warning, a hint?

She steadies her stance. _‘That’s got to be it…but if I’m wrong.. Then it truly is over.’_

Shinso picks up on her deduction and scowls. _‘She’s not answering. Did she figure it out?’_ He studies her expression, her steadfast expression. _‘Yeah…she did. Didn’t she. Shit! This is why I was hoping to sneak my way into the Tournament without being in the spotlight. But Broccoli head had to go and screw all that up, didn’t he? Did he warn her? Did he tell her…? No, he didn’t. He’s too modest and honorable for that. And even if he did, he knows that guys like him and me-’_ Shinso stands tall trying to seem imposing. ‘ _-don’t give up that easily.’_

But first he should test to see if she really did figure him out already. “Come on say something.”

Ochaco frowns while readying herself to make a move, keeping her mouth shut the entire time.

Shinso tries to offer up a smile, maybe it will help her relax and slip up. “I didn’t know you had so much power…well I mean I had an idea, but I wasn’t sure.” Actually it’s why he was so quick to use his Quirk on her because of how terrifyingly powerful this girl is. “You really are blessed, aren’t you?” 

Ochaco begins to run forward, but with a slow start thanks to the pain. _‘No I’m not blessed…I had to earn my place here, too.’_

“Thanks to the way my Quirk works. I’ve always been at a big disadvantage. But someone as blessed as you wouldn’t understand that!!” Shinso snaps, he’s beginning to freak out with her lack of a response.

_‘I understand…I do.’_ She starts to gain speed. _‘You may not understand me, but I think I understand you. You were born into circumstances you couldn't control.’_ Much like how she was born into a family drowning in poverty or how Deku was born without a Quirk. _‘But you will do anything to achieve your dream, too! Like me!’_

“You’re lucky enough to have a heroic Quirk!! It’ll be so easy for you to reach your **goal**!!”

She’s gaining more speed. _‘You’re half right…I am lucky, but…it’ll be far from easy’_ She was lucky enough to be trained by the Symbol of Peace, but she still had to earn his power. She was lucky to make friends with Deku, but she still has to pull her own weight and show she can handle herself! And she only has so much more to work for! _‘That’s why I’m here!!’_

All too quickly for Shinso to follow, Ochaco is upon him, and she thrusts her good hand out at him. She’ll use Zero-Gravity to push him right out of the ring and bring this match to a close. It’ll be as simple as that.

But then again, she should know by now that things are much more complicated than that.

Shinso glares at her as her hand is nearly upon him, and in that moment, he can’t help but think back to why he’s even standing before her in the first place.

##########(Flashback)#########

It was just another day at Nabu Middle School, and a younger Hitoshi Shinso was simply minding his own business alone in his seat.

“Your Quirk is Brainwashing?” asks a rather too hyperactive classmate. “That’s so cool!”

Shinso just stares up at the boy blankly before the second boy interrupts. “Seriously?! I can’t think of anyone who’s had that power.”

Another classmate, a girl this time, interjects herself into the conversation. “I’m so jealous, Shinso.”

The first student smiles. “Imagine all the cool stuff you could do by controlling people.”

The other boy has a devious look in his eyes like he’s thinking of something pervy and definitely law breaking. “Yeah, you can do any bad thing you want.”

The girl chuckles. “And no one would ever know it was you. Just promise you won’t make us your slaves, okay?”

These three are joking of course but…it still hurts. It actually hurts Shinso to know that this is how his peers see him and his Quirk, and the potential they both have. They believe he’s perfect for the role of villain.

“Heh…” Shinso tries to smile it off. “Everyone always says that.”

But that is not how he truly felt at the time. _‘Of course, I’d probably think anyone with my power would use it for evil, too.’_

In times like this he can’t help but think back to the kinds of things people always say about him:

“Sounds criminal, Shinso.”

“It’s the perfect power for a villain to have.”

“I’m afraid he’ll make me do something… “

Of course there are also those who remain silent as if afraid of him and what he may do to them if they answered him.

_‘I’m used to people looking at me like I’m the bad guy._ ’ But he never did get used to it or how…lonely it can be. So much that…it really hurts at times. _‘But you know what? I’m not…I’m not a villain.’_

########(End Flashback)#######

Shinso glares at Ochaco as her hand is nearly upon him. And with a sly smirk the wrongly judged puppeteer side steps and lets Ochaco rush right past him.

Almost in slow motion, he smirks down at Ochaco’s shock expression and with a quick move he slugs her across the face knocking her away.

Ochaco nearly loses her balance before coming to a stop, holding her cheek as she wonders what just happened. How could he have been that quick?

Shinso smirks, finding her bewilderment amusing. “Sorry, but it’s not going to be that easy.”

Present Mic was also caught off guard by the sudden move by Shinso. “What was that?! Rather than Uraraka landing a hit it was Shinso! Are we finally going to have a real fight?”

Shinso snickers, as he takes a more combative ready stance and gestures for Ochaco to make another move at him.

The audience screams with excitement. They love this new development.

The round-faced student glowers, she’s still a bit shaken by the One For All’s sudden activation and with Shinso’s surprising moves, she knows that if she tries to use All Might’s Quirk again, she’ll only injure herself further. So, for now, she can only rely on Zero-Gravity assuming Shinso will let her get a hit on him.

_‘If you wanna fight…then let’s fight!’_ Ochaco leaps at Shinso again, biting her tongue to prevent herself from speaking.

Ochaco thrusts her open hand forward but Shinso grabs her wrist and pushes her away, letting her run on by without touching him.

“You’ve probably figured it out, but my Quirk requires you to speak.” Shinso smirks. “But your Quirk has its own requirements too. That last attack, rather than going for a punch you tried tagging me.”

Ochaco grimaces with worry. _‘Did he figure me out?!’_

He did. “To use your Quirk you need to tag me, so I just won’t let that happen either.” 

Present Mic bellows into the microphone. “Haha, looks like Shinso read Uraraka’s moves like a book! How will she cope?!”

Aizawa leans forward in his seat. “Both have their own restrictions. One can’t be allowed to speak while the other can’t afford to be touched.” This should make things interesting. “I wonder how they’ll cope.”

Ochaco runs forward, with only one hand at the ready since the other is disabled. _‘I have to get him! Fast!’_

This time rather than sidestepping Shinso grabs her wrist and falls backwards. He takes Ochaco with him, using his weight and her momentum to pull her over him. He then kicks his leg up from under her and launches her over himself. She slams against the ground with a groan and a yelp of pain.

All too soon Shinso is back on his feet just as Ochaco pushes herself off the ground.

“I’m going to give this my all!!” He roars as he jumps forward reading to deal a massive blow with a devastating knee to the face.

Ochaco acts quickly using her left arm to block and deflect the kick, throwing Shinso off balance. She leaps forward and body checks him.

“Ooff!!” Shinso grunts as Ochaco smashes into his gut making him stagger backward. 

Ochaco isn’t done; she's already running right for him with her good hand ready to strike. ‘ _I’ve got you!!’_

Shinso, able to pick up on her body language, grabs her wrist once again and knocks it away. However while using his arm to deflect her hand, he is left wide open and Ochaco’s injured hand slams against him. Her injured fingertips light up as Zero-Gravity takes effect.

Shinso internally gasps. _‘Her hand…clever. I didn’t even think she’d be so reckless.’_ No doubt her hand feels like it’s on fire from all the pain.

Shinso, despite having his body become weightless and is now slowly floating backwards, smiles. Sure defeat is imminent, there’s no way he can hope to stop the effects of her Quirk. Even so he can’t help but respect his opponent.

“I guess I was wrong about you.”

Ochaco nearly gasps in surprise but cuts herself off, not completely trusting this guy.

Shinso snickers. “That last move was reckless…like someone who’s desperate to win. It was an action of someone…who has a purpose.” 

Ochaco actually relaxes, she’s almost relieved to hear that her opponent can understand her too.

Shinso’s body is nearly over the out of bounds line. “You do know what it means to work hard don't you?”

She nods with no hesitation.

Shinso can only smile as he crosses over the line. “That’s good…I’m glad to see Broccoli head isn’t the only one that understands what it means to be a hero.”

And just like that the match is over.

Midnight throws her hand up to signal its end. “Shinso is out of bounds! Uraraka advances on to her next match!”

The entire stadium erupts into cheers of joy. Even though that fight wasn’t anything too flashy it was still a nice change of pace after everything they’ve seen.

Ochaco pants heavily as she releases her hold on Shinso and the indigo-haired teen’s feet land back on the ground. Although his smile has softened and is a bit more…sorrowful. 

Meanwhile, up in the bleachers Izuku sighs as he shrinks back into his seat. “Ugh, that was so nerve-wracking…”

Jiro nods, wiping the sweat from her brow. “No kidding, I honestly thought it was all over when she fell for his Quirk.”

Tsuyu nods although her expression remains calm and neutral. “So, did I, but I’m happy for her.”

And they aren’t the only ones happy for her victory.

Iida is giving his classmate a standing ovation. “Turning the tables on the last moment, I expect nothing less from Uraraka.”

Yui of Class 1-B isn’t smiling but that could be because of her more indifferent and stoic expression. Even so she nods along with Iida’s statement.

Kendo beams beside her. “Yeah, she did.”

“Hm, Shinso’s power is amazing.” A dark and sinister snicker adorns Monoma’s face. “I can really make use of Quirk like his.”

Kendo sheepishly chuckles at his comment. “Stop thinking up cockamamy schemes, Monoma. You’re only going to embarrass yourself.”

Meanwhile, Aizawa is also praising Ochaco’s efforts. _‘She focused her power like she did during the Obstacle Course, and she’s been using her opponent’s moves against them. Like how she used Shigaraki’s moment to flip him over during the USJ or how she used Shinso’s own defense to leave him open to attack. She’s not just learning from her experiences: she’s using every trick she’s picked up until now to improve her own chances.’_ And he’s willing to bet that she’s only going to accumulate more experiences to help cultivate her own abilities.

His co-host practically shouts into his ear. “Oh, Yeah!! That was a somewhat more boring fight compared to the others, but yet it still had us all on the edges of our seats! So, way to go you two! You really are something!”

Back on the battlefield, Shinso stands opposite of Ochaco who is cradling her swelling and inflamed hand.

“Let’s show them some love, everyone!”

The audience kindly applaud their efforts.

Ochaco’s eyes cast downward as the applause fall on death ears. Although she’s earned Shinso’s respect, she is still bugged by what he said: _‘“Someone as blessed as you could never understand!”’_

She gazes upon him and he kindly smiles back at her, but…she can tell. There’s a look in his eyes that show how really dispirited he is from this loss. 

_‘“It’ll be so easy for you to reach your goal!”’_

She can’t leave things be after that. She needs to know. “Why…Why do you want to become a hero?”

It’s a simple question but a question that can reveal a lot about someone’s character: their goals, personality, and reasoning.

The puppeteer grunts, he should have expected a question like that from her. “You can’t help the things your heart longs for.” He turns and begins to walk away. “You get that, don’t you?”

She does, better than anyone.

However, there is something else that bothers her. Even though he seems okay, she can tell that he’s still troubled that he may have lost his opportunity to even become a hero. And here she is, a hero in training, and she can’t offer up any kind, inspiring words or a smile that’ll make him feel better. All she can do is watch her tragic opponent head back to his solitude and depression.

At the same time, Izuku can also sense how downhearted Shinso really is. And he understands why too because he can sympathize with him. They were both born with unfair circumstances that caused others to view them differently than everyone else. And that led to everyone around them to continuously deny their dreams of becoming heroes. That they were only chasing after impossible dreams. And yet here they are…

Izuku simmers before gripping the Omnitrix and jumping off the ledge of the viewing box.

“Midoriya?!”

“Wait!!”

“What are you doing?!”

“Ahh! That’s so bright!”

The light of the Omnitrix fades away and Buzzshock zooms down the side of the stadium, zipping his way to his teammate. “You were amazing out there Shinso bzz!!”

Shinso blinks up at the tiny being and judging from the creatures’ overly positive demeanor he easily deduces that this thing is actually Broccoli Head.

Ochaco is just as surprised to see Deku here.

“You should be proud bzz!” proclaims the Megawatt. “You gave it your all bzz! And I know it wasn’t all a waste bzz!”

The puppeteer continues to blink up at Buzzshock, unsure if the little monster is messing with him or not.

“I know you’ll become a hero; I just know it bzz!”

“What…?” Shinso really doesn’t understand this guy. Is he just trying to get his hopes up?

Buzzshock spins around in midair before raising his hand out towards the audience. “Just listen to them bzz!”

Many of Shinso’s own classmates are singing his praises from the bleachers above.

“Wow, he never said he was that good!”

“I can’t believe he put up such a great fight against the gal who was in first place earlier!”

“He’s so cool!”

Shinso is rightly amazed by what he’s hearing.

Buzzshock can almost seem his eyes glimmering with hope but the kid’s own reservedness is holding it back. 

“And that’s not all bzzz!”

There are pro heroes also admiring him and his Quirk.

“With a Quirk like that it would be very simple to capture dangerous villains.”

“Wish I had it.”

“I can’t believe they stuck him in general Studies. Those idiots.”

“Well, there are a ton of applicants each year. Guess sometimes people slip through the cracks.”

“If only he had more combat experience.”

“Yeah, I bet he would’ve dominated.”

“What a waste.”

The morphed Izuku grins down at the indigo-haired hopeful. “Shinso, you hear that, right bzz?!”

He does.

“They think you’re incredible bzz…! No-” Buzzshock shakes his head and beams. “-you are incredible bzz!”

Shinso is still in disbelief…this can’t be real can it? 

“It’s true!” shouts his previous opponent.

Shinso turns to face her, she has the look of someone who needs to get something off her chest. To offer her own words of encouragement.

“Your Quirk…your skills really gave me a tough time!” Seriously just by speaking he forced her to injure herself. “And I know…And I know that with some more practice.” All Might’s successor looks him dead in the eye. “You can become a great hero!”

Shinso turns away from, soaking in the warm sunlight as if soaking in her words as well. A soft breeze brushes his messy hair, as if Mother Nature herself is offering up a comforting pat to the head.

“Depending on the results, they might transfer people into the Hero Course. Remember that.”

Ochaco and Buzzshock are taken back by his response. 

“Even if it didn’t work out this time. I’m not giving up. I’ll get onto the hero track, get certified, and then…” Shinso declares up to the sky with a growl. “I’ll become a better pro than any of you.”

Both of the Hero Course students inhale and nod with a grunt; they hold him to that. As they release their grunts, they both fall under Shinso’s spell. 

_‘He got me again! But why? The match is over.’_

_‘Huh, so this is what it’s like bzz.’_

Shinso chuckles. “You know, usually people tense up whenever they talk to me.” He smiles, a genuine smile, back at them. “If neither of you are on guard, someone’s going to defeat you. So be careful.” That’s an order brought to them by his Quirk, so they have to obey that order.

And with that, they are both free of his Brainwashing.

Shinso continues his path forward, moving past Buzzshock. “Uraraka, you better not lose and make me look bad. Especially to Greeny over there, he needs a reality check.”

“Huh bzz?!” exclaims Buzzshock. 

_‘Shinso…’_ Ochaco’s eyebrows furrow. “You can count on it!”

She gasps as she falls for his Brainwashing again. 

“…” Shinso glares back at her with an unreadable expression, while Buzzshock chuckles to himself.

Aizawa continues observing as Shinso exits the arena. The Class 1-A homeroom teacher reaches for the sheet he printed out about the boy and tucks it away for later.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Mmmmwah!” Recovery Girl removes her lips from Ochaco’s healed up hand as she finishes wrapping up her fingers in bandages. “That should do it.” The Youthful Heroine sinks back into her chair.

Ochaco leans back in her seat and takes in the makeshift Nurses’ Office. It’s smaller than Recovery Girl’s usual office but it serves its purpose.

The brunette eyes up at her mentor, Toshinori, who’s propped himself against Recovery Girl’s desk. “That match with Shinso…I…I couldn’t smile through it like…like you could.”

Toshinori sighs in understanding, holding the side of his neck. “I heard some of the things he said to you. And it didn’t help that you couldn’t go easy on him either.” Situations like that are never easy.

“Yeah, I just…didn’t know what to say or do... “ But Deku did, he always knows what to do and say: he was able to smile and make Shinso feel at ease. Something she wasn’t able to do.

Toshinori understands more than he cares to admit. “Well, no one expected you to have the answers.”

Ochaco gasps up, worried that she’s done something wrong.

Toshinori continues. “What I mean is…you don’t have to force yourself into understanding everyone’s predicaments. There are all sorts of people out there with different backgrounds, personalities, and problems. Naturally there will be those you can’t connect with. No matter how hard you may try.”

Ochaco sinks down into her chair, feeling more dejected than before.

“But sometimes a simple gesture can provide a lot to a person in trouble.”

Ochaco peers up at her mentor.

“Sometimes all we can do is offer up our help and reach out to those that may need our help; however, they don’t always accept our help. That said a simple kind gesture lets someone know that there are people out there that are willing to help, that are willing to save them.” The Number One Hero makes sure to look at his successor right in the eye before he delivers his next line. “That's what it means to be a Symbol of Peace, it’s a signal to those that need saving will be saved.”

Ochaco smiles, taking his words to heart. And he is right, she couldn’t do much, but maybe her respect and understanding to Shinso will be enough to get through to him. “Thanks All Might, I’ll remember that.”

“Good.”

Ochaco wipes the side of her mouth with the back of her hand. “Alright, I’m good as new. I’ll keep my eye on the prize and aim for the top! Just like you told me to!”

Recovery Girl frowns somberly. “Oh, dear. You poor little darling.” She turns on Toshinori as does her kind demeanor which takes on a more hostile nature. “Have you been putting too much pressure on her again?!” She unforgivingly slams her fist against the Number One Hero’s ribcage.

They can all hear his ribs crack even through Toshinori’s loud yelp of pain.

The tall lanky man groans and rubs his aching side. “It was necessary! And that really hurt!”

Ochaco tries to cover up her giggling. Something about seeing the Symbol of Peace getting put down by a sweet old lady is just hilarious to her.

She cuts herself off and remembers something that she needs to bring up and the sooner the better. “Oh, yeah, All Might.”

Toshinori hisses in pain as he continues to sooth his aching side; thankfully it wasn’t where his injury lies.

“I had…some sort of vision…during the match.”

That instantly grabs his attention so much, so he forgets all about his pain.

“There were…people. Maybe eight of them or so? I’m not really sure…it was also so bizarre and fast…” But she can almost recall every piece of it. “When Shinso had me under his Quirk it felt like my brain was all foggy and my senses were dimmed. But…when my sight came back, I saw them. And that’s when One For All moved all on its own!” She thinks back on it and remembers how one of the figures seemed to have sunken eyes and a rather thin frame. “Actually…one of them kinda looked like you, All Might.” She gazes down at her bandaged hand. “Do you think that…all the others who had your power in the past were there? Were they helping me? Guiding me? Like spirits?” She looks up to her mentor for information, but rather than finding a knowing wise leader she finds a shaking scared dolt.

“Spooky. I’m a…g-ghost?” asks the mightily disturbed Toshinori.

“Wha?! I don’t know! Are you?!” That’s a dumb question, of course he isn’t a ghost…well then again, aliens do exist so maybe that ain’t too far off. 

The Symbol of Peace composes himself. “Actually, I saw something like that, too. In my younger days.”

Ochaco and Recovery Girl peer up at him.

“It’s a clear sign that you’re getting closer to making One For All your own power.”

“So…what was it?”

He considers how to best explain the phenomenon. “Hm, tell me have you ever seen the series Avatar: the Last Airbender?”

“No.”

“Gah!” Her answer actually hurt him, making him fall flat on his face. “Dammit, I was really banking on that. Sheesh, you kids these days don’t know good TV when they see it.” Well then, he needs a different way to explain it.

“Anyway, I think it’s like a trace or imprint left by the user’s spirit that’s left behind in One For All when it’s passed on.”

Ochaco silently freaks out wondering if there are eight random souls living within her or something.

Upon seeing how disturbed she is by that concept, Toshinori quickly tries to salvage the situation. “Don’t worry. Whatever you saw, it won’t be interfering with you or your progress in the future, I’m sure. In other words, that vision wasn’t what got rid of the Brainwashing effects. Regardless of what you saw out there it was your passion that allowed you to overcome Shinso’s power.” At least that’s what he believes anyway. “If it was only long enough for you to wiggle your fingertips and expel some energy.”

Ochaco takes a moment to consider his explanation and she only has one word to describe it. “Lame.” Yeah, that’s the word for it. “That explanation was really lame. I thought you’d have answers not assumptions.”

“Forget about it!” replies Toshinori trying to move the conversation along. “More importantly shouldn’t you be worrying about who you’re fighting next?”

“Huh?!”

“Next up is Young Kirishima vs. that Kendo girl.”

Ochaco’s eye pop open, so she jumps out of her seat and she bolts for the exit. “Oh right! I better be going! Thank you for healing my hand.”

Recovery Girl smiles back at the girl as she takes off. “Of course but be careful. I don’t want to see you again until the festival is over! You hear?!”

“Yes, ma’am!” Ochaco slams the door behind her and runs off leaving the two heroes behind. 

The two of them remain there in silence with only the echoes of Ochaco’s footsteps filling the void.

When the girl’s footsteps fade away Recovery Girl peers up at the Symbol of Peace with something akin to sympathy. “So, she saw you there, too.”

There is unspoken conversation exchanged between the two. Like they both know that she shouldn’t say anything more than that. 

The tired hero’s eyes shadow over as he replies in a soft dismal voice. “That’s a good thing.” 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Welcome to the next match of the finals!!” greets Present Mic as Ochaco returns to the stands. “Now after such a teeter totter of a fight let’s keep the blood pumping with our next two challengers!”

The screens light up with the images of the next fighters.

“One of them’s a passionate manly fighter made of rock! The Hero Course’s Eijiro Kirishima!”

Kirishima claps his hardened fists together. “Bring it!”

“He’s up against a spirited maiden of skill and action. It’s Class 1-B’s own big sis, Itsuka Kendo!” 

Kendo kindly waves up at the cheering audience, appreciating their support.

“Make us proud, Kendo!” shouts Tetsutetsu. “Kick his ass!”

Juzo chuckles at the sight of Tetsutetsu. “Hahaha, something tells me this is going to be fun to watch.”

“Come on Kirishima!!” Mineta’s shouting draws in everyone’s attention. “Treat this like a video game where her clothes get ripped off!!”

“You’re the worst!!” shouts the entire Hero Course.

Izuku readies his pen. “Kirishima definitely has the advantage considering his high defense stats. And his hardened skin can turn his arms into the perfect bludgeoning weapons. Basically he’s wielding dual battle axes, and if he can land a hit it would definitely cause some major damage. In other words, I think Kirishima already has this fight in the bag. Unless of course Kendo’s Quirk can attack from long range. Then Kirishima won’t even be able to get close to land a single hit. Of course you can also consider the fact that-”

Ochaco taps his shoulder, interrupting his rapid muttering. “Um, Deku you’re freaking everyone out…” 

Izuku blinks and spins around to see everyone else staring at him with disturbed and confused expression. He smiles sheepishly before sinking in his seat trying to make himself disappear.

Thankfully, Present Mic pulls everyone’s attention back to the battlefield. “Can’t wait to see how this one ends! Begin!”

“Oh, yeah!” Kirishima takes off in a full sprint. “Let’s make this a real manly fight!”

Kendo can only assume he means that in a nice way.

“Rahh!!” Kirishima throws his hardened hand at her, but she ducks down, evading it with ease and goes in for her own karate chop to his ribs.

Her hand inefficiently taps against his rock-like skin. “Oh, boy.”

“Hehe, oh come on.” snickers Kirishima. “Is that all ya got?”

Kendo smirks. “No, it’s not.”

She thrusts her open hand up in an uppercut but just as her palm claps with his hardened chin, her entire hand expands to be nearly as big as her entire body.

The sudden expansion of her moving hand slams against Kirishima’s chin.

“Gahh!!” His head is thrown back and his shark-like teeth nearly bite off his own tongue. 

Present Mic screams with joy. “What a move! Just when it seemed like her moves were ineffective, she slugs him with a critical hit! That’s got to bite.”

Kirishima grins and adjusts his aching jaw. “Damn, that hurt!”

He growls and throws another rock-hard punch her way.

Kendo expertly enlarges her other hand and catches his entire arm in her giant fingers.

Kirishima is shocked, she completely immobilized his arm.

Kendo snickers up at his astonished face. “Tell me, does this hurt?!”

She spins him and flings him away. Kirishima’s hardened body bounces and then skids across the ground before coming to a halt. 

Kirishima pushes himself off the ground. “Gah…uh…no.” He gets back on his feet and grins back at Kendo. “But this will!”

He charges her like a berserker on a rampage, his arms swinging while letting out a battle cry. “Rahhh!!”

Kendo shrinks her hands to become much lighter as she zigzags backwards evading several swings while Kirishima continues his charge. The shark-toothed redhead keeps up his assault sending blow after blow at Kendo who manages to evade each of his telegraphed attacks. When she expands her hands again to block or catch his attacks, only to deliver swift strikes with her free hand to his midsection and side.

Kendo thrusts her small hand towards Kirishima’s head, but the redhead swerves his head to the side, but as her hand passes by it expands and the side smacks against his head.

Kirishima snarls and throws another punch but Kendo jumps away just in the nick of time.

“Just let me hit you!” demands the irritated redhead.

“That’s not how it works!” snaps Kendo.

The crowd is going crazy; they just love an all-out fist fight.

And so does Present Mic. “Wahoo!! Bring it on you two! Now this is a duel of fists! It’s the untrained yet brawling berserker against the more precise and skilled moves of a martial artist!”

Kendo lands another hit before she barely has time to throw her arm in the way to block a swing from Kirishima.

“Even so Kirishima’s Hardening is still providing him a wicked defensive boost.”

Kendo leaps forward and throws her own enlarged punch at Kirishima, her knuckles clash against his chest and the force is so strong that Kirishima is forced backwards. 

“Rahh!!” Kirishima’s skin clinks and clanks as it hardens even more with his fighting spirit.

He then charges like a stampeding bull with his axe like arms out at his sides ready to deliver powerful blows.

Kendo squats down with her leg behind her and one shrunk hand on the ground before her. She glares up at the stampeding berserker and just as he’s upon her she literally leaps into action. She jumps into the air, but as she does, she expands her hand and uses it to propel herself further up into the air and over the very surprised and still moving Kirishima.

With a steadfast glint in her eye, Kendo twists her body around in midair and expands her opposite hand. With her spinning motion and Kirishima off balance, she easily backhands him and knocks him away.

The redhead falls to his side against the ground just as Kendo lands on her feet, using her shrunken hand to help catch herself. While panting she smirks at the fallen Kirishima. “Did that hurt?”

The audience erupts into cheers and laughs, they love a good comeback.

But she doesn't have time to soak in their praise, the fight isn’t over yet. The redhead is already getting back up on his feat, so acting quickly, Kendo rushes him and tackles him back to the ground. She twists her body and by wrapping both her legs around his shoulders and head while grappling his arm in place performing a triangle hold. With this new position, he is unable to reach her with his opposite hand and with his upper body and arm bound she effectively pins him down.

“Let go of me, will ya?!” He struggles to break free, hoping his hardened skin scraping against her skin does anything to deter her, but she is far too tough for something like that to make her lose her advantage.

Kirishima tries to move his arm but all he can do is wiggle it in place, her hold is far too strong as she is far more flexible than he is. He tries to reach for her with his free arm, but his hardened skin doesn't allow him to reach over properly, so he releases his Quirk around his arm and is able to grip her leg. But it does little to deter her.

Kendo strengthens her grip. “Give. It. Up.”

“No way!!” Kirishima refuses to let it end here.

Summoning all of his strength and forcing his legs to comply despite the odd angle he props his feet against the ground and shakily begins to lift his body off the ground just with the power in his legs alone.

Kendo can only hang on as she’s lifted into the air along with Kirishima’s bound arm.

“Rahh!! I’m not done yet!!” Kirishima roars as he throws his bound arm down and slams Kendo’s back against the hard surface of the battlefield.

“Gahh!” Kendo groans, the hit was hard enough to break her hold.

Present Mic smiles down at the students. “Way to go Kirishima! Way to show off that fighting spirit, kid!”

Kirishima grins down at his downed opponent. “Ha, weren’t expecting that, were ya?”

While still down, Kendo quickly spins her body around and low sweeps Kirishima, kicking up his feet right from under him.

Even with his hardened hide, he falls to the ground hard and just as he’s falling Kendo springs up and expands her hand, and with her open palm she slams her giant hand down on Kirishima pinning his entire body against the battlefield.

Kendo snickers down at the immobilized redhead. “Weren’t expecting that, huh?”

Present Mic booms with laughter. “Ha, she just proved that paper really beats rock!”

Kirishima can’t help but chuckle; she got him, she really got him good. He can barely wiggle his body under her immense grip strength.

Midnight fulfills her role as umpire. “Kirishima can you continue fighting?”

Kirishima accepts his fate with a smile. “Although I hate to admit it, I'm done.” At least he can be proud that he gave it his all.

Midnight throws her hand into the air. “Kirishima has conceded defeat! Kendo is the winner!”

The entire stadium applauds Kendo’s efforts as Present Mic’s voice cuts through their supportive sheers. “And with a well-timed finishing move, Itsuka Kendo of Class 1-B takes the win! But way to fight for it Kirishima, better luck next time.”

With the fight over, Kirishima finally releases his Quirk as he sits up. “No kidding. Ahh! Man that sucked!”

“Hey.”

Kirishima looks up to see Kendo smiling down at him with her hand out to help him up. “You did well, if you put a little more effort into your fighting style. I’m sure you would have had the upper hand.”

The redhead gives her a shark-toothed grin. “Yeah, maybe.” He takes her hand and she pulls him to his feet. “But you earned this win. Just be sure to give it your all during your next match.”

“You can count on it.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Yeeaaahhh!!” Tetsutetsu lets out a gleeful roar. “Way to go Kendo! Way to represent Class 1-B!”

Ibara smiles happily from her seat. “Yes, she did well.”

Yui nods.

Sato chuckles consolingly. “Man, I thought Kirishima had this in the bag.”

Sero frowns. “Yeah, I thought Hardening would have had the advantage over her Big Fists Quirk.”

“Hahaha ha ha!” Monoma’s rises from his seat like a vampire that’s awoken from his slumber. “What was that? Is Class 1-A shocked to see us, their superiors, out class them?! Who would have guessed? Hahaha ha! Ha!”

Both hero classes deadpan, finding Monoma’s tirade tiring. _‘What a tool…’_

Izuku is the only one not to react since he refuses to move his eyes away from his newly acquired notes. “You know, Monoma isn’t that far off.”

Everyone instantly reacts to the greenette’s comment.

“Huh?!”

“What are you saying?!”

“Traitor!!”

“He has truly lost his way.”

Izuku blushes with embarrassment. “Wh-what I mean is we can’t afford to underestimate anyone.”

Everyone quiets down allowing him to explain further.

“W-well, for example everyone thought Kirishima’s Quirk is stronger, and arguably it was. But Kendo actually knew how to put technique behind her attacks while also incorporating her Quirk.”

Ochaco gets what he’s getting at. “Oh, you mean to say that Kendo was essentially the better fighter because of her skills rather than just relying on her Quirk.”

“Yeah!”

Bakugou scoffs. “Whatever. In the end the one that has a powerful Quirk and the skills to use it will come out on top.”

The entire room stares at Bakugou like he’s grown a second head.

He predictably snaps at them. “What the fuck are you all looking at?!”

Sero grins while raising an eyebrow. “Well, that was actually some sound commentary.”

Mina chuckles from her seat. “Which is surprising when it comes from you.”

“Shut up!!” roars the ash-blonde rising from his seat. “I’ll kill you!!”

Sero turns away, not even bothered by Bakugou's threat. “And he’s back.”

Izuku chuckles sheepishly from his seat as Bakugou curses Sero’s and everyone else’s very existence.

Beside him Ochaco gazes down at her own bandaged hand. _‘The one who can utilize their skills and their Quirk will come out on top, huh.’_ Her hand coils up turning into a fist. _‘Then I’ll be sure to use everything at my disposal.’_

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Her time may come sooner rather than later because it only seems like a few seconds later the next match is already gearing up to be a good one.

If Present Mic’s hype up is anything to go by. “The boy with the electric personality! From Class 1-A it’s Denki Kaminari!”

The grinning Denki Kaminari tries to suavely salute the crowd, who go along with it and cheer in response.

“And going up against him is someone cut from the same cloth as me, Kyoka Jiro!”

Across from Kaminari is the punk rocker herself with her Earphone Jacks positioned up in front of her like tiny raised fists.

Kaminari snickers at the sight of his opponent, so much so he tries and fails to cover up his grinning mug.

Jiro raises an eyebrow at the boy. “What’s so funny?”

“Oh, nothing.” Kaminari tries to act all nonchalant but the sly smile on his face says otherwise. “I was just thinking about that cheer outfit you had on earlier.”

Jiro quivers in place as her face turns red with embarrassment.

“Yeah, it actually looked quite good on you.”

Jiro snarls, glaring daggers at Kaminari as if she’s trying to set him on fire with her mind.

“Enough talk! Are you ready?!”

Even as Present Mic is about to start the match, Kaminari continues to run his mouth. “Come one don’t be like that.” He chuckles with a stupid grin plastered on his face. “You should take it as a compliment.”

“Begin!!”

Sparks dance around the electrical boy. “After this maybe-” Jiro’s Earphone Jack jabs itself right into his eye. “YAAAAAAHHHH!!!”

Kaminari leaps back grabbing his face and his burning eye, but while he’s distracted the dual Earphone Jacks embed themselves into his ears and Jiro releases a sonic burst right through them.

“YAAAAAAHHHH!!!” Kaminari falls over holding his ears like it’s going to explode!

“That was for tricking us you pervert!” shouts the immensely aggravated Jiro.

Present Mic quivers as Kaminari withers in pain. “Poor guy, he shouldn’t have poked the bear.”

Aizawa sighs. “This is why I tell you not to run your mouth so much.”

Kaminari continues to scream in pain and now Jiro is standing over him kicking him while he’s down.

“You jerk! You perverted Pikachu looking asshole! This is for humiliating us! You prick!”

The boys of Class 1-A shiver as they watch, taking mental notes to never mess with any of the girls in any way unless they too wish to meet a similar fate.

Whereas, the girls of Class 1-A silently beam from the inside allowing Jiro’s action to speak for them.

After a few short moments, an eternity for Kaminari, Midnight calls the match in Jiro’s favor. Especially after blood started to seep out of his ears.

And just like Jiro firmly established the new law of Class 1-A. It’s not right to mess with a woman just for one’s own personal pervertedness. Hopefully Mineta was paying attention.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Kaminari had to be carried out off the battlefield by some medical bots while the audience, mainly the female percentage, applauded her one-sided victory.

But with such a short match, Present Mic felt the need to continue on. “Even beautiful flowers have thorns. It’s the assassin from Class 1-B, Ibara Shiozaki from the Hero Course!”

Ibara Shiozaki strolls across the field towards the battlefield with a calm disposition.

“She is up against the living bomb himself, a snarling beast with the power of Explosion, Katsuki Bakugou!”

The ash blonde climbs the stairs to enter the battlefield as Ibara joins him from the opposite end. He adorns his usual scowl on his face, but this time there seems to be more of a fire behind it, like he’s itching to get going.

“Keep those eyes peeled! I wanna see a super-flashy battle this time!”

“Excuse me!”

Present Mic shushes himself so he can properly hear Ibara.

“Please pardon the interruption.” Ibara waves up at the commentators. “I’m not sure why you called me an assassin. I’ve come to the festival in search of victory not to take my opponent’s life. That wouldn’t be in line with the values of a hero at all, sir.”

“Right. I’m sorry.”

“Gentlemen, I didn’t enter U.A. for wicked or selfish reasons,” She holds her hands out as the heavens themselves shines down on her. “but to deliver salvation to others. It is my humble quest to spread true good across this world.”

“Listen, I said I was sorry! That was my bad, okay?”

Ibara smiles up at the apologetic announcer. “I thank you for your understanding.” She bows in appreciation.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Ochaco gulps. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

The wielder of the Omnitrix nods. “Yeah, me too.”

Ojiro overhears their concern. “Why’s that?”

Ochaco turns to address the tailed blonde. “Well, from what I can tell Ibara is way more…composed and gentler than Bakugou is.”

“How is that a bad thing?”

“It isn’t, but…” 

Izuku takes over the explanation from there. “Bakugou is far from gentle by every definition of the word.”

“So, what?!”

Izuku, Ochaco, and Ojiro turn to see a grinning Monoma eavesdropping on their conversation. “I’d say Ibara’s temperament is far more suited to heroism than Bakugou’s!”

Nearly everyone, especially Class 1-A, agrees. “True.” 

Izuku, however, is the only one who has a bit more to say on that matter. “No it’s not.”

“Excuse me?!” barks Monoma, offended on Ibara’s behalf.

“Bakugou may be a jerk… No correct that, he’s the biggest asshole to ever be a jerk. But there’s one thing I know for certain about him.”

Ochaco eyes Izuku warily. “And that is…?”

“There’s nobody else that is more driven to become a hero than he is.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Present Mic booms from above. “Let the final match of Round One begin!”

Ibara claps her hands together as her vines burst into the ground behind her. Like a stream of water, her vines race through the ground before erupting around Bakugou and ensnaring him in a cocoon of thorns and vegetation.

“Ibara was so fast, she’s captured Bakugou right out the gate! Is it over already?!”

Izuku can’t help but think that it is over…for Ibara anyway. 

Bakugou grin like a predator that’s about to kill its prey. And with that Bakugou releases what can only be described as a miniature A-Bomb from within the cocoon.

The vines don’t stand a chance against the massive fiery shockwave that erupts out into the world. The heat, smoke, and ash swallow up the entire battlefield, demolishing it with the powerful shockwave that’s set forth.

The resonating boom of the explosion shakes the stadium, so much so that many of the pro heroes standing guard outside actually thought a real-life bomb must have been dropped into the stadium.

Cementoss was at the ready but thankfully the explosion wasn’t big enough to envelop or endanger any of the audience, but the display of the inferno before them silences them as the heat and wind generated wipes at their faces.

When the explosion settles down a manically grinning Bakugou is located within a smocking circle of ash as his palms smoke from the heat.

As for Ibara she was launched out of the battlefield and is now lying on the burnt grass. Her vines are charred and even flaming as it’s sprawled out across the field. And it’s clear to everyone that she will not be getting up any time soon.

Midnight, who was flung off her podium for standing a little too close, tries to save face. “Ib-Ibara h-has been knocked out. B-Bakugou will move on!”

Bakugou exhales before pocketing his hands and turning right around without acknowledging his opponent.

It takes a few moments for the audience to eventually register how overly powerful some of these kids really are and begin to applaud although with less enthusiasm then before as if afraid the anger prone blonde will fire off another Explosion.

Class 1-B are in a mixed state of shock and worry: shock because of Bakugou’s inferno and worry for their classmate. So, none of them are able to peep a word.

Class 1-A are just as taken back, they didn’t expect Bakugou to pull off such a move so quickly.

Izuku frowns at the sight of his ex-friend. _‘Bakugou…you’re taking this, seriously aren’t you? You’re aiming for the top, too aren’t you?’_

Almost as if he heard him, Bakugou stops dead in his tracks and glares up at Izuku.

The greenette flinches, those furious red eyes pierce into him as if to say he’ll be next. Izuku gulps and nods, acknowledging Bakugou’s challenge.

Satisfied that he got the message, Bakugou stomps off for the exit as medial bots escort Ibara off the field.

Izuku stares down at the Omnitrix examining its black body, white trim, and green dial. _‘But you’re not the only one aiming for the top. The competition is only going to get harder from here on in. I will come out on top. Count on it.’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so ends Ch.24 Fight! Fight! Fight! and begins Ch.25, now those matches should be just as exciting if not more. Those matches will include the following:
> 
> Izuku Midoriya vs. Fumikage Tokoyami  
> Shoto Todoroki vs. Tenya Iida  
> Ochaco Uraraka vs. Itsuka Kendo  
> Kyoka Jiro vs. Katsuki Bakugou
> 
> *Just for clarification, Iida’s fight against Hatsume went exactly the same as it did in the anime.
> 
> *Also, many of you wondered if Monoma would be a second Henzu/Nue because of his Copycat Quirk. I wanted to nip that in the butt, because that will not be occurring. Sorry but I think one chimera monster with alien powers is enough.
> 
> *Also, Kaminari will be fine after his battle against Jiro. None of the damage he took is anything Recovery Girl can’t fix so don’t worry. He won’t be going deaf any time soon.
> 
> *Also I know I didn’t really get to show any aliens or alien related stuff in this chapter. Don't worry I will be making up for that next time, promise.


	25. Competition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Izuku vs. Tokoyami, Iida vs. Todoroki, Ochaco vs. Kendo, and Jiro vs. Bakugou. And these fights will determine who moves on to the semi-finals.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone, happy Memorial Day for those in the U.S. Be sure to make smart decisions today and make sure to social distance. It's improtant to take care of yourselves and those around you.
> 
> Anyway, sorry for being so late I was hoping to have this out way earlier but you see my house flooded. So, I've spent all week with my family cleaning up afterwards so I had to put my writing on hold for a few days. Thankfully we didn't get the worst of it but it was still a lot to clean up. Anyway here's Ch.25.
> 
> *Important Notes*
> 
> 1\. I am not trying to fulfill a power fantasy so each upgrade, new alien, and abilities must be earned. I’m not going to just hand the characters unlimited and awesome powers just because it’s cool. I feel like an earned power is way more impactful then just the characters getting it just because I said they could.
> 
> 2\. I have a set of specific rules that have to be met for Izuku to gain new alien(s) so I will not be dropping in random aliens at random times like they did in the Ben Ten shows. That said I have it all planned out on how, when, and where to introduce each Ben Ten alien.
> 
> 3\. I am keeping descriptions of Izuku’s alien vague so you can each envision the version of the alien that you prefer.
> 
> 4\. There will be NO elements or aliens from the rebooted Ben Ten series. I tried to watch it, but it wasn’t for me so don’t expect anything from there to ever make an appearance.
> 
> 5\. I will not be including OC aliens. At least not until after most if not all the main Ben Ten aliens are in Izuku’s Omnitrix. But that is a long ways off.
> 
> 6\. I do not own either My Hero Academia or Ben Ten.

“Haha, Round One’s been amazing!” cheers a pink-colored bipedal Rabbit. 

“It sure has gugg.” Agrees a strange being in a swamp-green suit with a head that looks like an Anemone.

An alien by the name of Bug-Lite nods. “Same, but I wish some of those fights lasted just a tad longer.”

These aliens and more are all gathered together within Mr. Baumann’s store. So they can all watch the U.A.’s Sports Festival with friends, neighbors, and their community. 

As of now U.A. is taking a short break, playing commercials and ads while the students prepare themselves for their next fights.

Bug-Lite smiles. “That bird guy was extremely efficient, I bet he makes it far.” 

“No doubt.” agrees a red-Hooded alien with green skin and golden body plating.

A purple Sloth alien with a skull-like head and black stripes grins. “I found that Hatsume girl really entertaining.”

“So, did I.” agrees the Rabbit. 

“I don't get what the big deal was, though.” Comments the Hooded alien. “Human technology is so primitive.”

“Ironic considering how much they love their toys.”

Argit, the resident conman, scoffs. “Hey if it’s enough to make a quick buck then it’s okay in my book.” Mainly because Earth technology is so easy to steal and resell.

“I thought that Kendo girl really held her own gugg.” continues the Anemone. 

It’s then the proud owner of this store decides to cut in. “She practices all sorts of fighting styles and she was up against someone who probably learned how to fight from watching TV.” Mr. Baumann scowls annoyed by that prediction.

“Yeah probably but that rock guy really had some spirit gugg.”

The Sloth cups his chin. “Speaking of spirit, what about that Uraraka girl. She really had the other guy have it.”

The Hooded alien nods. “And she was able to escape his Brainwashing… Not too many aliens have that power.”

Argit shakes his head with disapproval. “I don’t like it. A kid like him has way too much power. I mean imagine what happens when he's older or goes pro?” A hero like him could be bad for business, he’ll scare off all his customers!

Rabbit actually agrees with the rat. “If you want to talk about power then Endeavor’s kid has that in spades.”

“Not just him.” Adds Bug-Lite. “What about that Bakugou guy? You know, the one with Explosions.”

Most of the aliens can’t help but agree, those two boys really are powerful. It’s almost scary to think about how strong and potentially deadly both of them can be.

The Rabbit shivers. “Something off about those two…could you imagine if someone like them found out about aliens?”

“Or Endeavor.” Adds the Hooded alien. “Something tells me they wouldn’t take too kindly to our kind.”

“Do you really think so gugg?” asks Anemone.

Mr. Baumann sighs and takes a seat before addressing his customers. “This may seem hypocritical coming from me. But not many other humans are that…open minded. Heck, some kids these days are so self-absorbed thanks to their Quirks that they think the whole world revolves around them.” Like that Bakugou brat, every now and then he’d catch the boy when he was younger picking on poor Izuku. “But anything that changes their own world view, is usually met with hostility and rejection.” Hence why Bakugou would lash out at Izuku, because the boy went against Bakugou’s own petty ideals. “And no one wants someone like the Number Two Hero, someone capable of great destruction, on their tail just for being…different.” 

The whole store goes silent as an underlining of fear and tension washes across the facility. It’s sort-of unspoken that everyone here is constantly in immense danger if any one of them is found out to be an alien. As human history has shown, humans often fear what they don’t understand. And despite their fascination with inhuman abilities, movies, and Sci-Fi they know for a fact that the moment they are discovered many of those same “fans” will be the first to panic. And of course there is little doubt that many of the pro heroes will feel the same way, that the aliens should be **removed**.

“And that’s why heroes can be such a pain!” Shouts a frustrated Argit.

“Why do you say that gugg?” questions Anemone. 

“Principal Nezu or rather Majister Nezu projects the Sports Festival into the cosmos every year, just to do that very thing!” snaps the rat.

The Hooded alien has to admit that Argit has a point there. “Yes, he does that so the universe can understand what they’d be up against if anyone would turn their sights on Earth.”

Mr. Baumann gives a curt nod. “And it works! Thanks to this event, Earth is seen as an unpredictable and dangerous target that is better left alone. But for those, such as yourselves, it allows them to seek out opportunities to live out rather quiet lives amongst the humans and heroes.”

“True…”

That is the truth, even though there is a huge threat hanging over their heads it is still better than what’s out there in the universe. Many of them came here for various reasons either they were escaping war, famine, invasion, or just more personal problems. Or in Argit’s case he’s been chased off so many planets that this is his last safe haven. But they all have one goal in mind: opportunity. Opportunity to live relatively peaceful lives without worry of having their homes and families ripped apart.

“But it’d be nice not to hide our true nature all the time.” comments Bug-Lite.

Mr. Baumann shrugs. “Well, I never said it was a perfect system.”

Argit leans back in his seat. “But then again things may change and soon.”

The store owner raises an eyebrow. “What makes you say that?”

“Midoriya!” Argit says this like it’s the most obvious answer. “He’s a kid that can become any of our species while on intergalactic broadcasts, you don’t think that will raise some flags?!”

“What are you getting at?”

“All I’m saying is that thanks to the kid's actions, Earth might just have to start adjusting to its new reality.” And his survival instincts have never failed this rat. If it becomes worse, he’ll jump ship, but if things turn for the better then this rat will be feasting on profits.

Before any of the other aliens could state their own opinions on the matter, the screen lights back up as Present Mic’s voice blasts through the speakers. 

“Welcome back, all you ravenous Sports Fans!”

The aliens peer up at the screen that’s displaying the images of the combatants for the first match of Round Two.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“I know for a fact none of you are satisfied yet with the U.A. Sports Festival!” Shouts the human cockatoo. “But that’s okay because we still have much to show ya! Yeah!! So, let’s get it going, shall we?!”

Cheers ring out from the entire audience.

“Alright, there's no time to delay! Let’s begin Round 2 of the Tournament!!”

The cheering and screaming of the crowd get even louder, shaking the stadium.

And their cheers only get Present Mic that much more hyped. “He’s been on a real hot streak this entire tournament! Making it a giant rollercoaster ride for all the ups, downs, and surprises he’s given us. And now he’s ready to show us more! Everyone welcome back, Izuku Midoriya!!”

If the crowd wasn’t in an uproar before then they most certainly are now as they scream and cheer the green-haired boy onto the field.

Izuku shyly tucks his head in trying not to let the audience see his blushing face. “I’m never going to get used to this…” 

“But hang on, we have someone who may just be able to give Midoriya a run for his money! He’s the jet-black master of the darkness with a powerful fiend at his full command. It’s Fumikage Tokoyami!!”

More cheers ring out as the crow of Class 1-A enters the stage.

Fumikage Tokoyami steps atop the battlefield, crossing his arms defiantly. “You have journeyed far, but I’m afraid it will end here.”

Izuku smirks, in an attempt to hide his nervousness. “Good line, did you rehearse it back in the waiting room?”

Tokoyami snickers, finding Midoriya’s taunt rather amusing. 

“Alright, alright, alright! I think those two are more than ready to get started. So without a further ado, begin!”

And like that the first match of Round Two has officially begun.

“Dark Shadow!”

“ _On it, boss!_ ” Dark Shadow flies out of his master’s chest.

Izuki grips the Omnitrix just as Dark Shadow pounces upon him, its claw reaching for the Omnitrix.

Izuku, not one to fall for that twice, swings his body around using it to block Dark Shadow’s reach.

“You gotta be more original than that!” He slams down on the Omnitrix before Dark Shadow tries to pull off any more tricks.

Dark Shadow reels back as the bright green light flashes giving the transformed Izuku plenty of elbow room.

“And XLR8 is one of my originals!” XLR8 grins, his claws flexing, and his tail coil around his feet.

The crowd cheers excited to see this new and really cool looking transformation.

“Woah! Midoriya’s become XLR8! A fast-paced speedster with raptor-like qualities! This guy probably would have been better suited for the Obstacle Race though.”

“Trust me I would have used him if I could.” grumbles the alien speedster. “But this thing has a mind of its own.” He gestures to the Omnitrix faceplate.

Tokoyami nods as Dark Shadow coils around him like a serpent. “Hm, I understand that.” He pets Dark Shadow’s head before turning his attention back on the lizard. “Now show me your strength.”

XLR8 flashes a smile before zipping off. The blue blur immediately makes a beeline for Tokoyami. He stops and smiles up at the birdboy before thrusting his claw at him.

However, before the jab can strike Dark Shadow’s coiled body intercepts the strike. Before XLR8 knows it, the shadow fiend is already throwing a slash at him.

The speedster dodges but not before Dark Shadow throws attack after attack with his long reach and sharp claws forcing the Kineceleran to doge and retreat.

“ _Stop moving!_ ” Dark Shadow roars as he throws his claw down at XLR8.

XLR8 makes a speedy sidestep as the large claw embeds into the dirt. With a clear opening, XLR8 zooms away towards Dark Shadow’s master in the hopes to end this quickly. As he races, he thrusts another jab, but Dark Shadow still has his elongated body coiled around Tokoyami. The dark barricade shifts and spirals around Tokoyami, intercepting XLR8’s attack. Not one to give up the Kineceleran throws a barrage of speedy jabs but each one is deflected or intercepted before they can even reach the crow-headed teen. But while he was distracted with his attacks, Dark Shadow’s main body flies back and slashes at XLR8. The attack lands throwing the Kineceleran away.

Present Mic laughs through the speakers. “Hahaha! I bet he’d finish this quickly, but Tokoyami has other plans! Sorry, XLR8 but you’ll have to do better than that if you want to break through Dark Shadow’s impenetrable defense!”

The morphed Izuku shakes his head as he pushes himself off the ground. “Okay, not my best moment.”

“ _It’s about to get worse!_ ” Dark Shadow slashes down at him.

The Kineceleran zips forward before zooming to the side again as another slash is thrown his way. This goes back and forth for some time before XLR8 decides to try and take out Dark Shadow. He throws a fury of jabs at the shadowy fiend who flies above his head trying to get close, moving from side to side as they engage each other.

Before he knows it, Dark Shadow has his arms stretched and coiled around him, surrounding him in a spiraling veil of darkness. “ _Nowhere to run now._ ”

His coiled arms begin to close in ready to wrap up the speedy foe in a cocoon of shadows.

XLR8 is rightfully worried, he was built for speed not strength. So if Dark Shadow is able to get his mitts on him, then it’ll be all over. He desperately swipes, kicks, and slams against the encroaching spiral but it does little to phase the shadow familiar.

“It’s over!” Declares Tokoyami from a very safe distance.

XLR8 glares up at his foes. “You know there’s always been this one trick I’ve been wanting to give a whirl at.”

XLR8 stands straight up, his tail out and sticks his arms out to the sides. He twists his feet and begins to spin faster and faster in place. Just as the coil begins to tighten Dark Shadow finds himself repelled back as XLR8 spins in place like a top and with his claws outstretched to act as a spinning saw blade.

Like a high-speed top, XLR8 spins and ricochets off of Dark Shadow’s arms striking them so hard and fast that he breaks free of its imprisonment.

The rapidly spinning XLR8 isn’t done, like a tiny tornado he takes his unique attack straight towards Tokoyami. “Special Move! **Beyblade Burst!!** ”

The tiny blue twister clashes against the coiled body of Dark Shadow which is the only thing stopping XLR8 from hitting Tokoyami. XLR8 keeps at it though delivering fast hits back to back in the same location much like a Beyblade.

But it seems Dark Shadow is much more durable than he looks because XLR8 is completely unable to break through. And all too soon the shadowy figure is back and this time he swipes at XLR8 spinning feet. It works, tripping up the speedster who wasn’t expecting it, causing him to launch himself away from Tokoyami thanks to the momentum of his spinning.

The dizzy alien raptor shakes and holds his head as he wobbles in place. “Uh, oh man. That was not as fun as it looked.”

Seriously everything was just a spinning blur to him like that, and that move’s thrown off his own momentum. Dammit, those cartoons always make it look so easy. Maybe he just needs practice, at least he knows he can do it so that’s a plus.

“ _You’re so annoying!_ ”

XLR8 zips away before Dark Shadow can reach him, but the shadow familiar of Tokoyami chases after him, lashing out its stretchable claws and arms to take swipes at him.

“It looks like XLR8's new special move just couldn’t cut it!” shouts Present Mic. “Too bad for him, but at least we’re getting a real show out of this!”

The blue blur continues to zig and zag across the battlefield every now and then he takes a swipe at Tokoyami, but Dark Shadow is too impenetrable. Plus the very same Quirk attacks back at XLR8 forcing him away from its master.

 _‘I knew Tokoyami would be difficult, but I didn’t think he would be this prepared.’_ The sprinting XLR8 ducks just before Dark Shadow swipes at his head. _‘Tokoyami’s Dark Shadow is a really powerful Quirk. It gives such a crazy offensive and defensive fighting style. If I get close, then Dark Shadow’s body will simply block me out until it can attack me directly and then it forces me back and away from Tokoyami.’_ He jumps avoiding a swipe at his feet before continuing to run around the battlefield. ‘ _His plan is probably to keep me away and wait out for the Omnitrix to time out.’_ And Izuku will be easy pickings for Tokoyami who actually has a Quirk unlike him.

What Izuku needs is a strategy or a weakness to exploit but nothing comes to mind. He can’t attack from the sides, that’s already proven to be ineffective. He could try and attack from above but one hit from Dark Shadow would send him flying out of the battlefield and it’ll all be over.

XLR8 pivots and avoids getting his head smashed in by Dark Shadow before speeding off again. The morphed Izuku examines his opponent from behind their barricade. He examines his foe from head to toe looking for any openings in his defense, his eyes eventually trail down to Tokoyami’s feet.

From behind his visor, XLR8 smiles as a new plan begins to form within his head.

“So far for this match XLR8 has had to switch from offensive tactics to evasion whereas Tokoyami’s Quirk has allowed him to maintain a constant defense while remaining on the offensive. I think Midoriya may have just met his match folks! If he doesn’t come up with something soon, he’ll be out of the running!” Pun intended via Present Mic.

“Keep at it, Dark Shadow!” commands Tokoyami, if he can keep Midoriya at bay and let him run out his clock then they might as well claim victory then and there.

Dark Shadow chases after XLR8 who slides across the field avoiding the fiend before kicking back up and coming to a screeching halt, his feet skidding across the ground kicking up dirt. As he crouches down ready to run, his shiny claws accidentally reflect a bit of sunlight towards Dark Shadow.

The reflected light shines on the fiend’s arm making it wince before swooping a bit to the side to avoid it.

The transformed Izuku eyes Dark Shadow curiously, that reflected light was nowhere near the thing’s eyes and yet it had such a strange reaction.

He doesn’t have much more time to consider it as Dark Shadow lunges towards him.

Acting fast XLR8 leaps up and delivers a fury of jabbing kicks right into the monster’s head before swinging his body and slamming his reptilian tail against Dark Shadow, knocking it away giving XLR8 plenty of breathing room.

XLR8 runs as fast as he can around and around the battlefield until he’s nothing but a blue blur zipping about in a circle around his opponent and his familiar.

Dark Shadow lunges, throwing his claw in XLR8’s path, it strikes XLR8 but he’s moving so quickly that the attack is easily repelled.

Dark Shadow backs off shaking off its somewhat aching hand.

With its attack down, XLR8 tightens the circle and begins to encroach on Tokoyami and his partner.

Dark Shadow backs off and coils a bit more around his master who’s covering his eyes from the dust that’s getting kicked up by the sudden whirlwind that XLR8’s generating.

The circle tightens and the wind becomes so great that Tokoyami is actually struggling and pushing against the wind, but he’s constantly losing his footing. Soon the whipping wind becomes so great that a mini tornado is generated with Tokoyami caught in the storm’s eye.

“Whaa?! This is crazy!! XLR8’s so fast he actually made a tornado!!”

Well sort of, the tornado is nothing enormous; it's only about 15 to 20 feet tall and it’s blue in color thanks to the rotating Kineceleran. The twister is moving so fast that those in the audience can feel the wind whip at their faces. Even Midnight braces herself in place so as to not get sucked in.

And just like that the twister is too much for Tokoyami as his feet leave the ground and he’s lifted into the air.

Despite being a bird himself he is definitely not used to the sensation of flying. “Midoriya!! What sorcery is this?!”

Somehow the sprinting Kineceleran is able to hear him. “Not sorcery! It’s a special move I call: **Blue Twister**!!”

Tokoyami’s body gets caught up by the whirlwind and soon he’s nothing but a weightless piece of debris getting whipped around within the gale.

Tokoyami and Dark Shadow are lifted higher and higher up the mini blue tornado and soon XLR8 redirects his twister carrying along his opponent right for the battlefield’s edge. When the small tornado reaches the edge, XLR8 breaks away from his rotation and allows the spinning momentum to throw Tokoyami right out of the arena.

Present Mic cries out from the commentator’s booth. “Tokoyami’s been thrown right out of the arena! Is it over?!”

Although he’s facing certain defeat, Tokoyami is surprisingly composed. “Dark Shadow!!”

“ _I’ve got you!_ ”

The shadow fiend reaches out and digs its claws into the battlefield. With a proper grip and leverage, Dark Shadow uses his elongated body to swing his joint-master back into the stadium. Tokoyami expertly lands onto the battlefield, he stands back up dusting himself of dirt and dust.

The raven-head crosses his arms before smirking at his stunned classmate. “How easy did you think this was going to be?”

The crowd is in a complete uproar over the upset, they had thought it to be over. That the main leader of the Tournament was already moving on, perhaps he’s about to face his end.

Present Mic is cheering just as wildly as the crowd. “Way to go, Tokoyami!! Way to keep this fight interesting! But be careful I’m sure XLR8 still has some tricks up his sleeves!”

XLR8 crouches down like a raptor that’s ready to pounce in a moment’s notice. He really thought he had it made with that last move. _‘And knowing Tokoyami, it definitely won’t work a second time. I need a new plan…a new means of attack…’_

He raises his claw to cup his chin but as he raises it, he accidently reflects some light back at Dark Shadow who winces again when the reflected light shines onto its shadowy body.

The morphed Izuku picks up on that strange reaction. _‘Wait…’_ He thinks back to how Dark Shadow reacted before: when the Omnitrix flashed green or when he shined light at it before on accident. _‘I need to test it.’_

He adjusts his claw and another reflection of light shines on Dark Shadow and this time the light strikes its head.

“ _Gah!_ ” Dark Shadow reels back as if it got stabbed in the eye.

Tokoyami’s eyes bulge wide with worry for a moment. “Dark Shadow?”

XLR8 internally gasps. _‘No way.’_

He shines light at it again and Dark Shadow yelps like he got burned.

 _‘Seriously?!’_ XLR8 grins. _‘His weakness is light?! Huh, I probably could have guessed that sooner.’_

Tokoyami doesn’t like that grin on his opponent’s face. “End him!”

“ _Raaah!!_ ” The dark familiar races towards the blue raptor.

XLR8 zips away zigzagging across the field as Dark Shadow lashes out at him with a barrage of attacks. None of them land as XLR8 makes sharp pivots and changes directions. 

_‘Alright, I know his weakness but now I need a way to exploit it.’_ XLR8 pivots and continues to speed away before Dark Shadow can grab him.

As he runs XLR8 glances down at his shiny metallic-like claws as a lightbulb goes off in his head. He ducks as Dark Shadow takes another swing at him.

“You cannot keep this up for much longer.” taunts Tokoyami from behind his coiled barricade. “Surrender, there is no hope for victory.”

The sprinting XLR8 comes to a halt and smirks. “I have a better idea.” He adjusts both his claws, shining light onto Dark Shadow who reels back a bit as it gives a sharp yelp.

The reaction makes the alien smile before he zips off again making zig zagging motions all across the battlefield moving far too quickly for Dark Shadow to catch him. As the Kineceleran zips around he tries to find the best angles to reflect light from and redirect it at his opponent.

Each time light is reflected at Dark Shadow it winces and reels back as if it’s getting stabbed from multiple directions. All the while the shadow begins to shrink in size by a few centimeters.

Tokoyami actually expresses an emotion, worry. “Dark Shadow, are you alright?!”

“ _Gah! It’s the light!_ ”

“Curses.” Tokoyami scowls. _‘It appears Midoriya discovered our weakness, we need to act, or we will certainly meet our demise.’_

Tokoyami throws his hand forward. “Go, attack with all your might!”

Dark Shadow soars into action. “ _I’ll give it my best shot!_ ” It doesn’t make it far as more light is shone its way making it halt as it loses a bit more power. “ _Dammit!_ ”

Now that he’s figured out the right angles, XLR8 begins to run around in a large blurry circle around Tokoyami and Dark Shadow as light glimmers off his claws.

“What is this?!” shouts Tokoyami as Dark Shadow retreats and coils around him, ready to protect its master. “You’ve already tried this trick once before! It won’t work a second time.”

The circling XLR8 is able to respond despite moving at such a high speed. “I know that! That’s why I’m putting my own spin on things.”

The frustrated Dark Shadow roars out. “ _What the hell are you talking about, dammit?!_ ”

The glimmering lights increase in intensity and flickering, becoming even more consistent.

XLR8 chuckles. “Here, I’ll enlighten you on the situation.”

XLR8 kicks off even faster and now that he’s got the right angles down packed there is little anyone can do to stop him. The blue blurry circle solidifies due to XLR8 moving so fast that he actually catches up to his after images giving the circle a more solid look and color, but as such the glimmering flickering reflected-sunlight have become so consistent that a beam of light trails alongside the inner circle, essentially making a ring of light.

“Special move! **Halo Run!!** ”

The reflected light shines like spotlights onto Dark Shadow and Tokoyami from all directions. Tokoyami is blinded by the reflected light and attempts to shield his eyes. Dark Shadow wheezes as it begins to shrink in size like a blade of grass losing all of its nutrients and water.

Tokoyami can only watch in horror as his barricade shrinks in size and Dark Shadow begins to slowly retreat back into his body, uncoiling the shadow shield.

“Oh, no! What’s happening to Dark Shadow?! It’s like he’s wilting away.”

XLR8 keeps Halo Run up, the light constantly on his opponent.

“Dark Shadow…” Tokoyami gazes down as Dark Shadow’s tiny head sticks out from his midsection.

It looks up at its master and whimpers like it’s lost the will to fight.

With his own Quirk out of commission there is no point in waiting for the inevitable. “I…surrender.”

Midnight throws her hand into the air. “It’s over! Midoriya will move on to the semi-finals!”

The entire stadium cheers in response.

Upon hearing the end of the fight, XLR8 finally begins to slow down, ending his Halo Run. He zips in front of his defeated opponent as Dark Shadow finally begins to return to its normal size.

Tokoyami sighs, accepting his loss. “How’d you know? Did my teammates say something?”

XLR8 tilts his head. “Teammates?” Oh, he means Bakugou and the others, figures they probably would have known. “Na it was the way Dark Shadow reacted when light reflected on it. It gave me a ‘bright’ idea.” He chuckles at his lighthearted joke.

Tokoyami shows no reaction to the joke: either he didn’t get it, or he doesn’t care for it. “Well, it appears you have earned this victory.” He offers up his hand in congratulations. 

Of course the morphed Izuku takes it. “Thanks, you really did give me a run for my money.”

The audience applaud both of their efforts, appreciating the display of sportsmanship.

“Nice show you guys!” claps Present Mic. “Wow, I wasn’t sure how’d that go for a while.”

XLR8 releases Tokoyami’s hand just as the Omnitrix times out.

The bright red flash makes Dark Shadow yelp out in surprise. “ _Ah, the light! It burns!_ ”

Tokoyami glares back at Izuku as if he was trying to show off his victory.

Izuku smiles sheepishly. “Hehe, sorry…”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Five minutes now?” Tokoyami gazes down at Izuku’s Omnitrix which has just flashed from red to green.

“Yeah, I think my recharge time sped up.” Izuku holds up the Omnitrix as they both continue to make their way back to the viewing box. _‘So, it wasn’t the lifeguard mode that kicked in earlier. I guess the Omnitrix went through some sort of upgrade or something.’_

Although this is great news it’s somewhat somber: like it’s a reminder of how very little he actually knows about this strange alien device.

“Hey well done you two.” greets Mezo Shoji as they both return to the viewing box.

“T-thanks!!” shouts a slightly embarrassed Izuku, who is still not used to all the praise and cheers he’s been receiving all day.

Denki Kaminari winces in his seat grabbing at his ears “Ah! Keep down please…”

His ears are encased in specially made earmuffs that’ll allow him to rest his ears. Although the ears are healed up, they are just a bit sensitive right now.

“Ah! Sorry!”

Kaminari winces again, grabbing at his aching eardrums. 

“Ops…” whispers Izuku after making such a blunder. “Is he okay?”

“He’s fine.” replies Kyoka Jiro without a hint of remorse. 

“Yeah but-”

“He’s fine.” she repeats. “He’s just letting his lesson sink in.” She turns to eye the electrical boy. “Right?”

A flash of trepidation crosses Kaminari’s face as he rapidly nods his head. He solemnly swears to not pull anything of the sort again.

Meanwhile, Tokoyami takes a seat as he does Tsuyu Asui addresses him. “You did really well out there. I actually thought you would beat him.”

Tokoyami sighs. “As did I but this just goes to show you how quickly battles can shift sides.”

Hanta Sero leans forward, welcoming himself into the conversation. “So, light’s your weakness huh?” In retrospect that should have been obvious.

“I know right?” questions Mina Ashido before she turns to Izuku. “But how’d you do that light thing?”

Yuga Aoyama is very interested to hear the answer too. “Wé wé, I had no idea you could sparkle as much as moi!”

Izuku sits down and is more than happy to explain. “I was reflecting sunlight off XLR8’s claws and I guess I was moving so fast and reflecting so much light that it became super bright.”

In the background one Momo Yaoyorozu remains silent, quietly simmering in feelings of dejection and shame. _‘Light, huh… And such a creative use of your skills.’_ If she had known…she could have done so much more. She could have generated a freaking spotlight, flares, flash bangs, anything at all! And yet…she didn’t. _‘I couldn’t even act. I wasn’t fast enough like Midoriya nor was I able to analyze my opponent like he did… I was completely incompetent.’_ How can she be a hero if she hesitates? How can she fight if she has to stop and plan out each move? How?

At the same time, Izuku wraps up his explanation leaving some of his classmates in amazement.

Jiro blinks up at Izuku. “Wow, I never heard of anyone weaponizing the sunlight you reflect off your phone.” She grabs at her head as if frustrated about the enigma that is Izuku Midoriya. “Man, not only do you have an amazing Quirk, but your mind is like dangerously scary. You might just win this all.”

“I hope so.” smiles the greenette.

“Now hang on a second, loser!” shouts an outraged Katsuki Bakugou. “I’m going to win this whole thing!! So, watch me!!”

Many of his classmates are quick to refute the mad bomber whereas Izuku simply laughs him off.

He peers around the viewing box noticing how a few of his classmates are missing. “Hey, where’s Uraraka?”

“Hm?” Shoji didn’t quite catch that.

Ibara Shiozaki of Class 1-B did, however. “She’s in the waiting room, she’ll be fighting Kendo after this next match.”

Her hair has completely grown back after being burned away by Bakugou’s Explosion. And Izuku is glad to see that it didn’t affect her negatively, her temperament really is the opposite of Bakugou’s.

Anyway speaking of the next match.

“The second match of Round Two!” yells Present Mic.

“Huh, perfect timing I guess.”

“Both come from hero families, making this a battle of elites!”

Down on the battlefield both of the fighters are already in position.

“We have another speedster on our hands, but with a bit more of a kick it’s Tenya Iida!”

Tenya’s fist clenches from his sides, he’s up against a tough opponent and it doesn’t help that he feels a bit out done here because of Midoriya’s showboating as a speedster himself. But he is the younger brother of the Turbo Hero: Ingenium! He will make his brother proud and move on to the semi-finals.

“He’s up against a powerful opponent who has a pension for his cryokinetic side, Shoto Todoroki!”

Todoroki remains silent, he’s calmed down considerably since his last bout, but it seems like he’s still off his game.

But Iida has other plans. _‘I can’t negate his attacks. Plus if he uses his flames, even though he said he wouldn't, he’d be even more dangerous if I went against that.’_ He’s determined to win despite the odds. _‘Focus.’_

“Start!!”

Todoroki reacts first firing off a trail of ice that bursts out piercing icicles.

Iida easily evades the attack, sprinting to the left. He may not be able to reach the same speeds as XLR8 but he’s still a lot faster than any normal human. _‘He’s not wasting any time.’_

Iida swerves towards Todoroki making a beeline toward him.

The dual-haired teen plants his right hand to the side and launches another trail of ice that races forward to intercept Iida’s path.

Iida plants his feet, skidding across against the ground, he pivots his body around and fires up his engines which thrust him back the way he came avoiding the ice.

“Iida’s been surrounded!”

Iida stops finding himself trapped between two barricades of ice. The only way to freedom is through the creator of the ice himself.

The dual-haired teen doesn’t let up as he fires off another trail of ice straight for the Engine Quirked fighter.

“Todoroki’s going in for the win already!”

Iida isn’t ready to let it end yet, he squats down revving up his Engines and just as the ice is about to reach him, he kicks himself into the air, leaping up and over the ice. 

The standing long jump worked masterfully as Todoroki glared up at Iida who’s leaping in the air just above his head.

While in midair, Iida swings his leg forward. “Recipro…Burst!!” His Engines fire out blue flames as they roar into Todoroki’s ears and with great power his kick rockets forward.

Todoroki drops down just in the nick of time, the kick swooping past his head by a hair, if it had landed, he definitely would have been in some real trouble.

 _‘I have ten seconds before my engines stall!’_ Iida lands and then flips himself backwards into the air with his Engines still roaring with blue flames. _‘Which means I have to win this right now!’_

This kick connects, smashing down on Todoroki like a hammer slamming him into the battlefield.

“Look at that speed!”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Class 1-A gasp in surprise along with the rest of the stadium: someone was actually able to land a hit on Todoroki of all people. That’s no small feat especially in this event.

Sero gasps. “That was a heavy hit.”

Kaminari is just as astonished. “I didn’t know he could kick like that.”

Izuku is in agreement. “Not even XLR8 has that type of strength.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

While still on the ground, Todoroki covers the ground in front of him with a sheet of ice in an attempt to halt Iida’s movements.

Unfortunately for him, Iida predicted the attack and had already jumped back into the air, evading it. As he lands the speedster grips the back of Todoroki’s shirt and immediately sprints away dragging the stunned boy behind him like a doll stuck to the side of a speeding sports car.

 _‘Eight seconds left.’_ He rockets towards the edge of the battlefield. _‘I’ve got this.’_ He’s almost there just a few more seconds. _‘I’ll throw him out of bounds. Before he can-’_

Something's wrong, very wrong. His legs…they won’t move; his Engines stalled…early. 

Iida hesitantly peers back at his leg, he was so close and a part of him hopes he doesn’t see what he thinks happened to him. “My muffler’s blocked!” The mufflers of his Engines are encased in a thick layer of ice. “When did you-?”

Todoroki grips Iida’s arm and ice immediately begins to crawl its way up his flesh. “When you kicked me.” He replies as the ice continues to flow upward on Iida's body. “I’ve only been showing off ranged attacks today. You forgot I could do precision moves, too, didn't you?”

Well it doesn’t matter what his answer is, because it’s over. Iida is completely encased in a tomb of ice with only his head sticking out. Even as the speedster struggles within his imprisonment trying to break free, his will won’t allow him to give up yet.

The scarred teen holds the side of his head as he stands back up. “I was trying to dodge your Recipro, but it was too fast to avoid, even for me.”

Midnight is happy to call an end to this match. “Iida has been immobilized. Todoroki advances!”

The stadium cheer as Present Mic announces the win. “Todoroki moves on to the semi-finals where he’ll be up against our previous winner, Izuku Midoriya!”

Todoroki gazes up at the viewing box where Izuku sits watching the battlefield with a bit of trepidation in his eyes. _‘You’re next Midoriya, and I’ll show that bastard just how strong my ice really is.’_

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Poor Iida…” frowns Izuku as he watches his friend struggle within the ice.

He thinks back to Tenya’s own dream, to be like his brother, Ingenium, a hero that’s efficient and reliant. He can bet that Iida was hoping to make his brother proud. And if Izuku’s heard right about Ingenium then there’s no doubt that he is proud of his younger brother despite the loss.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Iida continues to struggle in place but eventually even he knows it’s futile. “I’m sorry, brother.”

Hopefully, Iida was still able to make his dear brother proud despite the loss, assuming he’s even watching right now.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Meanwhile, Ochaco Uraraka watches from the TV within the waiting room.

A shiver runs down her spine as she watches Iida slump in defeat within his tomb of ice. “Todoroki’s…so strong and…he has so much more control over his Quirk than I do.”

She gazes down at her hands, clenching them into fists. “But…I’ve been working hard too. And if I want to win then I can’t afford to hesitate, and I need to playthings smart. I’ll use all of my skills, smarts, and power to my full advantage.”

She’ll show that she’s here, here for them, and here to stay. No matter what the Sports Festival throws at her,

“Alright.” She shoots out of her seat. “It’s my turn.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Aright, folks! Now that the ice has been cleared let's move onto our next line up of competitors!” As Present Mic announces the match, the jumbotrons flash two images of the female fighters. 

“We’re pinning two teammates against each other for this match. They’re both fierce woman warriors with fiery spirits! It’s Ochaco Uraraka from Class 1-A!”

Ochaco grips her knuckles and wrists loosening them up for the upcoming fight. _‘I’m going to have to rely on Zero-Gravity here. One For All is too unstable right now and if I screw it up, I’ll be at a major disadvantage especially if I miss.’_ And if she loses an arm or hand to the pain then Kendo will have an easier time defeating her.

“Versus! Class 1-B’s Itsuka Kendo!”

Itsuka Kendo smiles at Ochaco from across the starting positions. “No hard feelings when you lose, alright?”

Ochaco scowls. “ I was about to say the same thing.”

Kendo frowns, not expecting such a serious expression, but after a moment to consider it she smiles. _‘She’s serious. Alright, no messing around then.’_ She readies her stance. “Give me everything you got.”

If Ochaco is going to give this her all then she’s for sure going to do that same.

“Begin!!”

Both of the girls kick off, charging straight for each other ready to deliver the first strikes of the match.

Kendo lashes out first, throwing her fist forward.

While still in motion Ochaco falls to her knees, sliding past Kendo’s fist just as it enlarges, it just barely breezes past her face.

Ochaco ends up behind Kendo, where she leaps forward with her hand extended to float the orange-haired girl into the air.

Unfortunately for Ochaco, Kendo predicted such a move and twists her body around with her other hand extended out. Her hand expands and slams against the side of Ochaco’s head.

“Gah!” The brunette grunts as she’s tossed to the side, she lands face down on the ground with a hard thud.

Before the gravity girl can make a move, Kendo is already over her. She slams down her enlarged hands on top of Ochaco’s back, pinning her in place. and pins Ochaco in place.

“Ow, that’s smart!” shouts Present Mic. “I bet Uraraka’s feeling that. She started off well, but it appears Kendo’s training has given her the upper hand! Is it the end for Uraraka?”

The martial artist grins down at her foe. “I thought I told you to give me everything you got?”

Ochaco groans and glares at Kendo. “We’re just…starting!”

Unlike with Kirishima who was pinned down on his back by this exact move, Ochaco is on her belly and so she is actually able to place her hands in stable locations giving her a much-needed boost. Although Kendo tries to keep her down, Ochaco is able to push her large hand up just enough to launch herself forward and away from Kendo’s grasp.

“She’s free!”

Ochaco doesn’t waste any time, she turns right around and pounces at the member of Class 1-B. “Rahhh!!” Her fist connects with the side of Kendo’s face.

Kendo spins back in a daze but she quickly stabilizes herself, even so she’s in such a daze after that strike to the head that Ochaco has another opportunity to attack.

“I’ll beat you!” Ochaco, in heat of the moment, throws another punch.

Kendo smirks as she expertly blocks the incoming swing with her arm. “Is that so?”

Before Ochaco can so much as gasp in surprise, the wind is knocked out of her as Kendo drives her fist into Ochaco’s gut. As it connects her hand expands and thrusts Ochaco back with greater force.

Despite the pain and her aching abdomen, Ochaco runs straight back into the fight with no hesitation. She is not going to let a bit of bruising keep her down and prevent her from achieving victory. She’ll beat Kendo and her next opponent with the same ferocity all so she can achieve her dream.

Kendo remains still and allows Ochaco to get close before she throws a sideways chop her way. Ochaco once again slides across the ground to avoid it, however, this time she kicks her leg out and sweeps the martial artist's legs right from under her.

With her opponent down, Ochaco pounces atop of her, landing on Kendo’s abdomen Ochaco delivers a barrage of punches to Kendo’s head and upper body. “I will win!”

Kendo grunts and groans from the strikes even as she is able to use her free arms to block the hard punches. _‘She’s really unrelenting…good then I can really earn this win.’_

She’s also noted that Ochaco is essentially running off pure adrenaline right about now, especially after all these hard hits they’ve been exchanging. The gravity girl isn’t thinking straight otherwise she’d have used her Zero-Gravity Quirk by now. She’s just running off instinct and the will to fight on.

“Holy cow! After taking a beating, Uraraka is now the one giving it! What a slugfest!”

Ochaco continues to throw punch after punch, eventually she rears her fist a little too far back and that gives Kendo plenty of time to react. Ochaco throws her knuckles forward but the expert fighter of the match grabs her wrist, stopping the strike from landing. Kendo then pulls Ochaco’s fist and uses her leg to kick Ochaco off and over her.

The brunette lands on the ground with a thud, groaning as both her and Kendo get back up on their feet. Both stagger in place with scuff marks as they both turn to face each other, raising their fist as they square off once again.

Ochaco has her fists out in front of her, after a few calming breaths she looks down at her hands before releasing her fists opening them up and remembering her Zero-Gravity Quirk. _‘Guess I was way too into the fight.’_ She flexes her fingers. _‘I need to get in close if I want to float her up and push her out off the field.’_

She runs forward, her hands at her sides and ready to connect with Kendo when she makes her own move. Ochaco keeps her eyes on Kendo’s hands, the expandable hands that can boost her physical attacks. Ochaco watches as the hands ready to defend their owner as their opponent is upon them.

The brunette lashes out her open hand, keeping her focus on Kendo’s hands in case they make a move, but before her hand can so much as touch a hair of Kendo’s head, her own feet are swept from under her as Kendo delivers a sweeping kick.

As Ochaco falls, Kendo swings her body around, building momentum that she uses to deliver a karate kick right into Ochaco’s side, knocking her away.

As Ochaco tumbles across the ground she realizes her mistake: she was too focused on Kendo’s Quirk and had forgotten that this girl has trained her entire body to fight, not just her hands.

“It appears Kendo has the advantage once again!” Present Mic turns to his co-host. “Been awhile since you’ve said anything. Thoughts?”

Aizawa reluctantly takes the mic. “Kendo has spent years honing her craft whereas Uraraka is basing her techniques off past experiences. Both are reliable sources of fighting but a good combination of both is what’s needed to succeed.”

Ochaco pushes herself up, glaring at Kendo as she presses her hands together. _‘If I can’t get in close then I’ll attack from afar!’_ She’s going to try and pull off a Zero-Gravity Field, which should float Kendo up and make it easier for the gravity wielder to send her out of bounds.

Kendo picks up on the change and recalls what her team leader did during the Cavalry Battle. So with the wisdom that Ochaco has to concentrate to use Zero-Gravity Field, Kendo goes on the offensive.

Just as Zero-Gravity and One For All are building up, a strike to Ochaco’s head breaks her focus and the technique dissipates. Ochaco tries to focus and unleash her Quirk but Kendo is not making it easy. Kendo continues with the assault throwing chops, jabs, and kicks that keep Ochaco unfocused and unbalanced. Every strike that lands with precise aim and honed strength ensuring each hit delivers affliction to Ochaco.

“It’s not looking good for Class 1-A’s resident golden girl. How will she get through this?!”

Ochaco stumbles backwards, barely keeping herself upright as Kendo uppercuts her in the gut, grabs her head and pushes her back some more. With all of this trauma and motion she can’t focus on One For All or get a hand on Kendo to use Zero-Gravity. And her opponent is not going easy on her, if this keeps up, she’ll either be so exhausted and pained that she can’t move or get thrown out of the battlefield herself.

She needs to break through Kendo’s onslaught, but how? The only way is to use All Might’s Quirk, but she can’t thanks to Kendo, she needs to focus! Or maybe not…she shouldn’t focus; she needs to just let One For All flow on its own. She keeps forgetting that, but it’s easier said than done. Well now’s as good a time as any to give it a go, and even if it cripples her at the very least, she’ll give herself a fighting chance. 

Ochaco breathes in and out even as another kick connects with her side, if anything the kick pushes her will forward and One For All begins to flow through Ochaco’s arm radiating a pink heavenly light.

Kendo swings her hand back and over to deliver a hard chop but Ochaco’s charged up arm intercepts it and brings the attack to an immediate halt.

Ochaco’s eyes glow with determination and One For All as her leg that’s also been supercharged glows brightly. “Yahh!” Ochaco throws her foot forward, kicking Kendo away in a blast of wind and debris.

The martial artist rolls across the battlefield, moving so fast that she’ll be kicked right off the field. But not one to allow this to end so soon, Kendo expands her hands and claws her fingers into the ground. Her fingers scrape against the cement before she comes to a halt just a few feet away from the edge.

Kendo pushes herself back up, groaning as her hands shrink back to normal. “That hurt.”

Ochaco breathes heavily as One For All dissipates. Her arm and leg aren’t broken or swollen, but they are strained, almost numb. She’s almost unable to move them, at least at first but they are definitely strained and will definitely slow her down.

Present Mic is grinning wildly from the commentator’s booth. “Both fighters are battered, bruised, and tired but neither of their wills have given in yet. They’ll continue until the other’s spirit breaks first!”

Kendo, who is the only one that’s actually able to move right now, charges straight for the weakened gravity user.

Ochaco scowls preparing herself for the attack. _‘Not yet.’_

“Rahh!!” Kendo releases a battle cry as she continues her charge.

_‘Not yet.’_

“Prepare to lose!!”

 _‘Now!’_ Ochaco slams her hands together and releases a burst of her Zero-Gravity Field that explodes out and envelops the entire battlefield.

Kendo, with precise timing, leaps forward and tackles Ochaco, flinging them both into the air where they float and spin in the air. Because of her own will Ochaco is able to keep the Zero-Gravity Field going. Although it has considerably shrunk and is smaller than the battlefield itself.

“And once again there’s Uraraka’s signature Zero-Gravity Field!” proclaims the booming pro hero. “But that’s just a medium to show us an all-out midair wrestling match!”

“Oh, it’s so exciting!” screams Midnight.

The two competitors grapple and wrestle in the air, pushing and gripping at each other trying to get the other to give up first.

“I’m not going to lose this!” Ochaco holds her focus as she delivers a punch to Kendo’s face.

While they continue to spin in the air, Kendo snarls and throws her own. “Neither will I!” Bam! Her punch lands but Ochaco keeps her grip on Kendo’s preventing herself from flying away.

This goes back and forth with each one delivering attack after attack while defending with sheer unyielding determination. This continues until Ochaco finally takes note of how dangerously close they are to the edge of the battlefield.

With the best possible timing, Ochaco releases the Zero-Gravity Field, making it burst apart and throwing the two of them back towards the Earth.

Both Kendo and Ochaco collapse onto the ground, landing beside each other; breathing heavily as they both lose their breaths. Before their lungs can even refill or before they can even get themselves off the ground, the two are back to throwing jabs, kicks, and punches at each other.

But Kendo clearly has the upper hand as she is able to land more chops and kicks against Ochaco by twisting her body around to deliver swift hits. Ochaco does her best to defend herself, grabbing Kendo’s limbs and redirecting them before they can land.

Kendo, the fastest of the two at the moment, gets back up first. “Rahh!!” Her hand enlarges as she begins to throw it downward, intending to smash Ochaco into the ground.

All Might’s successor instinctively rolls out of the way just as the fist smashes into the ground. Acting quickly, Ochaco slaps her hand against Kendo’s large hand.

Kendo gasps as she feels her body become weightless and begin to float upward.

Ochaco jumps up, intending to throw her opponent out of the arena.

“Oh, no you don't!” Kendo spins her body backwards and delivers a powerful roundhouse kick and lands onto Ochaco’s head.

Kendo is pushed upward as Ochaco is knocked onto the ground with a throbbing headache.

Despite the pain and her pounding mind, Ochaco reels up as One For All charges within her hand.

“Rahh!! She jumps up and throws her fist forward, her attack can in no way reach her opponent, but as the punch is thrust forward a powerful gale of wind is generated and collides with Kendo. 

Kendo is sent spiraling out of control until she’s flown right out of the arena from the opposite end, a sudden cement wall via Cementoss stops Kendo from flying away any further. Although the wall did not provide her a soft stop.

The chief umpire, Midnight, cracks her whip into the air. “It’s over! Ochaco will move on to the semi-finals!”

As the crowd roars in delight, Ochaco finally allows herself a moment to rest, falling back onto her butt as she tries to calm her racing heart. “That was intense, uh.” Hopefully her next match won’t be as intense, at least she hopes so.

Ochaco winces as she grips her hand. “Ow!”

Her hand’s swollen with pain, looks like she used too much power with that last attack. Speaking of which, she had no idea she could do that. Sure she generates a whirlwind when she broke free of Shinso’s Brainwashing, but this was different. She didn’t even consider using that gale to attack before. _‘I wonder what else I can do.’_

The stadium continues to applaud as the fighters stagger back to the middle of the field.

Midnight is happy to congratulate the two. “Well done on a fabulous and enticing match, girls! I wish you both luck in the future and I hope you both carry the same intensity in your future endeavors!”

The crowd cheers as the two battered girls stand before each other.

Ochaco would offer a hand to shake, but her’s feel like it’s on fire so she’ll pass on that. “You…were really something…out there.”

Kendo nods, she’s covered in scuff marks and scratches, but she’s standing a bit taller than Ochaco who actually walked away with more injuries. “I can say that same for you, although I wish the outcome was different.”

Ochaco frowns. “It almost was, you’re a really skilled fighter. I kinda…wish I had some training like you…”

Kendo is silent for a moment before a thought crosses her mind. “Would you like me to teach you some moves?”

Ochaco’s eyes go wide as her head pops up. “Huh?!”

“What I mean is, you’re good but you don’t have a definite way of fighting. I think it’d benefit you if you learned some real fighting techniques.” The martial artist grabs at the back of her head. “Plus, you’d make for a really good sparring partner.”

Ochaco’s face lights up, this is probably the best news she could have gotten right now. “That’d be great! I promise to take it seriously and learn all that I can!”

Kendo chuckles at Ochaco’s sudden enthusiasm. “Great, but keep in mind I’ll be training hard too for next time.”

Ochaco beams. “Of course.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“So, tired.” Whines the gravity manipulator of Class 1-A as she makes her way back to the viewing box after being stuck in the Nurses’ Room for so long.

She shakes her head, ridding herself of the exhaustion. “No, I can’t get lazy now! I still have another fight ahead of me. I can’t afford to let myself become drained.” Huh, maybe she should grab an energy drink and a quick snack before the semi-finals begin.

She can see the entrance of the viewing box, and soon she’ll be back with her friends and classmates.

“Bakugou’s vicious attacks are unstoppable!!”

Ochaco enters and takes note of how nobody has noticed her reentry, their eyes are too focused on the fight taking place back on the battlefield.

Things are not looking good for Jiro, she’s completely defenseless against Bakugou’s Explosions.

Bakugou throws explosive punch after explosive punch, forcing Jiro back in an attempt to evade the blasts, but Bakugou is faster and many of his attacks land.

Before they know it, Bakugou cups his hands together and thrusts them forward. “Die!!” He releases a combined explosive beam that fires into Jiro and blasts her right out of the arena with a trail of heat, ash, and debris.

And with one move the final match of Round Two is already over and Midnight’s announcement isn’t actually needed but a welcomed confirmation. “Jiro is out and Bakugou will continue to the semi-finals!”

Even though he won with ease, that fact actually pisses off the ash-blonde. _‘Dammit!! I want a really fucking challenge!’_ Literally everyone else but him has had an epic and well-earned fight, but him!

He glares up at the viewing box. _‘You better bring your A-game, Roundface. Because I’ll kill you and then win this whole stupid competition!’_

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

As Bakugou stomps off the battlefield before he can give his respects to his opponent, Izuku watches his ex-friend from within the waiting room.

He decided to get here early even though there’s going to be a thirty-minute break before the start of the semi-finals. He just needs a minute to gather his thoughts. After all he’s going up against Todoroki, who’s had it out for him since the start of the Sports Festival. Also, there’s the boy’s past to consider, it doesn't sit right in Izuku's stomach that Todoroki’s had to go through so much. And now…now he’s about to go into the fight knowing what it means for the dual-Quirked teenager.

No doubt it will not be an easy match, Todoroki’s going to throw everything he can at him just to prove to him and his old man that he can be a hero without his flames. But…is that really possible? Can one be a hero if they don’t use their full power?

To Izuku only one answer comes to mind: No, they can’t. A hero’s job is to save and protect others, but if a hero willingly handicaps themselves for such a petite reason…then why bother becoming a hero? If he wanted to spit his father’s wishes, why even join U.A.? Wouldn’t the ultimate slap to the face for Endeavor be his own **son** turn his back on heroism and seek out a normal life?

Then again, there’s got to be more to it. Clearly Todoroki wants to be a hero, a great one at that, but he’ll never accomplish that, not while he holds himself back. Because as of right now Izuku is not Todoroki’s worst enemy, but himself and his spitefulness.

And Izuku will show him, will help him, to realize what it means to be a hero. Just you wait and see.

* * *

** How It Should Have Ended **

“Alright, alright, alright! I think those two are more than ready to get started. So without a further ado, begin!” shouts Present Mic.

And like that the first match of Round Two has officially begun.

Tokoyami shouts into the air. “Dark Shadow!”

“ _On it, boss!_ ” Dark Shadow flies out of his master’s chest.

Izuki grips the Omnitrix just as Dark Shadow pounces upon him, its claw reaching for the Omnitrix.

Izuku, not one to fall for that twice, swings his body around using it to block Dark Shadow’s reach.

“You gotta be more original than that!” He slams down on the Omnitrix before Dark Shadow tries to pull off any more tricks.

Dark Shadow reels back as the bright green light flashes giving the transformed Izuku plenty of elbow room.

“And XLR8 is-wait bzz!” Buzzshock peers down at his miniscule stature. “Aw, man. I wanted speed not a tiny night light!”

“Ha ha ha! Midoriya’s become Buzzshock! A tiny battery with the ability to zap his opponents like a taser gun.”

Buzzshock grabs his head. “Come on Omnitrix bzz. Tokoyami’s Dark Shadow can defend against my electricity bzz. How is Buzzshock supposed to do anything bzz?”

Tokoyami’s eyes giveaway a hint of trepidation. “Dark Shadow!”

“ _I’ve got him!”_ Dark Shadow lunges at the morphed Izuku.

“Ah!!” In a panic the little Nosedeenian lashes out, firing off a beam of bright electricity.

The beam isn’t that powerful, but it sparks against Dark Shadow’s black exterior.

The fiend reels back in pain. “ _Yahhh!!_ ” His stature becomes noticeably smaller.

“What tha bzz?” Peering at his stubby hands, Buzzshock fires off another ray of electricity.

Dark Shadow attempts to evade it but the bright light makes it wince.

Buzzshock blinks before putting two and two together. “No way bzz. Is your weakness actually…light bzz?” 

Tokoyami can’t bother to look the morphed Izuku in the eyes.

The tiny menace grins before soaring up towards Dark Shadow as he builds up the electricity inside of him. And when it’s just enough, the Nosedeenian discharges the electricity across the field.

The electrical wave shocks both Dark Shadow and its master, and thanks to the light generated Dark Shadow shrinks to about the same size as Buzzshock.

“Hehe, it’s nice not being the only little guy bzz.”

Tokoyami peers down at his weakened familiar before peering back up at his opponent. He is unfamiliar with this form and judging from what he’s seen, it does not have a limit like that of Kaminari. In other words, he’s basically fighting Midoriya without a Quirk. And so with all this to consider there’s only one real choice.

“I surrender.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so that was Ch.25 Competition, did you like it? Was it worth the wait? I sure hope it was. Well I’m hoping to be on time with Ch.26 which is the long awaited Izuku vs. Todoroki match up. I already have it all planned out on how I want it to go so just please be patient and we will get right into it.
> 
> *So many of you assumed that I would be using Buzzshock or Feedback to fight against Tokoyami. I decided against that because Izuku is actually unaware of Tokoyami’s weakness in this version. The only reason he knew about it in canon was because Tokoyami himself told him about it. So in this universe Izuku had a different strategy in mind to take on Tokoyami, and that was to be faster than him which failed.
> 
> *The HISHE/Omaki served to also explain that the fight between Buzzshock and Dark Shadow would have been considerably boring in comparison to what we got. 
> 
> *Also I chose XLR8 because he has not been able to take part in a real battle yet and so I thought it was long overdue. And hence why I inserted him into this fight.
> 
> *In case you missed it, Izuku’s Omnitrix has had a little upgrade. It can now recharge in five minutes rather than ten minutes. That said it is still the same original design as that of the original Omnitrix.
> 
> *Ochaco vs. Bakugou will be a separate chapter (Ch.27) for itself. 
> 
> *Finally, these next two fight will have some higher stakes and are the ones I am most looking forward to.


	26. Unleash Your Power

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's finally, finally, here!! It's Izuku Midoriya vs. Shoto Todoroki!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright the long-awaited Ch.26 is here and I hope it lives up to all of your expectations. So, buckle up and get ready, this is going to be a wild ride.

Izuku Midoriya inhales and then exhales trying to calm his racing heart. But in truth it does little to calm his nerves. And why would it? He’s about to face off against his greatest foe yet, and if he makes a single mistake here then it’ll all be over for him.

There’s a knock at the door, drawing his attention.

As he looks up from his seat, Ochaco Uraraka pokes her head in. “Hi, Deku.”

“Uraraka! What are you doing here?”

She steps inside, shutting the door behind her. “Oh, you know I just wanted to wish you luck is all.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it.”

Ochaco takes a seat opposite of Izuku, she stares down at the table unsure of how to actually continue the conversation. “So, how are you feeling?”

“Hm, honestly…I’m kind of worried.”

“About Todoroki?”

Her straight forward question catches him off guard, but in truth he should have suspected it. After all she had to hear the same sad story as he did.

“Y-yeah. I keep replaying what he said to us in my head and honestly, I’m not sure what I should make of it.”

“I know what you mean.” Ochaco presses her fingers together, twiddling them between her hands. “I’m still not sure if I understand how I feel about it yet either. I mean to hear about the cruelty of a top hero is not an easy thing to hear.”

To hear that leaves a bad taste in Izuku’s mouth, mainly because that’s the hard truth of the matter. That even someone that is seen as a protector, savior, and hero can still be cruel and corrupt. And to think that this man, that monster, is supposed to be the Number Two Hero, it really makes one think how that can even be when they act more like a villain than the common street thug. At least thieves and criminals sometimes commit their crimes to help support their own families; whereas, Endeavor is using his own family for his own personal ego.

Izuku slowly nods his, sympathizing with Ochaco. “This is how I see it. This just goes to show you how evil can form from anywhere. That even a supposed hero isn’t above corruption.”

Ochaco’s eyes sadden. “I suppose that’s true, but it doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

“Agreed…”

“I…I just wish Todoroki didn’t have to go through all that he did.”

Izuku nods his head slowly as he recalls what their classmates had to go through. All because his monster of a father’s own actions. To think his own mother can be driven to the point of insanity that she’d harm her own child. He can’t even imagine what that must be like, the sense of betrayed love and trust. If it was his own mother…he’s not sure whether or not the experience would have broken him. In truth he has to admire Todoroki’s perseverance, it’s amazing he isn’t more unstable than what he is. Not like his cold and indifferent disposition is exactly the healthiest thing mind you but still.

Ochaco sighs. “I wish we could help him.”

“Who says we can’t?”

Her head snaps up at the green-haired teen. “What?”

“Well to be a hero, means you sometimes have to help others even if they don’t want it.” He locks eyes with Ochaco. “Todoroki may not realize it, but he’s drowning in his own misery. He thinks holding himself back is the answer but in truth…it’s only hurting him.” Because how can someone save others when they only use half their strength? How can one defeat a powerful villain if they’re half-assing it? The answer: they can’t.

“But then…how do we help him?”

That is a good question, too bad Izuku doesn’t have an answer.

“I…don’t know.”

The two sit in silence for a moment as they mull over possible answers. But nothing they think of seems…right. All of them seem to be more of wishful thinking than possible solutions. But perhaps…there is one way they can break through Todoroki’s frozen spirit. 

Eventually Ochaco is the one to offer up. “We show him.”

Izuku’s head snaps up at attention. “I’m sorry?”

“Maybe if we show him why he’s wrong, he’ll stop holding himself back.”

Izuku’s eyes light up as Ochaco’s words dawn on him. If they can show Todoroki that half his strength isn’t enough to win here, then…then they might be able to show him that it won’t be enough for when they go pro! They can save him and help him become something he was meant to be rather than what his apparent father desires of him. 

Before Izuku can voice anything, Present Mic’s voice echoes through the stadium. “Let’s get right into it!”

With no time to spare, Izuku pushes himself away from the table. “I best be off.”

“Oh, I’m sorry!” yelps Ochaco. “I took up all your prep time.”

Izuku offers up a soft smile. “No worries, actually I’m glad you stopped by. It really helped.”

He walks over towards the door, he grips the doorknob and turns it, pulling it open.

But before he steps through Ochaco calls out to him. “Good luck, Deku. I’ll be watching and cheering you on.”

He turns and grins back at her. “Same goes to you, Space Cadet.”

And with that he leaves, leaving Ochaco behind with nothing but her thoughts. _‘Good luck, Deku.’_

At the same time, Izuku continues to make his way towards the stadium a tall imposing figure steps out, intercepting the boy’s path with a scowl on their face and flames dancing around their muscular body.

Izuku’s eyes pop wide in shock at the sight of the imposing pro hero before him. “Endeavor?!”

The Number Two Hero’s cold gaze pierces down at the trembling boy. “Ah, I was looking for you… Midoriya.” The hero spits out the name like it’s an insult to his tongue.

Izuku picks up on the disdain but from what he’s heard of this man, he only assumes it’s just part of his normal demeanor. 

Izuku quivers in place and tries his best to act normal despite what’s heard of this crook. “Oh, yeah…hi.”

Izuku stumbles back as the hero steps forward as if to assert his dominance over the boy. Izuku can feel the blistering heat radiating off the Flaming Hero, but unlike the flames of a humble campfire that give comfort with its warmth it’s more like a raging inferno burning with ambition and rage.

“So, uh, what are you doing here?”

The scowling Endeavor’s cold blue gaze takes a moment to examine the green-haired boy, examining his features from top to bottom as if looking at something he hadn’t seen in a long time and was trying to familiarize himself with it.

Izuku can only squirm under the intimidating gaze of the Flaming Hero who remains silent for a few intense moments.

Finally the so-called pro hero speaks. “I watched your fights against that frog girl and that shadow bird. Your power is pretty impressive, like nothing I’ve ever seen before.” He gives the teen a scrutinous look. “To be able to transform like you do and give yourself such incredible abilities.” His cold gaze somehow burns with scrutinizing fury. “It almost seems impossible; I wonder what kind of measures it took for someone like you to be **born**.”

Izuku freezes in place as he averts his gaze away from the pro hero. _‘Does he think…I’m like his son? That I’m from a Quirk Marriage…like he did?’_ Possibly but either way he has no reason to reveal anything to this jerkwad. “Oh. Well I never gave it that much thought. You know? It’s just a mutation I guess.”

Endeavor’s eyes flash with irritation like he doesn’t believe the boy for a second. But then again what proof does he have of anything else?

Not really wanting to interact with this…fraud of a hero any longer Izuku quickly and fearfully walks past him. “Sorry but I should get going.” As he walks away, he can’t stop the feeling of uneasiness caused by the hero’s hot flames and cold look. _‘Is it possible Endeavor knows about the Omnitrix? And by extension aliens?’_ He peers back at the man who hasn’t made a move to stop him. _‘No, he probably would have mentioned it.’_ He brings his eyes forward. _‘He’s definitely one person that can’t find out about anything alien related.’_

Before he can get too far away, the Number Two Hero finally speaks up. “It’s my Shoto’s duty to surpass All Might as the Number One Hero.”

Those words make Izuku stop dead in his tracks. Not just because Endeavor just basically admitted to his scandal but because there’s also some kind of unnatural sense of tension and dread that’s just washed over Izuku as Endeavor’s flaming glaze burns a hole into the back of his head.

“And his match with you will be a good testing ground for how much training he has left. So hit him hard.” That’s more of an order than a suggestion. “Don’t disgrace yourself or him by holding back.”

In that moment, Izuku’s mind flashes back to Todoroki’s declaration before the start of the Tournament: ‘“I refuse to rely on my old man’s fire Quirk. You see. I’m going to show him that I reject his power and take first place without using it.”’

He spoke with such disdain and anger from within his cold and pained heart, enough that Izuku can’t fathom how much turmoil his classmate is really going through.

Endeavor continues unaware of Izuku’s inner dialogue. “That’s all I wanted to say, I apologize for bothering you.” With that the pro hero begins to stomp away, probably to go and watch the next match in a secluded corner.

Izuku can tell that this last bit of bullshit was just to keep his own facade as a supposed pro hero. Afterall who wouldn’t like to receive words of motivation from a top hero? Huh, that’s twice now a top hero hasn’t lived up to Izuku’s expectations… Then all the more reason for him to reach the top and really show this world what a hero looks like.

“Endeavor.”

The Number Two Hero stops, the authority in Izuku’s voice catches his attention.

“He may be your son, but he isn’t you.”

“Excuse me?”

“Sorry, I guess I wasn’t that clear.” Izuku turns so he can look straight into this monster’s corrupted soul. “What I mean is that Todoroki isn’t a selfish pile of shit that’s out to satisfy his own personal ego.”

The hero’s eyes burn with a newfound hatred.

“You’re a sick vile man with no real sense of justice. You only destroy all that you touch and for what? Fame? Money? Glory? Honestly it’s sickening to think someone like you can even pass as a hero.” Izuku scowls, his emerald eyes staring daggers at the Hellfire Quirked man. “You are no hero.”

Although he doesn't outwardly show it, Izuku can tell that Endeavor is burning to give him a new one. But he knows that it wouldn’t look good to attack or burn a student of U.A. especially one that’s on everyone’s radar now.

Izuku is well aware of the predicament and how he, a Quirkless teenager, has the upper hand over the professionally topped ranked hero. But he doesn’t push it, he’s said his piece so with nothing left to say he leaves.

Endeavor is left alone in the passageway as the boy, that defiant boy, marches away from him like he’s no threat whatsoever. It burns the hero from the inside out that he can’t put this brat in his place, but then again, his creation will do that for him soon enough. Still though…

With no more business to be had here, Endeavor leaves to go witness his weapon’s greatest victory yet. But even so his mind remains on that boy who has that familiar twinkle of defiance in his eyes. _‘He’s just like him…’_ In anger, the hero’s flames dance and whip around him threatening to melt away at the walls.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Meanwhile, Yagi Toshinori leans back in his seat amongst his fellow teachers. With Todoroki’s match coming up he thinks back to the conversation he had with Endeavor. Specifically he thinks to what that man had to say: _‘“I will mold that child into a hero that will surpasses you one day.”’_

_‘Endeavor…what is it you’re after? And what did you do to that boy?’_

Despite not being vocal about it, Toshinori always felt that something was off about young Todoroki. He always seemed so distant towards everyone, emotionless, and cold. Could it be something occurred in his past to make him this way? Was it Endeavor? Possible, but Endeavor is a hero, a top hero, so perhaps something else is going on. Well, whatever the case he can’t even look into it right now if he wanted. What matters is the upcoming battle.

“You excited?”

Toshinori turns to Thirteen. “You could say that?”

“Me too.” smiles the space hero. “This one ought to be exciting. I really want to see how far these two have come.” Specifically, Midoriya, that boy’s done such an amazing job this entire Sports Festival.

“As do I.” replies the Symbol of Peace as he turns his attention to the battlefield. “They both share some similarities. They both have such an intense vibe about them.” But he can only wonder why that is.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“So the match hasn’t started yet?”

Tenya Iida and Fumikage Tokoyami turn to find that Ochaco has returned to the viewing box rather than await her match in the prep room.

“Uraraka.” greets the Engine Quirked lad. “Shouldn’t you be preparing for your own match?!”

Ochaco takes a seat between the two before replying. “I’ll go later. I need to see this fight personally.”

“Ah, of course! If you win your match, you’ll be up against either one of them, wouldn’t you?”

“Yeah, sure that’s why.” She has no reason to tell Iida about why she wants to see this firsthand: that she’s here to hopefully witness Todoroki breaking free of his shackles.

She tries to redirect the conversation. “Have you called your brother yet? I bet he’s proud.”

Iida frowns, averting his gaze away from her. “I tried calling him, but he didn’t answer.”

“Oh, I’m sorry!”

He offers up a sympathetic smile. “No worries, it just means he’s busy is all. I’m sure whatever he’s doing is very important. I don’t want to distract him.”

“Oh, okay.”

Iida’s disappointed frown returns. “Still though, it is frustrating to lose. Even when against such impressive foes.”

Tokoyami cuts in, his eyes locked on the battlefield. “It’s no time to wallow. Use this next fight as a source of encouragement.”

Ochaco nods, she’s going to do exactly that. “Will do.”

Beside her, Iida is as stiff as a statue like he’s been overshadowed by Tokoyami’s own words of wisdom. “You’re so wise.”

The ceremonial torches ignite to the roar of the crowd who have been anticipating this matchup since the beginning of the tournament. They are like feral animals, foaming at the mouth. They’ve long awaited this clash of titans, imagine what could possibly be in store for them! How will it turn out? Who will win? What transformation will Midoriya take on? They’re dying to find out, the savages.

“I can feel the anticipation in the stadium!” booms Present Mic’s voice over the sound system. “And that’s because the semi-final’s first match is gonna be epic!!”

Down on the field below the two fighters approach the battlefield from opposite ends of the stadium like gladiators that are about to put their lives on the line.

“First up, it’s the guy who's won each and every challenge by literally freezing his opponents in place. With such power at his command will he be able to overcome his greatest foe yet? Who knows, but for now let’s all welcome the Hero Course’s Shoto Todoroki!”

Shoto Todoroki steps onto the battlefield, unfazed by the cheering crowd that’s praising his name, or rather his father’s name.

“He’s going to face off against probably the most versatile of all the Hero Course students. This guy’s been running the top of the chart for almost the entire competition! But will Todoroki kick him off his tower and back down to Earth? Let’s find out! Welcome Class 1-A’s Izuku Midoriya!”

The wielder of the Omnitrix climbs atop the steps and enters the battlefield with a glare of determination that could rival Endeavor’s.

The two opposing forces face off as the large torches of flames dance around them from each corner of the battlefield.

Todoroki speaks first, gauging Izuku’s nerves. “So here we are.”

Izuku’s leer hardens. “And only one of us can win.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Somewhere far away from U.A. is a place that is very much the opposite of what U.A. stands for. It’s dark, cold, lonely, and void of hope. But none of that seems to bother the leader of the League of Villains as he sits closely in front of his computer screen, watching as Izuku and Todoroki take the stage.

A cold calculating voice whispers out to the villain. **_“Pay close attention to them, Tomura Shigaraki. These two could prove to be formidable obstacles to you one day. Even the other semi-finalists can prove to be_** ** _just as…problematic, especially the girl.”_**

Shigaraki scoffs. “Ha, I’m not worried about a couple kids.” The irritating scratching he’s doing to his neck says otherwise. “And I’m especially not worried about some teenage girl.”

In the background, crouched down on the floor of Shigaraki’s room is the monstrosity once known as Henzu Uuichi.

One of Nue’s extra arms claws at the wall carving scars into it; he growls at the screen as the camera zooms in on his once good friend.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“My baby!”

Inko Midoriya sobs as she blows her nose for the millionth time. “I’m so proud! Be careful thou sweety!”

The entire apartment is flooded with discarded tissue and puddles of water caused by the large amounts of tears gushing from her eyes. 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

The customers of Mr. Baumann’s store have all gathered around the holographic screens. The fights involving the Space Cadets are always a treat for them. So, none of them want to miss a second of the action.

“Kick his ass, Midoriya!”

“Chalk another one up for the aliens gugg!”

“I got nine pieces of Taydenite that Midoriya eats the dirt.”

“I’ll take that bet, Argit.”

Mr. Baumann is also glued to the screen setting aside his managerial duties just to watch. “Come on, boy. Make us proud.” 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Outside the stadium Mt. Lady and Kamui Woods are glued to the giant screen, even though they should be on patrol they are just enthralled with these matches as anyone else.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

ML-E hops about the family couch, waving her arms about with pure excitement. “Woah Woo!! GO, Deku! GO! Use XLR8 again and kick his ass!”

“LANGUAGE!!!” roars her mother.

She can only wonder where ML-E could have picked up such language. The only other person ML-E interacts with on a weekly basis is her babysitter, but she’s a hero. Why would she cuse?

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“Kick his ass, Deku!” Ochaco screams out from within the viewing Box.

“LANGUAGE!!!” roars the Class President.

Where could she have picked up such foul language? Oh, right. She’s Bakugou’s classmate.

She really can’t help it though, there’s so much riding on this next match. And yeah, it’s important that Deku try and help Todoroki, but this is still a competition and she’d actually like to take Deku on in the finals; assuming she wins her own match first. Either way she’s been anticipating this match up for a while now and she’d rather it get started.

Mezo Shoji cups his chin. “I wonder which transformation Midoriya’s going to use.”

Ochaco turns to face the multi-limbed individual. “My guess is Diamondhead since he’s immune to the cold and all.”

Denki Kaminari shakes his head while his ears are still covered by the bandaged earmuffs. “Na, I think he’ll use that Feedback guy or even Buzzshock.” Then again Kaminari is a bit biased with that statement.

Mashirao Ojiro raises an eyebrow. “But won’t flying give him a major advantage? So, maybe Terraspin.”

“No way!” shouts Eijiro Kirishima. “It’s going to be Four Arms! This way it’s a super manly fight”

“Doesn’t he have a magnet guy too?” asks Kyoka Jiro. “Maybe it can hold its own against Todoroki.”

Momo Yaoyorozu ponders. “Maybe, but if we’ve learned anything about our classmate is that he’s highly unpredictable.”

“Fair point.”

Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu tugs at his hair. “Ahh! This is so not fair! Why couldn’t I fight these guys? It would have been so epic!”

Juzo Honenuki smirks up at his classmate. “Huh, sounds like someone’s changed his tone about 1-A.”

“Shut up!” snaps Tetsutetsu. “All I mean is I want a chance to fight them, too. With guys as powerful as them, it’ll be all the more epic when they’re defeated!”

The beastly Jurota Shishida pushes up on his glasses. “Victory and defeat, these go hand in hand. What will determine that in this fight is how ferociously each of them will fight for victory.”

Itsuka Kendo considers his words. “Ferociously huh? I’m not sure I want to see these two go all out considering what Todoroki did during his first match.”

Mina Ashido overhears Kendo, she shivers in place as her mind flashes back to how she was nearly buried in a glacier.

From beside Kendo, Yui Kodai silently hums as she nods her head in agreement.

Meanwhile, Iida turns to Tokoyami for his thoughts. “Tokoyami. How do you think this match will go?”

The raven-headed teen doesn’t take long to have an answer. “Honestly, I think it can go in either one of their favors. It all depends on what Midoriya chooses to transform into.”

Ochaco turns her attention to him. “What do you mean?”

“If Midoriya chooses poorly he’ll put himself at a disadvantage. For example, if he decides to go with his muscular form-”

“Four Arms.” Ochaco interjects quickly.

“Yes…he may not be able to resist Todoroki’s ice for very long even with his strength. But if he were to choose one of his electrical forms, he might just stand a chance to deal Todoroki some heavy damage.”

Iida cups his chin as he considers other possibilities. “I see.”

Meanwhile, Katsuki Bakugou also chose to remain in the viewing box. He wants to see this battle in full too.

But right now he couldn’t help but listen in on their conversation. _‘Stupid losers, they just don’t get it.’_ He glares down at the field. ‘ _What really matters is power, and the one with the most power and skill will win.’_ he scoffs, a mad smirk forms on his face. _‘And I’m the strongest there is.’_

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Back within the stadium, a leering Endeavor watched on from what would be the shadows if it wasn’t for his burning body.

Present Mic continues with his introduction. “Both of the heroes-in-training have been frontrunners in the Sports Festival! But which of these rivals will advance to the next round? Prepare for-”

Before he can continue the younger Todoroki interrupts, throwing his hand up and instantly catching the commentator’s attention. “Before we begin, I have something to say.”

The stadium falls silent allowing Todoroki a moment to speak freely.

“For this match, we will be ignoring the out of bounds rule.”

A stunned gasp washes through the entire stadium and world for that matter.

“Not allowed!” shouts Midnight before any more discussion could be had.

Too bad Todoroki refuses to listen. “Apologies, but I would rather it be allowed.” He glares at the stunned Izuku who definitely wasn’t expecting this outcome. “The two of us need to settle something, we need to prove which one of us is the strongest. But having someone win by simply throwing the other out of bounds will defeat that purpose. So I’d like us to be free in our movements until either one of us is unable to even continue battling.”

_‘What are you planning, Todoroki?’_ Izuku frowns. “Fine, have it your way.”

The audience gasps surprised to hear that Midoriya is also fine with this.

“I said no!” shouts an increasingly annoyed Midnight.

“Hang on, Midnight.” calls Shouta Aizawa. “I see no reason why we shouldn’t permit it.”

“But Eraserhead-”

“The students wish to demonstrate their skills without any restrictions or limitations. It would be impractical of us to deny them this opportunity. Allow it.”

With a heavy sigh Midnight nods in understanding. “Very well.” She cracks her whip at the boys. “However, none of you are to endanger the audience! Is that understood!”

They both reply without any reservation. “Yes.”

Midnight grabs her head, not liking this one bit.

Meanwhile, Cementoss is also having his own doubts. “I’ll be sure to step in when things go too far.” And he’ll defend the audience if the need should arise.

“Well, it appears we’re in for quite the show here folks! There’s officially no more out of bounds! Meaning the only way to win is to immobilize your opponent or make them give up!” Present Mic continues. “Alright, without any more delays or monkey wrenches thrown in let’s get the semi-finals underway!”

Todoroki bends his knees and adjusts his footing taking preference to lean his right side towards his target.

At the same time, Izuku grips the Omnitrix; the face plate shoots up as he grips it. _‘He’s definitely going to strike first and end me before I even get the chance. That said Diamondhead is perfect to take on his ice.’_ After all, Uraraka told him all about how Tetrax was completely immune to Todoroki’s ice and was able to break free without trying.

“Begin!!”

Todoroki fires off a blast of ice as Izuku disappears in a flash of green light. The ice bursts forward much like it did when Todoroki went up against Mina, but at a more controlled level. Either way the freezing blast of ice charged through the surface of the stadium kicking up rubble as a thick mist of cold air enshrouds Izuku.

“Ah, another big burst of ice!” shouts Present Mic. “There’s no way Midoriya was able to dodge in time. Is it already over?”

No, far from it in fact.

The mist clears away revealing what had become of one Izuku Midoriya.

His classmates all lean forward in their seats trying to figure out which transformation he took up, only for astonishment to adorn their faces when they see what had become of him.

The morphed Izuku had braced himself for an impact that never came, he slowly pokes open his eyes only to find himself free of Todoroki’s ice. He turns around and follows the trail of ice to the glacier of icicles behind him. Somehow Todoroki’s attack had completely bypassed him.

“Huh, I guess Diamo-huh?!” Izuku had finally realized his form, and it’s not Diamondhead.

With the mist clear he can have a good look at himself.

He looks like a tall blue phantom with slender arms and legs. His cloak is scaly and bug-like with black lines running the out edges of the folds, and there’s a certain chill to this alien, like his whole body is cold to the touch.

“Who in the world is this guy?”

“Who the hell’s this guy?!” shouts an astonished Present Mic. “I don't have anything on him! Is this some secret weapon Midoriya’s been keeping to himself or something new all together?!”

Shouta Aizawa leans forward in his chair, examining Izuku’s newest form. “Midoriya’s Quirk, One Man Army, truly is an enigma.”

Present Mic continues. “Whatever the case, this new form needs a name! How about…Phantom?”

“Basic.” replies Aizawa. 

Meanwhile, the morphed Izuku is having his own dilemma. This is actually terrible, normally a new alien was a welcomed sight but not now! Izuku has no idea what this guy can do, and a competition is the worst time to try out a new alien. What if this guy’s weak to Todoroki’s ice? Then again, this phantom was able to evade Todoroki’s initial attack so maybe he’s got something to offer.

“I shouldn’t be surprised.”

The phantom peers back at his opponent, who’s right side generates a light cold mist and frost forms around his planted foot.

Todoroki scowls. “I should have guessed you had another transformation in reserve. You just can’t resist surprising your foes.”

The phantom takes a step back. “Believe it or not I had no idea I even had this guy.” He peers down at his four-fingered hand. _‘Or what he does.’_

“No matter.” Todoroki stomps his right foot forward and ice rushes out with icicles bursting from the surface.

“Ah!” The phantom dives to the side as the ice rushes past.

“And just like that Todoroki’s back on the offensive, letting Blue Hood know his place.”

Aizawa is beginning to question his friend's sanity. “Blue Hood?”

“I’ll keep trying.”

And so will Todoroki who fires off another ice trail.

Izuku dives to avoid it sliding across the ground before coming to a stop. He pushes himself off the ground and gasps when he sees how close he is to the boundary. _‘Wait, there is no boundary.’_

He can hear the shards of Todoroki’s ice racing towards him. Without a second to lose the tall slender alien dives off the battlefield and to the grass below, and all before the ice bursts out with piercing icicles.

The dual-haired teen chases after his opponent, he jumps down after him.

“And just liked they promised these two are already making use of the no boundary rule! Let’s try to keep the damage to minimum you two!”

Izuku takes off for the edge of the stadium trying to put some distance between himself and Todoroki, but the moment Todoroki’s hand smacks against the ground the blades of grass freeze in place as a wave of ice crashes towards the phantom.

Just as Izuku reaches the wall of the stadium, he peers back just in time to see the attack coming, and his reflexes kick in making him jump up with surprising height and grip the top of the wall. The ice wave crashes into the wall leaving him unscathed.

The phantom pulls himself up a bit and finds himself face to face with a crowd of startled and somewhat creeped out pro heroes and civilians.

“Uh…enjoying the show?”

A few of them nod in response, finding this situation rather awkward.

“Good, me too.” The phantom leans back and gazes down at the field. “Then again things could be going better.”

Todoroki gazes back up at the strange creature from down below.

“Phew, Todoroki almost had him there.” sighs Present Mic. “But it looks like Azure Cloak was just a little faster.”

Aizawa sighs. “Try again.” 

“Fine.” 

The phantom leers back at his opponent. _‘He’s not trying to capture me, not really. He’s trying to wait me out, let the Omnitrix time out.’_

His judgement is confirmed by how Todoroki’s just stands there, menacingly. He’s waiting for Izuku to make the first move, after all the more time he wastes the better chance of victory he will have. Because in truth when Izuku times out and becomes human again, become Quirkless again.

_‘He’s way more than just his Quirk. His judgement, mobility, and reasoning…all of his abilities…are incredible.’_

But what can he do? Izuku's never used this alien before, doesn’t know its species, hell he doesn’t even know how he got it. Maybe the Omnitrix will just unlock new ones at random or something. And right now if he doesn’t figure this alien out, and soon, it’ll be over before he can even put up a real fight.

Todoroki leers up at the annoyance, like he’s a bug that’s about to be squashed. “You’re good Midoriya, but…you’re lucky too.” He exhales a mist of cold air. “But your luck’s just run out.”

Izuku can’t help but agree, he lets out a breath of frustration that comes out as a cool mist.

_‘Wait.’_ He breathes again, and finally realizes that he’s been puffing out a light mist from his mouth nearly the entire match.

He turns and peers back down at Todoroki taking note of the cold mist falling from the right side of the body.

The alien smiles as it dawns on him what this alien can do.

In that moment, Todoroki generates a giant icicle lance right for the phantom.

Izuku swings his body up allowing the lance to pierce right into the wall, almost threatening to break through and strike the audience.

With the solidified water, the alien jumps atop the ice and immediately uses it to speed his way down; it’s a straight beeline for Todoroki.

Todoroki is rightfully taken back by Izuku’s sudden rush.

Almost instantly the phantom is a mere ten meters away, he takes a deep breath and with his own victory at stake, Izuku exhales and releases a freezing whirlwind straight from his mouth.

The heterochromia teen’s eyes widen. “What?!” He only has a second to form a small ice wall to shield him from the oncoming freezing winds.

Todoroki can feel the bone-chilling wind whip past him until Izuku runs out of breath.

The entire stadium is in awe, more ice has formed around Todoroki’s shield, but all the icicles are pointing back towards him. It quickly dawns on them what this creature’s power can do, and it hits them that both opponents can manipulate ice.

The morphed Izuku stands atop the icicle lance and grins, glad his hunch was correct. “Cool.” A mist of cold air floats from his mouth as he speaks.

As Todoroki examines Izuku’s chilling work, the crowd finally erupts into cheers of exhilaration. They are more than happy that Midoriya has more surprises for them.

Present Mic is just as thrilled as they are. “Woah! I bet Todoroki felt one big chill after that surprising move!” It then hits him. “Huh, Big Chill that should be his new codename! What do you think, Midoriya?”

The alien peers up at the commentator’s box. “I think you could have come up with something better!”

It appears the crowd however have already fallen for the name.

“Go Big Chill!”

“Hey Big Chill knock em cold!”

“You can do it, Big Chill!”

The newly dubbed Big Chill sighs in reluctance, looks like he’s stuck with this new name. _‘But come on. Seriously, Big Chill? What's wrong with Sub-Zero or Frostbite?’_ Guess it’s not to be.

“Woah!!” Big Chill jumps to the side, landing on the cold frozen grass as Todoroki fires off another ice lance at him.

Todoroki scowls as his lance misses its target. “It's not over, Midoriya.”

“I know that Todoroki.” Big Chill tilts his head in a taunting manner. “I just needed a breather is all.” He inhales and exhales, bursting out another freezing wind.

Todoroki predictably conjures up another ice wall, but Big Chill was hoping for that. As soon as the wall goes up, Todoroki’s losses all sight of him, so he takes off back towards the battlefield. Hopefully Todoroki will pursue him and wear himself out giving the Omnitrix wielder a better chance.

It works, Todoroki chases after him, firing off more trails of ice after the scaly-blue alien.

Big Chill evades the ice to the best of his abilities, sure the ice probably won’t hurt him, but it’ll still immobilize him so it’s best not to come into contact with it. Besides Todoroki’s not immune to Big Chill’s own ice attacks. As he evades, he fires off his own arctic winds but each one is blocked or evaded leaving behind icy trails of frozen grass and rubble.

This continues for some time with neither gaining the upper hand and Izuku is becoming increasingly worried. The longer it takes to end this the sooner it'll be until he’s powerless.

But that’s not the only issue, Big Chill is essentially a one-trick-pony; all he can do is breath cold air and sure given sometime Izuku could definitely figure out ways to apply it but right now in the heat of battle, is the worst time for test drives. And judging from this alien’s physique, close-quarters combat isn’t its style.

As for Todoroki…he may be using only half his power but he’s still able to apply it in many different ways.

_‘Dammit Omnitrix, why couldn’t you give me an alien that was a little more versatile?!’_

Big Chill leaps back avoiding another ice trail when his back slams against the wall of the center battlefield. He steps to the right, but Todoroki intercepts his path with another ice trail.

“And just like with Iida, Big Chill’s been trapped!”

He sure has, Big Chill is stuck between a really big rock and a really cold place.

Todoroki steps in front of his foe. “You’re mine.” He slams his hand down on the ground and a sheet of ice freezes itself right under Big Chill’s unharmed feet.

Big Chill eyes the ice before peering back at the dual-haired teen. “Um, is that it?”

“…No.”

Without warning, Big Chill finds himself flung into the air as a pillar of ice explodes out from underneath his feet. 

The pillar pushes him probably over forty feet into the air before stopping and tossing him straight up where he spins out of control.

“Wah?! And Big Chill’s sent flying! If he doesn't act fast, he’s going to be in for a hard landing!”

Gravity soon catches up to him and begins to pull him back. Big Chill can only watch as the hard surface of the battlefield quickly approaches.

Izuku braces himself for impact using his arms to shield his face. “Oh, this is going to hurt!” Hopefully Big Chill is more durable than he appears.

However the impact and inevitable pain never comes, instead he’s come to a complete halt and immediately his body feels a bit breezier like it’s been exposed to the cool air. Poking his eyes open, Izuku is very surprised to see the ground only inches from his face. “What the hell?!” he reels back only to realize that his feet aren't even touching the ground.

And there’s a very good reason why his cloak turned out to be tucked away wings! Wings?! _‘I have wings?! Big Chill has wings?! For real?!’_ He grins. _‘Omnitrix, thank you.’_

He peers around the stadium taking note of Todoroki’s stunned expression. “Bet you wish we kept the boundary in place, huh.”

Todoroki scowls as Big Chill decides to take his new wings for a test run.

He soars up enjoying the feeling of flight, of being free. It’s so much more different then when he’s Terraspin; with that alien it’s more like he’s just going on a ride but this, this is like he’s a bird that’s free to roam the sky to his heart’s content. And so he does.

Big Chill soars towards the audience, gliding above them, observing their amazed faces as a light cold mist follows in his wake. He flies by his teachers and gives them a hearty salute; in the brief moment he sees Thirteen give him an amused yet snarky look. He soars around until he reaches the Hero Course viewing box where he gives a snarky smile towards them when he sees his classmate’s stunned and amazed expressions. As he flies away, he can almost hear Ochaco calling him a showoff.

After that he flies right up to the window of the commentator’s box where Present Mic and Mr. Aizawa are stationed.

He leans up against the glass, smiling at them. “This is so cool. I can really get used to this.”

Present Mic laughs not even using his microphone. “Hahaha! I bet you could kid! Sheesh, are you ever going to stop surprising us?!”

“Probably not.”

Aizawa’s eyes flash with irritation. “Shouldn’t you get back to the match?” There’s an underlying tone in his voice, like he’s upset that Izuku’s blowing off the match just so he can pursue his own pleasure.

Even though Big Chill can manipulate the cold, Izuku can swear he’s breaking into a nervous sweat from the fiery glare his teacher’s giving him. “I-I w-was just g-getting a feel for it.” Something tells him that there’s no way Eraserhead bought that.

So, not wanting to encore his teacher’s wrath, the winged alien soars back down to the field where Todoroki’s done nothing but have to wait for him to return.

Big Chill stops in midair, crossing arms in an attempt to pass off as cool and confident. “Surprised? So, am I.”

Todoroki’s eyes burn with intense anger, but then it calms being washed away by a realization. “You really are something.”

“You know it.” He shakes his wings to demonstrate his point.

“But do you really have time for this?”

“Excuse me?”

The heterochromia boy smirks. “After all, the clock is ticking.”

A cold feeling of dread washes over Big Chill, somehow with the exhilaration of flying he forgot all about his time limit. A time limit he’s forgotten to keep track of.

“Well time to make up for lost time.” Big Chill fires off a burst of chilling air but Todoroki of course blocks it.

As soon as the freezing winds end, Todoroki leaps out and fires off an icicle lance right for the flying bug. With a simple flap of his scaly wings, Big Chill evades the giant piercing lance.

Big Chill flies about evading each incoming frozen lance and pillar while he tries to find openings to freeze the dual-haired boy.

With the constant exchange of freezing attacks almost the entire field has become a frozen wasteland filled with icicles and arching pillars which become midair obstacles for Big Chill to avoid. There’s so much ice that mist falls from the pillars and even a bit of snow has begun to form.

“Hold still!” shouts Todoroki as he fires off another icicle lance.

Big Chill spins in the air to avoid it. “Don’t you mean freeze?” He breathes out more cold air but Todoroki slides right to evade it.

The dual-Quirked teen scowls. “You know…I’m beginning to see why Asui hates your sense of humor.”

Big Chill halts in the air and glares back at Todoroki. “Hey, that’s just uncalled for!”

“Got you.”

Two pillars of ice erupt from the ground and come charging in on Big Chill from opposite ends.

_‘He’s trying a pincer attack!’_ Big Chill flies up but before he can the tops of the pillars burst with icicles that stretch up above him. “What?!”

“Oh, no!!” screams Present Mic. “Big Chill’s been trapped! 

The long icicles collide and scrape against each other until they freeze in place and not just above the alien but all around him. He’s stuck like a little blue bird that’s been trapped in a frozen cage.

Todoroki glares up at the towering cage, as Big Chill flutters about trying and failing to escape. “You did well to survive this long, Midoriya.” He plants his hand against the ground. “But you’re finished.” The ice around him spirals and unleashes itself upward, as a massive glacier begins to form.

Big Chill grips the bars of the ice cage and pulls but they don’t budge. He flies back and tackles the ice, but it doesn’t leave so much as a crack. Damn, Big Chill really isn’t one for strength and it’s going to cost him! No, it can’t all be over, it just can’t! But it is.

The freezing ice explodes from the ground like a volcano of ice erupting up towards the sky where it collides into the frozen cage. The glacier pierces into the sky completely encasing Big Chill inside of it.

“It’s over! Big Chill’s been completely immobilized! Frozen in place like a bug thrown into the freezer. There’s no way he’s getting out of that!” 

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The entire audience are in a state of astonishment, they didn’t think the top runner of the Sports Festival would go out like this. And they are especially impressed with Todoroki’s skill level.

“That kid’s actually better than the average pro.”

“Guess that’s what you can expect from the son of the Number Two Hero.”

“But that Midoriya kid was amazing, too. Too bad.”

“Yeah, looks like he met his match.”

Class 1-A and Class 1-B are also in a state of shock.

“Deku…” Ochaco gazes up at the massive glacier like it’s a symbol of their failure, failure to save Todoroki.

Kirishima’s jaw dropped at the sight of the glacier. “Todoroki is so strong! It’s crazy.”

“No, duh.” agrees Rikido Sato. “Damn, is there no limit to his power?”

Tsuyu Asui frowns as she examines the ice. “I really thought Midoriya was going to pull through.” But it appears she was mistaken.

Tokoyami frowns. “This is just the cruel fate of battle, where there is victory there is also defeat.”

And right now Midoriya must come to terms with that.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Back on the battlefield Todoroki stands up, his muscles relaxing as he breathes out a calming breath. _‘Thank you, Midoriya. You served your purpose, and now I know. Now I know I can become a hero without that bastard’s Quirk.’_

With the battle over, Todoroki turns and is about to walk away. He has the final to prepare for anyway, so he should try to regain his strength.

“Don’t walk away.”

Todoroki spins around and stares up to where he thinks the chilling voice came from. There’s something shimmering in the air above him, there’s a faint outline of a being watching him with its cold gaze.

Big Chill disperses the phases and reveals himself, his wings extending out from his sides. “Even I got to admit it. Big Chill is kind of a cheat.”

“How did you-”

“Get out?” Finishes the Omnitrix wielder as he vanishes again. “As it turns out…Big Chill is more like a ghost than bug.”

The entire stadium is in an uproar especially with Present Mic hyping them up. “He survived that?! How is that even possible?! Just what the hell is this kid capable of?! Whatever the case, Big Chill is still in this. So you know what that means, right? The battle is back on!!”

The audience roars even louder in response.

Despite the lack of pigmentation, Todoroki can still somewhat see a faint outline of his opponent. So he strikes albeit with not as strongly when compared to his previous attack. A thin icicle lance races up but it simply passes through the phantom without any resistance.

The phantom remains unphased by the attack and simply grins. “What did I just say?”

Todoroki gasps, the truth of Big Chill’s power finally dawns on him.

Big Chill can phase through solid matter, it must be activated by the fight or flight instinct. Which explains how Todoroki’s initial attack failed to connect, because Izuku unintentionally phased through the attack. Too bad he didn’t realize it sooner, but either way he’s definitely going to make use of it now.

Big Chill dives down straight for the dual-haired teen who conjures up an ice wall, but the phantasm passes right through the ice with no complications.

“You’re mine!” While still phased out Big Chill exhales but unlike before no chilling wind is generated. “What gives?”

With a clear opening, Todoroki leaps backwards, generating an ice trail that pushes him back onto the battlefield putting distance between the two of them.

The semi-invisible Big Chill huffs and puffs but no wind comes out until he solidifies and a small puff of cool air gusts out. _‘Ah, I get it. Big Chill can only use his freeze breath when solid.’_

He glares at his retreating opponent. “What’s the matter Todoroki? Scared of the cold?”

“Your taunts are nothing but a nuisance.” Retorts the cold-blooded youth. “Besides it’ll be you who’s fearing it in a second.”

“How do you figure?”

*Beep!*

Big Chill gazes down at the beeping Omnitrix. “Oh-” Bang with a flash of green. “Crap…” finishes the human Izuku. 

“Oh, boy. It looks like Midoriya’s bitten off all the time he could. His Quirk's timed out, too bad.”

“No!!” Izuku grips the Omnitrix desperately wiggling it in place but it’s no use, he can’t transform.

Izuku growls. “It’s not over! I’m not done!!”

“Yes, you are.”

Izuku leers up at his Quirked opponent who doesn’t bother to make a move against him. He’s breathing heavily but that because of how much he’s had to move around other than that he looks like someone that knows they’ve already won the game. But there is one thing Izuku picks up on, Todoroki’s shivering even if it's just a little, but that’s not all there’s also a thin layer of frost forming on Todoroki almost like scabs of ice.

_‘He’s shaking. Is he reaching some kind of limit?’_ Izuku glares down at the red Omnitrix. _‘I need to keep fighting.’_ Maybe there’s a way.

“You did well Midoriya, but you’re done.” continues the cold-shouldered teen. “I’m sorry about this, but thanks for drawing it out.” The boy’s heterochromia eyes drift towards the stands where a certain individual is watching. “Look at him. He’s furious I’m not using his power.”

It doesn’t take many brain cells for Izuku to know who Todoroki’s referencing. And why he’s not using his flames. And in truth, it’s rather infuriating to hear; it’s infuriating to hear that Todoroki plans to take first place by half-assing it!

“Without your powers you’re as good as Quirkless for the next ten minutes.” He breathes out releasing a small breath of cool air. “And there’s no way you can withstand me for that long.”

Something within Izuku snaps, maybe it’s his will to fight or something else. But whatever it is, it’s roaring inside of him denying him the feeling of giving up.

“Why don’t we end this?”

And with that and a swing of his right arm a bursting ice trail fires off, racing across the battlefield and straight towards the defenseless and Quirkless Izuku Midoriya,

“Whoa! Todoroki continues his overwhelming attacks! Could this be his finishing move?”

Izuku won’t allow it. “I am not done yet!!”

Todoroki gasps, he wasn’t expecting to hear such resolve in his opponent especially in such a hopeless situation.

Even though Izuku has spent the last ten minutes evading attacks, he still has stamina to spare, after all even in alien form his muscles still gain some training and he has over a year's worth of it! No way is he going to let it all go to waste just because he can’t use the Omnitrix.

Izuku leaps and rolls off the ground allowing the ice to simply breeze right past him, the bitter cold nips at his skin but other than that he is unharmed.

“Hahaha!! Looks like it’s not going to be that easy. Just because he’s without his powers doesn’t mean Midoriya’s helpless. The kid’s too stubborn to go down without a proper fight!”

_‘Dammit, Midoriya!!’_ Todoroki strikes again, but Izuku evades once again with little to no issue,

In fact the ice trails seem…slower than before. 

Todoroki scowls as he attacks again only for Izuku to use the edge of the battlefield as a means of escape. He swings his hand and a rather small wave of ice rushes the edge.

Acting quickly, Izuku runs to the side as fast as he can, he uses his momentum to grab the upper ledge of the battlefield and hoist himself back up just as the ice wave crashes down the edge that he had previously occupied.

Todoroki is understandably getting tired of this cat and mouse game. “Why keep going? You can’t possibly win!”

And that’s where he’s wrong, oh so wrong. “You’re shivering, Todoroki.”

Todoroki gasps, he had forgotten an important detail. Izuku is not only the most versatile in their class, but also the most observant and analytical.

“It’s easy to forget that Quirks are physical abilities. And that means there’s a limit to how much of the cold your body can take, right?” The greenette’s emerald glare leers at Todoroki’s offending left side. “I get it. Usually you’d make up for the drop-in temperature by using the heat from your left side. But you refuse to do that now.”

All so he can spite someone else, someone who doesn’t even matter. And that really pisses the Omnitrix wielder off!

“Listen. We’re all giving it our all to try and win. To make our dreams into a reality. To become Number One!”

There’s of course himself and his dream, but also the rest of their classmates: Uraraka, Bakugou, Iida, Tokoyami, and everyone else. But not only them but those that aren’t even in their class have been giving this competition all they got! And for Todoroki to not do that, and if he wins with that mindset…it’s a slap to the face for everyone else. For all of those…you actually deserve to become heroes!! 

“You think you can win with half your strength?!” roars the green-mained warrior. “Look at me, Todoroki.” Izuku gestures to himself, his rather unscathed and unfrozen self. “You haven’t managed to put a single scratch on me yet!”

Todoroki growls, the truth of the matter is that Midoriya is absolutely correct. Not once has any of his attacks landed properly and when they did…Midoriya literally walked away from them without so much as feeling a drop in temperature. So in truth, his ice wasn’t strong enough.

Izuku glares at his offending opponent, like a lion that’s about to tear into his rival. “So, come at me with all you got!!”

Unbeknownst to him, some members of the audience can actually make out what he’s saying.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

_‘Young Midoriya…’_ Toshinori gazes down at the two competitors, who have been giving this match their all. But his eyes are specifically on the green-haired boy, the very one he denied so long ago. _‘What’s driving you…?’_

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Endeavor scowl hardens as he watches his masterpiece get upstaged by that defiant punk. The very one that dared to call him out. And now here he is humiliating him and his ambitions like they’re just the petty desires of someone undeserving.

“That boy…” 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Midoriya…” Todoroki is becoming incredibly frustrated with this boy. He’s evaded every one of his attacks and has now resorted to…insulting him?! “What are you trying to do here? You want my fire?!” he spits out his shout with disdain. “What did my monster of a dad bribe you or something?!” That thought, that lie, was enough to make Todoroki snap.

“Now I’m mad!!” The son of Endeavor charges straight for Izuku, his plan is to get as close as he can to utterly destroy his opponent. The very opponent who dares to even suggest that he break his own personal vow.

Despite his opponent charging at him Izuku’s mind swiftly analysis how slowly Todoroki’s actually moving. In fact as he runs his right arm doesn’t even swing with his body, like it’s unable _to._

_‘His movements are….’_

_‘…slower.’_ Unbeknownst to Izuku, but Bakugou has the exact same thought. _‘Is it because he’s got so much frost on his body?’_

Perhaps Todoroki’s Quirk is like a magic meter in a video game. Basically there’s a limit to how much he can use before it needs to recharge. And if that is the case, then he must be running on empty. And judging by how much ice there is covering the entirety of the inner stadium there’s no doubt that this might be the case.

Todoroki continues to charge towards Izuku, who's bracing himself for this close-quarters fight. _‘In close quarters, there’s no way he’ll be able to dodge me.’_ He kicks himself off the ground as just as his foot leaves it, Midoriya makes his move.

Izuku was ready and he charges in with no hesitation.

Todoroki gasps. _‘The instant I lifted my right foot… He’s coming!’_

He’s already there, Izuku ran in low so he can get into the best position to strike.

Even as he rushes in, Izuku continues to glare up at the much stronger teen. “Just because I can’t use my powers, doesn’t mean I’m powerless.” And with his own ambitions and heroic spirit driving him forward, Izuku throws the meanest punch of his existence right into Todoroki’s gut. His fist slams so hard that it practically embedded itself into his flesh.

“A solid punch!” yelps Present Mic.

Todoroki instantly has the wind knocked out of him, but Izuku isn’t done yet. The boy follows up the punch by charging forward, and body checks Todoroki.

The ice-Quirked teen is flung backwards, and he takes a mean tumble, landing headfirst onto the frozen cement.

“That’s the kind of action I like to see!”

Izuku grins down at Todoroki, taking solace in the fact that a Quirkless nobody just took down a Quirked prodigy.

Todoroki coughs as he gets back up on his feet, his head pounding after that nasty fall. He doesn’t have time to catch his breath though because Izuku is already hounding him again.

Another strike to his chest shoves him back.

Acting quickly, he stomps his right foot down a group of icicles spring forth but Izuku leaps to the side before they can impale him.

“Come on, Todoroki! At least I have a reason for not using my powers!!” He strikes him again.

Seriously, it’s actually insulting how Todoroki’s treating his Quirk, like it’s a curse. He has no idea how many people in the world would kill for a Quirk like his, or for a Quirk in general, like Izuku. He was…is Quirkless and he will always be Quirkless. And yet his own classmate is purposefully refusing to use his Quirk, a Quirk granted to him by chance. It’s infuriating that he’d waste such a gift!! 

Todoroki fires off another trail of ice at Izuku.

The greenette jumps to the side allowing the ice to run on by. _‘The ice attacks aren’t moving as fast now.’_

Todoroki rushes in, if he gets close, he can finish him but as he steps his right foot down, Izuku leaps up and throws a sucker punch that connects with the side of Todoroki’s mug.

Izuku growls as he lands onto the frozen cement. “I’ll defeat you! With or without my powers!!”

Todoroki stumbles back as a bit of blood drips from the side of his mouth.

He spits to the side before wiping the side of his mouth. “What’s with you?! Why’re you going this far?!” With his rage fueling him he fires off another blast of ice that comes rushing for Izuku.

“Why?” The boy leaps to the side but this attack was faster, and it brushes his arm causing frost to form.

Izuku’s feet skid off the ground kicking up tiny flakes of ice. “I wanna be…a hero…that can save the day with a smile!! I wanna be the Number One Hero!!” Izuku rushes past the frozen icicles that threaten to pierce him if he were to stumble. “That’s what I wanna be!!” As he sprints with all his might he reels back his fist. “That’s why I’m giving it everything!!” He lunges at Todoroki. “To be a hero!!” He throws his fist forward and it slams into Todoroki’s chest knocking him backwards.

Izuku was moving so fast and hard that he actually slips up and falls to his knees, but he’s unphased as he simply gets right back up. “That’s why I’ll give it my all just like you should be!!”

Todoroki glares back up at his rival as they square off once again.

“There’s no way I can know what you’ve gone through, or why you’re even here.” Izuku takes a step forward, and Todoroki almost instinctively takes a step back. “Your life has been so much different than mine, but right now. Stop screwing around!”

Todoroki can only stare at this defiant heroic person before him, everything he’s done up till now just doesn't make any sense. Why is he continuing to fight? What is his purpose?

“If you wanna reject your father, fine! I get that.” Izuku glares daggers at the dual-haired boy. “But you don’t have the right to be Number One if you aren’t going to use your full power!” And with that he charges in for another strike.

Doesn’t have the, right? That can’t be true otherwise what was the point of it all? What was the point of all those brutal training sessions? What was all the blood, sweat, and tears for then? As a child his father put him through hell with his training so much so that his body would give out on him. But what was worse was when his mother tried to help him, save him, by throwing herself between him and his father. But it always ended the same, with her being beaten before his eyes.

Frost creeps up Todoroki’s body like a dark shadowy force of fury. “SHUT UP!!!”

How dare he!! How dare he claim such things!! Midoriya has no idea what he’s been through! How much he’s suffered at the hands of that devil.

“I’ll win!!” roars the green warrior. “And make my dream a reality!!” He reels his fist back as he builds momentum. “And I’ll surpass you!!” This punch is somehow stronger than the others, so much so that when it connects Todoroki is flung backward as if a speeding truck had crashed into him.

As Todoroki falls, his memory plays clips from his past. He remembers how his father denied him a childhood, denied him the simple pleasure of playing or even interacting with his older siblings. The reason, he was far too busy with his so-called training, which was a hell in of itself.

But most importantly his mind replays that night, the very night where everything changed for the worst. His mother just couldn’t bear it anymore, she was losing hold of herself and her sanity. And he…he mistakenly tried to reach out to her, to comfort her and in that brief moment he saw all that he had to. He witnessed the fear and despair in her eyes and out of that fear she grabbed the steaming tea pot to defend herself. And she poured the scalding liquid onto him, onto the left side of his face, the side that mostly resembled that monster’s. 

The older Todoroki collapses back onto the ground, his mind still playing out those events. _‘I remember.’_

He remembers that was the same day he truly discovered how much he despised his father. If it weren’t for him neither him nor his mother would have gone through such pain, such trauma. And she wouldn’t be in a mental institution, which is nothing but a cover to remove her away from his life. All because Endeavor wants to hide the fact how his own home is not fit for a hero.

_‘I will reject you.’_ Todoroki struggles to pick himself off the ground. “I refuse to use my left side.”

Izuku can’t stand how stupid this guy is, how can he not see it?! Izuku can see it and he doesn’t have a fucking Quirk!! And so with desperation in his voice Izuku roars out. “IT’S YOURS!!! YOUR QUIRK, NOT HIS!!!”

Todoroki lets out a sharp gasp, as a flood of memories rush to the forefront of his mind.

##########(Flashback)#########

**“YES, THAT’S RIGHT. CHILDREN OFTEN DO INHERIT QUIRKS FROM THEIR PARENTS OR DEVELOP SIMILAR POWER SETS. BUT THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO REMEMBER IS THAT A QUIRK IS WHAT YOU MAKE OF IT, REGARDLESS OF YOUR HISTORY. YOU DECIDE HOW YOU’LL USE IT.”**

That speech was something that really stuck out to Shoto when he was younger, when he was a child who often enjoyed the company of his mother. Together they’d often just sit together watching TV or just little games. But one day a clip of All Might, the Number One Hero, was being broadcasted and it just so happened to be about the value of Quirks and heroism.

But All Might’s words just spoke to him, so much more than Endeavor’s own forceful sessions. It made sense no matter the Quirk or one’s own past, they can become a hero as long as they strive to become one. A real hero.

**“THAT’S WHAT I MEAN WHEN I SAY, “I AM HERE.” ONLY YOU CAN DECIDE TO BECOME A HERO, NO ONE ELSE.”** The Symbol of Peace smiles at the camera, giving the audience a big thumbs up. **“TAKE THIS TO HEART, KIDS! YOU’VE GOT IT!”**

“Honey.”

The young Shoto looks up at his mother without fear and complete loving trust.

She in turns smiles down at him with such a kind smile. “You do still wanna be a hero, don’t you?”

Of course he does, it’s his dream…to be just like All Might. A true hero, one that inspires and saves others.

“Just remember, stay true to yourself.” 

########(End Flashback)#######

_‘I didn’t realize how much I’d forgotten.’_ Specifically he had forgotten these important words that his mother had given him: _‘“You are not a prisoner of your lineage. It’s okay to use your power to become who you want to be.”’_

Steam begins to smoke from his body, as his heart races with a new emotion, an emotion he hadn’t felt in so long…hope.

Izuku lungs his left hand ready to strike. “Answer me, Todoroki!!”

And he gets his answer as flames, flames that had not seen the sun for a decade, burst forth from Shoto’s left side.

The flames burst out so strongly that Izuku is pushed back by the intensity of the heat itself. “Ahh!!” Damn it’s searing hot, anything that gets too close to those flames will surely turn to ash. Hell he’s lucky he still has his eyebrows from such an intense heat.

As for those in the stands they are simply amazed by the display of raw power before their eyes. Especially Ochaco whose mind replays Shoto’s vow from before. “He’s using his fire!”

And despite the utter terror of the inferno, she’s smiling. Smiling because somehow…Deku broke through Shoto’s cold heart.

Shoto’s flames dance upward as if celebrating their freedom and letting the world know that they are here and here to win.

Toshinori is just as amazed at the sight before him, but his eyes are trained on the boy that nearly ran headfirst into the inferno. _‘You made him use his father’s power. Midoriya. Don’t tell me you were trying to save Young Todoroki this whole time!’_

Izuku doesn’t dare look away from the flames, they are absolutely amazing, it’s a blaze that signifies Shoto’s rebirth. Like those of a Phoenix that’s finally ready to retake its life.

“You’re helping your opponent.”

Izuku gasps as steam rises from Shoto’s right side, his frosted body thaws free in mere seconds.

“You fool.” continues the dual-Quirked hero. “Even though you wanna win this battle. Now which one of us is screwing around?”

Izuku begins to grin at the sight before his emerald eyes. Before him stands the new Shoto, the one that will use both of his gifts to their fullest and become the hero he was meant to be. With the ice on his right that bursts out a cold mist and his left that dances with flames.

“I want it, too. I’ll be a hero!”

The two are grinning madly as they are now free to truly show the world what it means to be a hero.

They aren’t the only ones thrilled to see Shoto use his flames, however.

“Yes, Shoto!!” Endeavor is so thrilled that his flames burst wildly from his body.

He quickly marches down the steps towards the field, ignoring the surprised looks of the audience around him.

“Have you finally accepted your purpose?!” He’s grinning like a mad man that’s just been given a free ticket out of hell. “That’s it. Very good! This is the dawn of a new era for us! With my blood in your veins you’ll surpass me!” he makes it to the edge of the field. “You will live up to the reason I created you!!”

Even though he’s roaring from the top of his lungs, his own son, his so-called masterpiece doesn’t even acknowledge his existence. Because for right now, in this moment, Shoto is free of his shackles and is now soaring to new heights. Heights where he can no longer even hear his father’s cries.

Present Mic finally shakes out of his stumper. “Endeavor suddenly shouts words of…encouragement?” He’s not really sure. “What a doting father.” He doesn’t sound at all convinced. 

Shoto’s flames continue to illuminate and burn, melting away the ice around them, drying up the battlefield as the water evaporates.

Even amongst the steam and heat Izuku continues to smile, smile at the beautiful sight of a hero being born. “Incredible.”

“Why are you smiling?” Shoto frowns at Izuku, this boy is so vexing to him. “Without your powers…in this hopeless situation… You must be crazy.” 

Izuku continues to grin, there might be some truth to Shoto’s statement.

“Don’t blame me for what happens next.”

Somehow the greenette’s grin widens. “That’s fine just one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“Don’t blame me either!!” He throws the Omnitrix up just as it comes to life, flashing its signature green.

Guess he held out long enough. “IT’S HERO TIME!!!” Izuku slams down on the Omnitrix and as the light swallows him up he can feel his own fiery passion burst forth from within his body. It’s almost as if his very will has burned through his skin and has been sent ablaze before the world to see.

Somehow the heat within the stadium grows to incredible degrees, cement begins to actually melt, the ice vanishes like it’s been disintegrated, and anything metal turns bright red as they burn under the increased inferno.

And no, it's not because of Shoto’s flames, but because of the creature before him. And the sight makes him smile with amazement, he really should just accept that he’ll never make sense of what Midoriya is.

As of now Midoriya’s current form is tall and looks like a being that was raised on a volcano with a magma like body that’s covered in dark-red rocks, his entire skull is ablaze, radiating fire. This creature’s entire physique is radiating with fire.

“Amazing, simply amazing!!” shouts Present Mic. “Giving us one new transformation wasn’t enough, he had to give us two of them!! And what’s with the fire and ice themes, is he trying to match Todoroki blow for blow or something?! Whatever the case this new guy is really blasting out the heat. Oh, that’s it Heatblast! Yes, got the name on the first try this time!”

“Give me everything you got!!” The newly dubbed Heatblast roars as his own flames increase with intensity bursting from his hands and head.

He’s not so much controlling his own flames but allowing his thrill and adrenaline to fuel them like feeding a raging wildfire.

In response, Todoroki stomps his right foot down and ice explodes up as his flames dance even wilder. “Let’s finish this, Midoriya!!”

Heatblast twists his body, he’s about to unleash all that he’s got. “You got it, Todoroki!!”

At the same time, Cementoss hurriedly slams his hands against the ground. “That’s it, Midnight!” A wave of cement rushes forward to interrupt what will definitely be a powerful pair of fiery attacks. “One of them could be killed!”

The umpire is in agreement. “They’ll destroy each other!” Midnight rips at her thin costume, exposing the skin of her arm and her sleepy gas begins to smoke out.

Neither competitor so much as flinch at the oncoming Quirks, they are far too focused on each other.

Shoto launches a massive wave of icicles right for the flaming alien, they come crashing towards him like a tidal wave.

Without thinking Heatblast practically blasts off the ground like a fiery missile the surface of which melts away as his body glides right over it. _‘Gotta try and get close and give it everything!!’_

Shoto’s entire left side flashes as his flames reach infallible degrees, incinerating the battlefield around him and his previous attack.

Heatblast continues to rocket forward. _‘Come at me with your full power, Todoroki!!’_

Shoto’s left hand rises as if the flames themselves are controlling his movements, his entire palm is light with flames as the heat from both of them begins to clash. “I see now, Midoriya.”

Heatblast throws both his hands forward as his fiery spirit blazes within his hands.

“Thank you.”

And with nothing else to say they both unleash their power, just as five giant walls of cement intercept them.

The explosions of fire obliterate the blockade as if they were never there. The entire battlefield explodes as a raging firestorm detonates from within the stadium shaking it to its very core!! Large pieces of debris are flung into the air, carried by the intense heat and flaming winds. All of the ice on the field is vaporized as they are consumed by the flames, the frozen grass underneath turns to ash, and the cement walls lining the stadium melt away. Both Midnight and Cementoss get caught by the shockwave and are flung backwards by the sheer power of the blasts.

The powerful gale of heat rages across the stadium causing many of those in the Hero Course to brace themselves from what feels like the sun itself has fallen to Earth.

“Holy crap balls!!” Mineta flails about in the air, the gale threatening to sweep him away. Lucky for him, Shoji managed to grab hold of his leg.

“This is crazy!!” shouts a terrified Kaminari as the bandages around his ears fly away.

“These guys are monsters!” cries Hanta Sero as he bunkers down in his seat.

Yaoyorozu tries to shield herself from the thrashing heat. “What’s happening down there?!”

Ochaco is the only one, other than Bakugou, who refuses to even flinch at all the flames. “Incredible.”

Even the heroes have to endure the firestorm, all but a few of them manage to watch on: All Might, Thirteen, Aizawa, and Endeavor. Their wills prevent them from looking away even from the blinding flames. They all want to witness the results of this clash of titans.

Finally the firestorm has reached its peak and begins to disperse. The wind finally calms, and the flames wither away as there’s nothing to fuel them. The melted cement and metal glows red like magma and the field is black with ash, but a giant plume of smoke now blinds them from seeing what had occurred between the two fighters.

Down on the field, a bit of ash is pushed away as a dome of cement rises from the ground. The little dome crumbles away revealing a slightly burned Cementoss and Midnight.

Cementoss coughs as he inhales the smoke. “Having a great power doesn’t mean you’ll be a good hero.” He stands back up trying to spot the students. “But these two are amazing.” And terrifying.

Up at the commenter’s booth Present Mic was somehow thrown backwards. “What happened just now?” He looks to his co-host who remained unfazed by the firestorm. “What the heck is up with your students?”

Aizawa responds so calmly that it's kind of scary how unsacred he is. “As the opposing fire blasts collided the kinetic energy increased and thus was released at such a high speed that an explosion was formed.”

Present Mic zips back up. “Wait, that’s what caused such an explosion?! How hot did that fire get? Jeez. I can’t see a thing past all this smoke!”

Down on the field, a burnt and sore Midnight picks herself up off the ground with a little help from Cementoss.

“Is the match still going on, or what, huh?!” Present Mic’s shouting isn’t helping her pounding headache.

Finally the smoke begins to clear away as a fresh cool wind comes to carry it away.

The entire audience, the students, and heroes lean forward trying to be the first to see what had become of these heroic gladiators.

And what they see leaves them in silence, Shoto’s body has crashed against the opposite wall of the stadium. His body remains up but, as the smoke clears away, he a bit more is revealed. The entire left side of his shirt has been burned away to ash and his left arm looks broken like it impacted itself against a train. His body is equally pulled down by gravity and he collapses in a heap of exhaustion.

“There.” cries Midnight. “Todoroki is…unconscious!” She throws her whip towards the opposite end of the field. “Midoriya wins!”

The entire stadium erupts into earthshaking cheers as the smoke clears to reveal the fiery Heatblast. He also crashed into the melted cement wall but unlike his opponent his alien DNA gave him a bit more durability than that of a human’s. With a groan the morphed Izuku gazes straight ahead at his defeated foe, his mind still processing the clash of their powers.

“Midoriya will advance to the finals!!”

That’s it…he won. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And Ch.27 will pick it up right from there next time along with the Ochaco vs. Bakugou fight. So, how was the Deku vs. Shoto fight? Was it everything you wanted or not? I hope it’s the former.   
> Important notice, I’m about to become very busy again so updates may take longer than usual. So, I will be updating either once a week or once every two weeks depending on how much progress I can get in. I will continue to write but I may not be able to make the same amount of progress that I am getting right now. I will do my best to get the chapters out on time, promise. 
> 
> *I always planned to introduce two aliens for this fight long before I even began writing this story, and one of them was always going to be Heatblast. However, instead of Big Chill I was going to go with Articguana, but due to popular demand by reviewers I decided to swap Articguana out for Big Chill. So, sorry to those that would have preferred Articguana he will eventually make it into the story himself at a later time. 
> 
> *Also, the no boundary rule will carry over into Ochaco’s fight with Bakugou, that should be just as exciting as this one was, if not more so.


	27. Unleash Your Power Part II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ochaco vs. Uraraka, which of these two will come out on top?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, I’m finally back with Ch.27. Woah it took long enough, huh? Anyway you all waited long enough so let’s get to it. Shall we?

Finally the smoke begins to clear away as a fresh cool wind comes in to carry it away.

The entire audience, the students, and heroes lean forward trying to be the first to see what had become of these heroic gladiators.

And what they see leaves them in silence, Shoto’s body has crashed against the opposite wall of the stadium. His body remains up, but as the smoke clears away a bit more is revealed. The entire left side of his shirt has been burned away to ash and his left arm looks broken like it impacted itself against a train. His body is equally pulled down by gravity and he collapses in a heap of exhaustion.

“There.” cries Midnight. “Todoroki is…unconscious!” She throws her whip towards the opposite end of the field. “Midoriya wins!”

The entire stadium erupts into earthshaking cheers as the smoke clears to reveal the fiery Heatblast. He also crashed into the melted cement wall but unlike his opponent his alien DNA gave him a bit more durability than that of a human’s. With a groan the morphed Izuku gazes straight ahead at his defeated foe, his mind still processing the clash of their powers.

“Midoriya will advance to the finals!!”

That’s it…he won.

The audience get even more riled up, screaming from the top of their lungs as they celebrate such an amazing battle.

While the crowd screams into his ears, the flaming Izuku finally settles down. He scans the rest of the field; he’s both amazed and terrified by how much destruction the two of them caused. “It’s…mind boggling.” Despite the flames a cold shiver runs down his spine. “I don’t even want to think what would happen if he had more control.”

His mind replays the sight, the sight of Shoto being reborn. _‘It was…so incredible.’_

A few wisps of flames dance across his eyes. 

“Huh?”

Heatblast finally takes a moment to examine himself by raising up his hands that are still flaming up with energy.

…

“AHHH!!!” The flames spurt up as Heatblast begins to panic. “I’m on fire!!” He takes off running across the burnt field. 

During the heat of the moment, Izuku didn’t actually know what had happened to him. He figured he was one of his other aliens and now all that he sees of himself is that somehow his entire body is on fire!!

“Ahh!! Fire!! I’m on fire!!”

Someone please save him!! At this rate he’ll be burned to a crisp!! Shoto’s flames must have been stronger than he thought, they were so hot they turned his body into a walking inferno.

“Someone put me out!! Someone-EEK!!!”

A spray of fire-retardant foam splashes in his face, dousing the flames and leaving a bare red-rocked skull.

“Ah!! It burns!!” Heatblast grabs at his face as tiny spurts of flames try to reignite amongst the foam. “Why does it burn?!”

“Oh, suck it up!” snaps a rather irritated Midnight with a fire extinguisher in her hands.

She’s really had it with these kids, they’ve changed the rules, caused tons of destruction, and worst of all they nearly gave her a new tan.

Cementoss curiously eyes the fire extinguisher. “Why do you have that anyway?”

“Oh, I had it in case Todoroki decided to use his flames today…” Midnight briefly examines the melted walls, burned grass, and demolished battlefield. “Obviously, it wouldn’t have been enough.”

“Ahh!!” Heatblast continues to scream while in a panic, his head has reignited but that just means he’s still burning alive.

“Oh, be quiet!!” snaps Midnight. “Take the pain like a man!” She cracks her whip snapping Izuku out of his panic. “Besides you’re not actually burning alive or anything!”

“Huh?” Finally he stops screaming and examines his body again, taking note that even though he can feel the heat it doesn’t actually hurt.

But he has to make sure, his head snaps up to the jumbotron where he has the privilege of taking in his newest alien’s appearance.

“Is that me…?” With his flaming body on screen, the morphed Izuku waves his arm making sure it’s really him. Now that he’s calm enough to realize the truth, he takes a moment to admire this new alien’s features. “Now this is hot.”

Too bad for him, Midnight’s really had it and that pun was enough to send her off the edge as she takes aim with the fire extinguisher.

“AHHHH!!!”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Shoto Todoroki begins to stir, his entire body feels overheated, unable to even sweat, after that heated match with his classmate. His head is pounding as he tries to make out where he is. From what he can feel he’s on a stretcher being hauled away by a couple of medical bots most likely on their way to the Nurse’s Office.

“What happened…?”

His mind flashes back to his recent match with Midoriya. And based on how he’s the one being hauled away on a stretcher quickly deduces how the fight ended.

Shoto sighs. “I lost, huh?” 

The scarred teen leans his head up so he can take a proper look at his left hand, namely the left side of his Quirk. He really used it back there, and it felt so right, something he didn’t expect. And despite his loss, he isn’t all that torn up about it. Midoriya won, no need to get hung up about it. But what leaves an uncomfortable pit in his stomach is the feeling of unease and the lack of confidence in himself that he made the right decision. Was it worth using his flames? Can he really become what he wants to be rather than what his father desires him to be?

“What’s the matter?”

The medical robots come to a halt as a large imposing figure intercepts their path.

Recognizing the voice, Shoto grunts as he sits up and finds his bastard of a father standing before him.

The Number Two hero smiles down at his spawn. Which is a rather odd sight, Shoto half expected him to be exploding with rage after his loss, but then again Endeavor did get what he wanted in the end.

The Flaming Hero snickers. “Not gonna tell me to get lost?” All while he smiles, he eyes his son’s left side, which is now exposed thanks to his uniform being burned away by his own flames; the flames he gave him. “You need to learn to control your left side. It’s dangerous to release so much energy like that.”

The worst excuse for a father opens his arms as if to embrace Shoto’s acceptance of him and his power. “But despite your loss, I’m glad you’re finally seeing reason. Now that you’ve abandoned your childish rebellion, we can get back to what’s important.” His grin becomes sickeningly menacing as a dark and unheroic like vision plays in his mind. “And you can begin by crushing that Midoriya brat.”

Yes, that boy played his part well unlike others, he must understand the value of power. He should almost thank the Midoriya spawn for assisting his creation to see the truth. Because thanks to his efforts, Endeavor’s own ambitions will finally come to foriscian.

Endeavor raises his hand out to his injured and dazed creation. “After you graduate, you’ll work by my side. I’ll lead you down the path of the mighty, Shoto.”

Shoto can’t even bare to look at this monster, no the truth is that this man is not even worth his time. It took a classmate…a real hero to help him see the error of his way of thinking. But even so he can’t or alter how he feels about this bastard.

“I haven’t abandoned anything.”

“Huh?” That statement delivered calmly and precisely, takes the pro hero completely by surprise.

Shoto raises his left hand, gazing down upon it with a new light. “You’re a fool to think my feelings could be so easily reversed.”

He thinks back to his final attack with Midoriya how their opposing fires clashed and danced about the stadium.

“Instead…out there…for that one moment.” His left-hand clenches as if holding onto this new memory, the memory of Midoriya’s words: that it’s his Quirk. “I forgot all about you.”

Endeavor, surprisingly, let’s out a gasp of shock. He was so sure this was it, the start of his uprising.

With a tap of his hand the medical robots wheel themselves around the stunned pro hero. As they pass Shoto continues to spill his feelings. “Whether that’s good or bad, whether it’s the right thing to do. I don’t know. Maybe I don’t need you.”

Endeavor, the man in All Might’s shadow, can only watch in stunned silence as Shoto is carried away, away from him and his goals.

When he can no longer see his son, the son that’s rejected him, anger and frustration surge back into his being; fueling his flames and his rage.

“Midoriya.” He spits the accused name out like it’s an insult. “Just what kind of drivel did you put in my Shoto’s head?”

It had to be that boy; he should have known better to demand someone like him to push Shoto’s progress on. It was a mistake, a mistake he intends to fix.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Man, why’d she go and spray me like that?” groans Heatblast as the last of the foam is finally burned away.

How did someone like Midnight become a teacher anyway? Like she’s the R rated hero…how is that school appropriate?

Heatblast shakes his head as he reenters the viewing box. “Sheesh, she’s got to learn to chill out.”

“So do you, man.” states Hanta Sero upon Heatblast’s arrival.

“Oh, hey Sero.” Heatblast happily waves his brightly burning hand, his classmates flinch at the slight movement. “What?”

Denki Kaminari scoots back in his seat to try and get away from the heat radiating off the creature. “Dude, you’re a walking bonfire! So watch what you're doing.”

“Sorry, but I’m not used to this guy yet.” The morphed Izuku gazes down at his molten-rock body.

This alien certainly is a unique one, he can only imagine what kind of environment could have produced such a species. Probably a planet that’s void of any water. Hell he’s lucky he didn’t set off the sprinkler system as he made his way over here.

Mina Ashido examines the flaming Izuku. “Well can you at least transform back?”

“No can do, got to let the transformation burn out on its own.”

Tsuyu Asui noticeably let’s out an exasperated sigh, but she doesn’t say anything.

“Speaking of transformations.” interrupts Tenya Iida. “Please, explain how you could have gotten two new forms in such a short span? Or were you purposefully withholding them for such an occasion?”

“Trust me, I have no idea where I got either of them.” replies Heatblast.

In truth, Izuku really has no idea how he got them or why. Maybe the Omnitrix was holding out on him and finally decided to give him a treat. Or it could be something else entirely. But then again, it is a piece of Level 20 technology; if he spent a hundred years studying and reverse engineering the device, he’ll never truly be able to understand it.

Heatblast continues. “Also if I was holding out on them, why wouldn’t I have used them during the U.S.J.?”

…

They all have to admit that Izuku’s got a point. Both Big Chill and Heatblast would have been really helpful during the attack at the U.S.J. Big Chill could have frozen the villains, especially those in the flood zone, and with his phasing he can avoid attacks from that Nomu. As for Heatblast…well they just saw the guy melt away the stadium; there’s no need to imagine what he could have done.

With some cautious maneuvering, Heatblast is able to get to his seat without burning anyone although everyone is giving him a rather wide berth. As he sits down, he takes notice that his fellow space cadet is actually still there within the viewing box even though her opponent seems to have left already. She appears to be mulling something over in her mind, and whatever it is, it must be important because she seems to be the only one that hasn’t noticed him yet.

“Shouldn't you be getting ready?”

“Hm?” Ochaco Uraraka snaps out of her thoughts. “Oh, Deku. I would but as you can see.” She gestures towards the center of the stadium.

After his…battle, the entire stadium has essentially become a rapid paced construction zone. Mainly involving Cementoss reshaping the melted cement while the other staff members of U.A. see to the damaged equipment and clean up debris. It’s so bad Power Loader had to grab some of his Support Course students to help with repairs. Even some of the Business Course are assisting mainly by selling burn-kits to the audience. In all, it’s going to be sometime before they begin the next match.

Heatblast slumps in his seat, feeling rather guilty for causing so much trouble. “Ah, right…”

A few moments of silence pass between the two as Ochaco resumes her thoughts.

Heatblast watches on silently wondering about what she could ever be thinking about. His curiosity is itching for him to ask what is on her mind but not wanting to cross a line he withholds his questioning nature.

“You were…really amazing out there.”

His head snaps up, he almost didn’t hear her, her voice was so soft almost as a whisper.

The morphed Izuku tries to offer up the friendliest smile he can muster even while his entire head is aflame. “Thanks. Although it wasn’t easy. Todoroki’s so skilled and determined, I actually thought I was going to lose there a few times. Heck if Big Chill, still a dumb name, wasn’t so versatile I definitely would be a popsicle right now. Then again if the Omnitrix gave me Diamondhead like I wanted I’m sure I would have had an easier time since I actually know how to use that alien. But I guess I can’t really complain both Big Chill and Heatblast are fine additions…”

While Izuku mutters away to himself, Ochaco takes a moment for herself to reflect on Izuku’s match against Todoroki. Both of them were so incredibly amazing with their powers under their full control despite all of their devastating strength. Unlike her and One For All, which she just can’t seem to get down. Granted she is getting close, but it feels like she’s missing something, something important and not so obvious that it’s stopping her own progression. She needs to figure out what it is and how it can help her control One For All to the point that she can compete with Deku and Todoroki.

Ochaco releases a heavy sigh figuring that the answer isn’t going to just drop into her lap anytime soon.

But then again, Deku always seems to have such good control over his powers. Just take a look at his two newest forms, he figured them both out in twenty minutes while it’s taken her months to get this far with All Might’s power.

“Hey, Deku can I ask you something?”

Heatblast blinks, assuming he has eyelids, and smiles. “You just did.”

Ochaco’s cheeks puff out in annoyance. “Come on, be serious.”

Heatblast actually appears a bit ashamed. “Sorry, but please, feel free to ask your question.”

It takes her a few more moments to speak, giving them a chance to sit there and bath in the comforting warm radiating from Heatblast’s flames.

“Deku.” 

Heatblast sits there quietly allowing her the chance to speak.

“How do you do it?”

“Sorry?”

Ochaco inhales, trying to keep herself calm. “How does it feel…when you’re like this? When you’re…in one of your transformations?”

She can tell that Deku’s at a complete loss here.

“How can you be so good with controlling your powers, even those that you haven’t had for very long? What do you feel when you use them? Does it come naturally or is it something else? How can I get stronger?!” There’s desperation in her voice which only amplifies the look of fear in her eyes, fear that he may not have the answer that she needs to hear.

Heatblast sits back and ponders, letting her questions sink in and process before he replies. “I wouldn’t say it comes naturally.” He leans forward, raising his flaming palm up towards his face. “More like…I’m trusting that my body knows what to do.”

“You’re…body?” Ochaco scans the blazing creature.

“Um, I mean, I trust that each transformation knows what to do when the time comes. Each transformation is unique and adapted to their individual skill sets and abilities. Of course I need to be the one to trigger said abilities, but when it comes to output it’s more like the instincts of the transformation kicks in.”

Ochaco leans forward, almost excited to hear that there is an answer. “How though? How does it kick in?!”

“Because I let it.” Heatblast turns to face her. “I can’t just think my powers will work; I have to believe that they will work. I have to let my will flow through my entire being, let my powers flow through my body.”

“I’m still lost here.”

“Hm… Oh, think of it like a river.”

“Like a river?” The brunette’s head tilts to the side.

Heatblast nods. “If you try to force the river in the direction you want it to go, you’ll only do more harm than good. And often or not you’ll find it impossible to even redirect it.”

“So what’s the best option?”

“This will sound cliché but go with the flow. If one gives up trying to control the river and simply let it flow freely, they will find the water working much better in their favor and they can harvest the gifts the river provides. Basically why force the water to do what you want, when the water already knows what to do and where to go?”

Ochaco blinks, reeling back from Deku’s words of wisdom as she leans back in her seat. She doesn’t fully understand his metaphor, but she gets the gist. At least she thinks so, but it’s still all so confusing.

“Okay, but how-…” Her words fade away after she turns to face Deku and instead finds a rather strange sight.

While she was out of it, several members of Class 1-A gathered around Heatblast, roasting marshmallows from his flaming body. Yaoyorozu kindly provides thin roasting sticks from her Creation Quirk while Sato hands out marshmallows to everybody who wants one. As for Heatblast, he doesn’t seem that bothered by it except when Kaminari’s marshmallow melts off and lands on his shoulder, but a quick wisp of fire burns it away.

“What are you guys doing?!” cries out the female space cadet.

“What?” Rikido Sato raises up a bag of marshmallows. “I had these on hand. I figure we shouldn’t let them go to waste.”

He had originally brought them to give his Quirk, Sugar Rush, a quick burst between events.

At the same time, Momo Yaoyorozu creates a few more roasting sticks from her arm before handing them over to a few members of Class 1-B.

While the Hero Course students use Heatblast as a campfire, the alien turns to Sato with his hand raised. “Hand me one will ya?”

Sato drops a marshmallow into his heated palm.

Heatblast proceeds to toss the tasty treat right into his mouth, chewing it for a moment before swallowing it down. “Hm! Wo, I just found another benefit for Heatblast.” Sato gives him another. “I’ll never need a stove ever again.”

Ochaco chuckles awkwardly as Heatblast chews away at his treat. _‘I’m still confused though, but I guess that’s to be expected. I’m not as bright as Deku is…pun intended.’_ She chuckles at her own joke, although it comes off as more of a choke.

Knowing she’s not going to get any more out of him, she gets up to leave walking past her distracted classmates as they enjoy a mobile bonfire.

The transformed Izuku watches on quietly through the horde of students. He probably could have clarified more with his answer. But it was the best he had with such little time he got. He can tell that she’s worried, worried that she’s not capable enough. If only there was some other way, he could help her.

He thinks about it for a moment. _‘Maybe there is.’_

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Ochaco nervously wrings her hands over the table. She’s been sitting around the prep room for a little while now as the repairs finish up around the stadium. Even so it feels like she’s been sitting here forever, her nervousness making it all ten times worse, and all for good reason.

Bakugou is going to be her most difficult battle yet. But there’s no avoiding it; it was either him, Deku, or Todoroki and none of them would be an easy match. Then again can she even be considered a real challenge to them? Can she really compete on their level?

No…she can’t.

One For All is too unreliable and it injures her. And in this fight, she’s sure Bakugou’s not going to give her an opening to use All Might’s power. If she uses it too soon, she’ll put herself at a major disadvantage especially considering that Bakugou would probably fend off the attack. So in all she’ll only guarantee her own defeat. 

Her hands clench tightly together as they shake with fear. _‘Come on, Ochaco!’_ She thinks to herself. _‘Stay calm, just…smile. Yeah, that should help calm my nerves. Can’t win a battle if I’ve already given in…’_

The door to the waiting room creeks open as a human Izuku pokes his head in. “Hey, Urara- Whao! What’s with that face?! Ugh!”

“My face?” With all her thoughts geared towards hyping herself up she was unaware of the creepily determined expression that formed across her features giving her a dark predatory look of someone who is about commit a murder. “Oh, it’s nothing. I guess I’m not great at hiding how nervous I am.”

“I…understand.” Izuku tries to laugh it off but it only makes things more awkward as he steps into the room. “You’re up against Bakugou, he’s probably going to be your toughest fight.”

“Yeah…and we’ve already seen he won’t hold back even against a girl.” She shivers, thinking about how Ibara’s and Jiro’s fights went for them.

“Yeah, you’re right.”

Ochaco whimpers, even though she knows that is true she was kinda hoping Deku would lie to her, to at least make her feel better.

Izuku continues unknowingly making the situation worse. “Besides, he’s fighting for the top spot; there's no way he’d dare to hold back. Not against anyone.”

Ochaco slumps forward in her seat. Everything Deku’s said is correct, Bakugou is going to go full throttle at her. And she needs to come up with a way to survive his onslaught. But the question is how? How can she possibly defeat him? Bakugou’s control over his Quirk is so much greater than hers. And it’s versatile, he can maneuver around so much more than she can. In all his speed, power, and skills are on a different level than hers. She needs a plan if she hopes to win.

Even though he doesn’t have mindreading capabilities, Izuku can easily sympathize with what Ochaco’s feeling. The feeling of being inadequate or like you’re not good enough to compete with everyone else. That the situation seems rather hopeless.

And so he gives in. “I know you said you didn’t want my help today, but I can’t help it.” Izuku reaches behind his back and pulls out a black journal. “You’ve helped me so much. It’s my turn to help you.” He turns the journal around for her to see. “Maybe I can repay you a little with this.”

The journal is rather small in size but with a thick cover, but what’s odd about it is that there is a coded lock on the side much like a diary. The only other odd thing about it is the title Izuku decided to give it: Tower of Babel.

“Um, Deku. What is that?” She points to the strangely titled journal.

“Oh!” Izuku becomes incredibly shy, rubbing his messy hair as he tries to explain himself. “Oh, this notebook’s different from my other ones. It lists out weaknesses and strategies I’ve made to help beat all sorts of Quirks, abilities, and even some pro heroes I got to see in action over the years.”

It’s what actually helped him take down Bakugou back during the Battle Trial, he just happened to memorize Bakugou’s page after years and years of observations and analysis. Usually he keeps this thing locked away and hidden, but he decided to bring it out for today just in case. Plus there’s all sorts of things he can add to it after today: Tokoyami’s weakness to light, Iida’s Recipro Burst time limit, and so much more. He can’t wait to get home and write it all down!

Ochaco eyes the little journal, surprised to hear what exactly the little item is storing. “Hey, wait! Does that mean you have strategies to take down our classmates?”

Izuku nods his head with vigor. “You bet!”

“Then…you have a strategy to beat me too…right?”

…

The stunned Izuku turns away, tucking the notebook away and out of sight. “You know what. Maybe I’ll just keep this to myself.”

His brow releases a barrage of nervous sweat, he rather not share with everyone how thoroughly he’s taken account of their own shortcomings and limitations. The last thing he wants is for everyone to think of him as some creep.

Ochaco chuckles softly but her laughter falls away to a more somber silence. “Thank you so much for doing that. But, no. Sorry.”

Izuku isn’t offended, in fact he expected this to an extent. “Yeah, I kinda figured you’d say that. But I still had to try.”

Ochaco smiles softly, appreciating Deku’s attempt either way. “That’s just like you, you always want to help.” Even with a smile, one can tell she is anything but happy. Her tone remains somber and soft. “You’re wonderful, Deku. I keep seeing that over and over again.”

She can’t help but compare herself to him: he’s accomplished so much and not just in this Sports Festival but ever since they met, he’s done nothing but go beyond what’s been needed of him. How can she ever compare to him? In comparison Deku is more worthy of One For All then she is…

Maybe…maybe that would be for the best.

Yeah, maybe…in this match…if she loses this match…she’ll pass on One For to him. He’s so much more of a hero than she is: he’s smart, kind, and an inspiration. Deku deserves it, not her. 

“Uraraka?”

Ochaco snaps out of her musing, gazing up at Deku’s concerned face.

He knows something’s up, that something’s bothering her, but he has no idea what it could be. Is she that worried about this fight?

If so, then it’s his responsibility as her friend to help her. She’s always been there to spur him on, and now it’s time to return the favor. But how? How can he get across that he believes in her?

Wait, he knows how.

Izuku offers up the best smile that he can with a thumbs up to help demonstrate his support. “Guess I’ll see you in the finals.”

Ochaco stares at him, like he’s some sort of abnormality.

Izuku is unsure whether that helped or not. With nothing else in mind on what he can do to help, he grips the doorknob and opens the door. He hesitates but steps out to give her the space she needs.

“I’ll see you there.”

He stops in his tracks, he can feel Ochaco smiling from behind him. And that’s all he needs to know as he makes his way back to watch the oncoming spectacle.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

The jumbotrons positioned around the repaired stadium light up with images of the next fighters gathering the crowd’s attention.

Admittedly although cheers do ring out in excitement, many of which are rather lackluster mainly because of how nervous they really are for this next match. Namely because after witnessing the other two finalists duke it out, they are scared to think what could result if a gravity wielder goes up against an explosion master.

And Class 1-A are definitely just as wary as the rest of the crowd.

Tsuyu croaks. “Kero. I have a feeling this match might also be a disturbing matchup.”

Jiro hugs herself while shivering, trying to hold back the memories of her own battle. “I know. I almost don’t wanna watch it.”

Ojiro pulls on his collar with worry. “Yeah, it’s gravity versus the power of explosions.”

Shoji scans the field as if it won’t remain in its current repaired state for long. “Just imagine what kind of destruction that will bring.”

Sato shivers in his seat. “I rather not.”

Izuku shares the same feelings, but unlike the others he keeps his thoughts to himself instead he watches on as Ochaco marches forth through the charred field. Because the U.A. staff wanted to repair the stadium quickly, so the ash was never swept off the field. So here Ochaco is marching through the burned field as ash blows with the wind around her, yet her determined and steadfast expression shines through the dark giving her the look of a warrior about to face off against her greatest opponent.

_‘Do your best. You got this, Uraraka. Show the world who you are.’_

Down below the newest holder of One For All steps atop the remade battlefield as Present Mic begins to hype up the start of the match.

“Alright, this is it. With the repairs complete it’s time for the second match of the semi-finals!”

The crowd booms with life as Present Mic continues.

“From the west, we have the combatant with a pension for Explosions. He’s a first-rate competitor with a first-rate Quirk, it's Katsuki Bakugou!”

The stadium cheers as Bakugou just glares ahead at him, towards his next victim with a nasty scowl on his face.

“Versus! The one I’m personally rooting for, the girl who can defy gravity and the expectations of others, it’s Ochaco Uraraka!”

The cheers scream out throughout the stadium Ochaco inhales and then exhales as to release all her nervousness; it doesn’t work.

“Don’t hold back.”

Her breath hitches as she looks up to meet Bakugou’s nasty scowl and glare.

The ash-blonde’s red eyes shine with fury. “All those other fights were nothing but a waste of time, so don’t waste mine, Roundface.”

The brunette glares right back at the scowling blonde. “A waste of time? Is that what you call their hard work and efforts?”

Bakugou clicks his tongue. “Yeah, that’s exactly what I call it.”

Ochaco growls, her fist clenching on itself. “You jerk.”

“Hey!”

Her entire body tenses as Bakugou’s gaze pierces through her.

Bakugou scoffs at her reaction. “We’ll be ignoring the boundaries too. Got it?!”

“Huh?!”

Midnight is just as shocked as Ochaco is. “No way!!” She cracks her whip. “You will follow the rules that are in place you littl-”

“I accept.” interrupts Ochaco.

Midnight gasps like she’s been stabbed in the back. “What?!”

Ochaco turns to the chief umpire. “Ms. Midnight, even if you call either one of us out of bounds, you can be sure that neither of us are going to listen.”

“Excuse me?!”

Ochaco turns so she size up her opponent. “Besides we both have something to prove.”

Midnight blinks a few times, she’s at a complete loss for words here. With a heavy sigh she has no choice but to accept. “Alright, who am I to hold back such energetic youths.” She cracks her whip, whipping herself back to her usual self. “If both parties consent then I see no reason to interfere with a passionate battle between hotblooded youths!!”

The crowd cheer ready to see another battle for the ages.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Midoriya.” 

“Huh?” Izuku’s head snaps to Iida. 

The Class President throws his hands up, chopping them in the air. “I’m curious, do you think there’s any way Uraraka can win this?” He pushes up on his gleaming glasses, as if to emphasize his sentences. “I don’t mean to put down her skills, but I do believe Bakugou’s own skills and control outmatch hers. And I was wondering if there is some way, she can gain an advantage over him.”

Izuku can feel the Tower of Babel journal within his pocket. “Well, I have just one idea but it’s nothing that fancy.” His mind replays his own fight against Bakugou back during the Battle Training with All Might. “Bakugou’s strong, when it comes to close combat, he almost never has any openings. And the more he moves, the more he sweats, which just makes his Quirk more powerful.” That’s especially true now after all Bakugou’s demonstrated from the previous rounds of the tournament. “He’s gotten really good at using his Explosions to move around in the air, but there is one major flaw she can exploit.”

“What’s that?”

“His balance.” Izuku states with all seriousness. “Contrary to how it may seem, Bakugou's balance isn’t exactly first rate. Any hindrance to his flight paths or movement will throw him off, but only for a brief moment of time. And in that time, he’ll quickly readjust himself and simply use his Explosions to right himself. It’s not actually a feat of regular acrobatics but just his Explosions providing him a counterbalance.”

Bakugou can only slow his own descent as long as he keeps up his Explosions. But the more he does that the less sweat he’ll have to work with if he tries to go for one big strike.

“What Uraraka needs to do is get in close so she can use her Quirk to make him float.” At least that’s the first part of the plan. “Once that occurs, whenever Bakugou tries to use his Explosions he’ll throw himself way off course giving Uraraka an opportune moment to unleash her full power onto him.”

Iida’s hands shoot up, chopping the air. “But why wouldn’t she use her Zero-Gravity Field?”

“It’s too obvious. The moment she tries to summon it, Bakugou will strike. And it may just be over for her then.”

“Ah, I see.”

“That’s why, it’s obvious what Uraraka needs to do to get the upper hand.” 

“Let the last match of the semi-finals begin!”

With no hesitation or a hint of fear, Ochaco charges right in, her body low, and with her hands at the ready.

“Strike first!” finishes Izuku, his own adrenaline pumping now that it’s finally begun.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Ochaco sprints forward, glaring up at the mad bomber with fierce courage. “Giving up isn’t an option for me!”

Bakugou’s clenching hand begins to rise slowly like he’s readying a deadly weapon. “And now you die.”

As Ochaco charges she recalls what she saw Bakugou do during the Battle Trial against Deku. He started the fight with a big right hook, and from what she saw Deku saw the attack coming from a mile away. Meaning that Bakugou’s done that same move for a while and if her hunch is correct then he’ll start off with that same move here.

Bakugou’s right hand slowly stretches backward.

Ochaco’s keen eyes spot the obvious tell. _‘There!’_

She keeps her eyes trained on his hand as it begins to swing forward.

_‘Here it comes!’_ She readies her own attack. _‘If I can dodge this move-’_

She is interrupted by the resounding Explosion that completely engulfs her, throwing her backwards while a plume of smoke is released onto the field and bits of rubble break off the surface of the battlefield.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Iida and Izuku gasp with fear. “Uraraka!”

Jiro is holding the sides of her own face, her hands ready to cover her eyes at a moment’s notice.

Mina is just as terrified as her. “He blasted her!

Tsuyu’s face is calm but her fidgeting hands suggest otherwise. “Ugh, looks like Bakugou’s not planning on showering her any mercy.”

Jiro grimaces. “Yeah, already figured that one out.” She did lose to the guy after all.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

The smoke moves away revealing what had occurred to Ochaco after she was blasted away.

“Stupid.” Ochaco’s relatively fine despite taking the direct hit. “Saw it coming and I still couldn’t get out of the way.” If only she could properly call upon One For All, then she’d have the power and speed she’d need to take down the ash-blonde.

Smoke continues to bellow as Bakugou realigns himself for another attack. His crimson gaze scans the thick smoke, waiting for his opponent to show herself.

From the corner of his eye he notices something move within the black fog.

“There's no way you can beat me!!” he roars as he thrusts his hand into the smoke as he spots the signature U.A. uniform from within.

His palm releases another Explosion, bursting out a plume of smoke and heat.

As the smoke washes away, Bakugou is surprised to find his hand pressed down on an ownerless U.A. gym shirt.

He gasps in surprise as Ochaco leaps out from the smoke directly behind him.

“Whoa!” cries Present Mic. “She flew her jacket over as a decoy! What incredibly quick thinking!”

_‘This is my chance. I can make him float!’_ Ochaco lunges for Bakugou while he’s distracted with his back turned.

But it’s not that simple.

Bakugou swings his arm back with a snarl accompanied by a powerful blast that smashes and throws up debris, smoke, and heat right into her body. 

Ochaco yelps as she's flung backwards, she crashes on the ground but rolls with the momentum until she catches herself by planting her feet.

Once she has a stable footing she glares up at her powerful opponent. And even though he is her opponent she’s extremely impressed by his speed and power, and so are their classmates.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Sero jumps out of his seat. “Look at that reaction time!”

“Seriously, the dude’s insane.” yelps Kaminari. “You can’t get the drop on him. And since Uraraka can’t use her Quirk unless she touches him, his lightning-fast reflexes put her at a huge disadvantage.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

The smoke continues to swirl around the battlefield. Ochaco straightens her stance as she leers at Bakugou’s smoky silhouette from within the haze.

The ash-blonde swipes his hand into the air, as if pulling aside the smoke like it’s a curtain.

Ochaco charges right in, keeping her body low but ready to strike. 

“Too slow!!” Bakugou roars as his hand swings down, it glides over the surface firing explosions that tear through the ground before firing up and right into her with a responding boom!

Their classmates watch on with nasty grimaces as a thick layer of smoke accompanies the blast; at this point the smoke has taken up a permanent residence on the battlefield making it difficult to tell what becomes of Ochaco after each attack.

From within the smoke, the gravity wilder springs out from behind. “I’ve got you!!” She shoots out her hand.

Bakugou swings around and lets loose yet another powerful Explosion. This one is bigger and louder; taking up almost half the entire battlefield with ash, rubble, and heat along with an earthshaking shockwave.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Tsuyu gasp. “Is she okay?!”

Jiro has finally given in and is covering her face in fear and trauma. “I can’t watch this.”

Meanwhile, Mineta leans forward in his seat as if contemplating an important problem. “Like I always suspected. Bakugou’s a total sadist.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Yagi Toshinori is almost tempted to bite at his nails. He had no idea things would escalate to this, it’s obvious she can’t keep this up for very long and if she does then there’s no way it can lead to anything good.

_‘Young Uraraka, you’re really giving this your all. Aren’t you? Good, that’s what it means to be a hero, to never give up in the face of such devastating odds. I know you can do this, but…you don’t have to push yourself so far. You’ve done more than enough.’_ He observes as she gets blasted again. _‘But if you feel you need to do this, then you have to go beyond.’_

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

After taking another blast, Ochaco quickly returns to her feet and lunges at him. “This isn’t over yet!!”

Boom!! Another giant burst of heat and pressure. Thankfully for Ochaco, he missed.

She swerves and continues running forward, her front half low like a lioness stalking its prey at full speed.

But if she is a lioness then Bakugou is a lion that is out to defend his pride and honor. With a swing of his claw a roaring blast bats her away.

This continues on with Ochaco springing right back to her feet and charging in again only for the same results to occur. She is getting completely thrashed around by taking Explosion after Explosion, each one throws her around a doll stuck in a powerful gale. And each powerful blast breaks away into the surface of the battlefield, making the surface even harder to trek as it becomes more and more unstable. Despite all this she keeps at her desperate assault, all she needs is that one hit to land and she can win this!

Present Mic has come to the same conclusion. “Looks like she’s not resting between attacks despite being exploded. The poor girl.”

Even as he speaks, explosions continue to echo from the battlefield. Ochaco is unrelenting as she charges in again and again, but only to be met with an explosive demise.

There’s no telling how much longer she can take this kind of punishment. Any longer and who knows how much damage may be done to her!

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

And many of the onlookers, especially the pro heroes, can’t even bear to keep watching for that much longer.

“Her feint earlier didn’t work, so now she's getting desperate.”

Many of those in earshot are in agreement. It’s obvious to many of them that the poor girl has no real plan for success. And the results are dismal and gruesome.

Down below in the viewing box, Neito Monoma is actually able to pick up their chatter, and it makes him chuckle.

“Hm.” He smirks up at the so-called pro heroes. “You idiots. Look closer.”

Both Class 1-A and Class 1-B eye him with confusion, but their attention is drawn back to the explosions that are consuming the battlefield with Monoma’s advice in mind.

As they examine the field more and more pro heroes are becoming a bit rowdier, airing their disapproval down at the officials.

“Hey, shouldn’t one of the teachers step in?!”

“Yeah, this is too rough.”

Cementoss doesn’t even acknowledge them. He’s far too focused on the match to even care.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

The brunt and exhausted Ochaco pants as Bakugou’s dark figure looms from within the smoke; his red eyes flare like that of a demon as it remains shrouded in darkness.

The brunette grunts as she shoves herself off the ground and lunges, but like always it ends the same: with a massive Explosion to the face that flings her back with burns and smoke.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“This is shameful!” shouts a random hero who’s trying way too hard to act “heroic.”

The pro hero shoots up from his seat to deliver what he thinks would be the words of a hero. “Listen, kid, you really wanna be a hero? Then stop acting like a bully!”

His words fall on death ears, as Bakugou remains focused on the battle at hand. He refuses to veer away from the smoke for when Uraraka inevitably reappears.

The random pro hero continues with his tirade. “If you’re so good, just finish this already!”

The only response he receives is an Explosion that rings out from below.

“Stop toying with the girl and end this match!!”

Other pro heroes are getting riled up too. “Yeah, you heard the guy!”

Others join in their fellow hero’s stance, standing from their seats and booing the mad bomber. This stirs up the rest of the stadium and all too soon the rest of the audience joins in.

“The crowd is now booing Bakugou!” From within the commentator’s box Present Mic nods his head. “And honestly. I kinda agree with what they’re sayin-Pht!!”

Aizawa’s heavily bandaged elbow slams into his face, knocking him aside.

“Hey, whoa!! What the crap?!”

Shouta Aizawa ignores him as he growls into the microphone. “Where is the man who started this uproar? Are you a pro?”

That one question stings so much that the entire stadium silences itself in just a split second.

“Because if you’re being serious, you can go home and hang up your cape.” Aizawa leers down at all of the pro heroes that dared to pass judgement on his students. “I’d suggest looking into another career.”

Izuku stares up at the commentator's box with much confusion. “You know what he’s talking about?” He’s asking anyone in general, because he honestly has no clue.

At the same time, Bakugou is still ignoring the rest of the stadium, keeping his focus on the match. 

Aizawa decides to indulge the morons since they obviously don’t know how to use their eyes or their brains. “Bakugou’s fierceness is an acknowledgement of his opponent’s strength. He knows she deserves to have made it this far. So, he’s making sure he does whatever it takes to keep her at bay and come out on top.”

Bakugou exhales in surprises as Ochaco stands before him: she’s exhausted, beaten, and burned, but still standing. _‘We’re not finished. She’s still standing.’_

The panting Ochaco glares at him with furious determination. She wipes away the sweat from her permanently rosy cheeks, but somehow not even those can alleviate the fierce look on her face.

_‘She’s not dead yet.’_

“I think…it’s about time.” pants All Might’s successor 

Bakugou readies himself for her to charge in again. 

But this time, she doesn’t make a move. “Thank you, Bakugou…” She stands tall with determination and confidence as she brings her hands and fingers together. “…for keeping your eyes focused on me!”

Bakugou’s is caught off guard by the sudden declaration. “What?”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Izuku is just as lost as his former friend is. “What?”

“Haha!”

Izuku turns in his seat to see Monoma smirking from his seat. “I don’t blame Bakugou for not noticing. But it’s embarrassing for a pro to boo and not realize what’s going on from the stands.”

Izuku is still lost here. “What are you…?”

Monoma snickers. “She kept low to the ground as she moved, which meant Bakugou’s blasts tore up the floor of the ring; creating weapons for her. And then she kept him focused on her by attacking relentlessly without rest.” The Copy Quirk user leans back and gazes up at the sky. “Rendering him oblivious.”

Both classes follow the blonde’s gaze and they are completely astonished with what they find.

A multitude of boulders, rocks, and rubble are floating high up in the air right above the battlefield. And in that instant, it’s clear what is about to happen next.

“YAHHHHH!!!” Ochaco presses her fingers together, releasing her Zero-Gravity Quirk all at once. 

The boulders instantly shoot downward as gravity fires them down like giant bullets. They soon rain down from the sky as if they actually fell from space itself.

“A meteor shower!!” shouts Present Mic.

Aizawa sighs. “Now you notice.”

Izuku shoots up from his seat. “Hey, she had a plan all along!”

From the teacher’s box, Toshinori is just as thrilled. ‘ _I knew you could do it!_ ’

The rubble flies downward like the impossible meteor shower that it is!

Even though he has an entire meteor shower descending down upon him, Bakugou is staying relatively calm. The ash-blonde keeps his gaze on the incoming attack, he takes a firm stance.

With his attention upward, Ochaco charges in with little care about the incoming meteor shower. _‘With this much debris, whether he’s evading or counterattack, there will definitely be an opening!’_

At this point the hail of boulders are nearly atop of them.

_‘In that moment, I’ll finally get close to him!’_

Bakugou grips his left wrist and aims his hand upward like he’s about to pull off a miracle from thin air.

Ochaco’s right arm lights up as One For All courses through her being as she bounds forward. _‘This is it! My shot! I’ll win and be just like Deku!’_

She throws her fist forward, powering it not only with One For All but her desires as well. With this strike she will claim the win and move on to the finals!

Bakugou however shares the same feelings.

Sparks of heat dance upward on his arm before popping away into his raised palm. The moment the sparks reach his hand a massive Explosion thunders into existence blasting straight up into the air and colliding with Ochaco’s meteor shower! 

The Explosion completely decimates the large chunks of rubble as a powerful shockwave crashes through the arena. The blast whips up such a devastating gale that Ochaco stands no chance against it as she’s flung right back, losing all focus of One For All as she’s thrown aside by the burning Explosion, she rolls and tumbles off the harsh ground.

The whirlwind and heat sweeps across the entire stadium to the chorus of screams, and yelps of fear and surprise from the audience members.

As the shockwave dies down, tiny pieces of debris, smoke, and ash rain from the sky; the only evidence of the meteor shower ever exciting are now charred and turned to dust.

Ochaco finds herself collapsed on the ground and in a heap of pain. She’s burned, exhausted, and aching all over, her arm feels strained too from One For All thankfully it’s not injured.

The spent girl whimpers as she shakily pushes herself up, wincing in pain as she peers into the smoky void ahead of her, where Bakugou should lie.

“I figured you’d have some sorta stupid plan to beat me.” The smoke washes away revealing the mad bomber; his left arm is still raised in the air with a trail of smoke blooming out from his palm. “You are friends with that damn nerd, after all.”

Ochaco gasps with devastating fear. “It took him…one shot…”

He was that powerful? She spent the entire match preparing that attack, she had it all planned out…and he countered it with just one shot! 

Present Mic gasps. “Bakugou bangs out a huge demonstration of power! He blasted apart Uraraka’s finishing move and remains untouched!”

Quietly, Bakugou exhales a pained pant. “That was close…” 

His left wrist, his left wrist is jammed like it was shoved back into his arm’s socket making it stiff and painful, it almost looks swollen.

He grips the stiff limb and pulls, resetting it. It still hurts like a son of a bitch but at least he can move it albeit with some pain.

Meanwhile, Ochaco is still reeling in the aftermath of that demonstration of power. _‘I put everything I could into that…’_ Her head falls as she struggles to accept the reality of the situation. _‘But I wasn’t good enough.’_

Not for her parents, not for All Might, or her friends… Is this it? Is this all she’s really capable of? If that’s the case…then maybe…she shouldn’t be the one wielding One For All…

_‘No.’_ Ochaco's entire body shakes with agony as she struggles to pick herself back up. _‘This can’t be it!!’_ After some agonizing moments she is able to get back on her feet. _‘I can still stand, though.’_ So, maybe she can still fight!

Bakugou, after setting his arm, notices the fire in his opponent’s eyes. “All right, then.” A psychotic grin forms on his face, not of malice but of exhilaration.

He’s genuinely excited, this entire Tournament has been a major let down for him. Each match ended far too quickly for his liking, none of them got his blood pumping!! But worst of all is that Deku’s been showing him up the entire Sports Festival especially during this Tournament. Every match that damned nerd has had has been…badass, they were real challenges…and that pisses him off. But now, now he’s got a real fight on his hands. 

“Time for us to get serious.” The mad bomber is finally the one to make a move, he charges straight ahead, his hands poised to strike. “Uraraka!!”

Ochaco can barely turn to face him, all she can do is try and struggle to even breathe right now. But she refuses to look away, because that would mean she’s accepted defeat.

But then again, what can she really do now? Her original plan was a double-edged sword and it failed while being successful in draining her own strength. If she hopes to win now, then she just can’t rely on her Zero-Gravity alone. If she truly wants to call herself All Might’s successor then she needs to wield One For All properly. But how…?

As Bakugou charges, as if in slow motion, her mind flashback to Deku’s words from before about how he summons his own powers: _“‘_ _Go with the flow. If one gives up trying to control the river and simply let it flow freely, they will find the water working much better in their favor and they can harvest the gifts the river provides. Basically why force the water to do what you want, when the water already knows what to do and where to go?”’_

Ochaco’s breath hitches. _‘Like a river…’_ She gaps as something in her mind clicks. _‘I get it now…I’ve been forcing One For All out rather than just letting it!’_

In other words, she’s been blocking One For All’s flow like one would dam a river. She’s been forcing the water to build up behind a dam that’s far too weak and as a result the pent-up power breaks its own way out whenever she tries to let out only a small portion of it. What she needs to do is to remove the dam and let the river flow naturally. She needs to let One For All flow through her entire body freely!

Ochaco inhales and exhales slowly despite the raging foe that will be upon her in mere seconds.

“Die, Uraraka!” A grinning Bakugou lunges forward, throwing his palm up to deliver a powerful strike. “It’s over for you-” His grin falls away as an intense wave rushes through the air, something is off, very off.

He plants his feet against the ground bringing himself to a complete halt. _‘What the?’_ He gazes down at his feet. _‘My legs! They stopped on their own!’_

It was like his own survival instincts kicked in, making him stop in his tracks before he runs headfirst into danger. But the only dangerous thing here is-

Bakugou gazes up ahead and finds the source of the intense wave.

Ochaco’s glowing, her entire body is glowing with a heavenly pink aura that radiates power and confidence. Her stance and demeanor are completely different from before: her stance is taller, she looks more confident, brimming with energy as if her strength has returned to her in the form of the glow surrounding her entire being.

Ochaco exhales, her muscles are tense, but she can feel One For All coursing through her giving her a much-needed boost of power. “It’s not over, Bakugou.”

“Huh?”

All Might’s successor stands tall as she glares up at the stunned Bakugou with a newfound courage and strength. “We’re just getting started. This was all just a warmup.”

A menacing grin forms on Bakugou’s face as he leers at his glowing opponent. “Alright then.”

“Wah!!” cries Present Mic. “Just look at that face! Forget that, check out Uraraka! She’s standing back up after taking such a beating! And what’s with that pink glow?! Is she going super saiyan on us?!” 

The grinning Bakugou swings his arm back. “Try this on for size!!”

Ochaco braces herself as she brings her fingers together.

“DIE!!!” Bakugou unleashes a devastating explosion that produces one powerful whirlwind that whips through the stadium as the heat and smoke envelopes his opponent.

“Is he crazy?! We said no lethal blows! Did you already forget?! Is she okay, somebody check?!”

Bakugou’s smile drops. “Seriously? After all that she couldn’t take it. Dammit!” That pisses him off, he hates people that are all talk and show with no real strength to back it up! “Dammit, Uraraka!” He glares at the smoke trying to spot Ochaco’s limp body. “What happened?! I thought you were a fighter!”

The smoke washes away, his eyes widen with shock when he doesn’t spot Ochaco anywhere. She completely vanished from sight, she’s not on the battlefield or the field below, hell even Midnight and Cementoss look to be at a complete loss unaware of where she could have gone.

“Where is-”

“You thought right, Bakugou.”

The ash-blonde freezes up in alertness and ever so slowly his red eyes shift up towards the sky. Hovering above the battlefield is a glowing being of power.

The pink aura Ochaco grins down at Bakugou as One For All courses through her. “I am a fighter.”

The crowd and Present Mic share the same question. “How she’d get up there and so quickly?!”

Aizawa leans forward in his seat. “She made herself weightless just before Bakugou’s Explosion. She then used the power of said Explosion to propel herself into the air.”

“Oh, is that all?”

Bakugou scowls up at Uraraka, offended that she would dare to look down on him. “Uraraka!!” He thrusts his hands back and bursts of burning blasts rocket him into the air, with an enraged roar. “Don’t you dare look down on me!!”

“Wahhh!! Bakugou’s flying after her! He’s so relentless!”

“Uraraka!!” Bakugou roars as he soars up into the air.

Even though she’s taken to the air, he can practically taste victory. Uraraka may be able to float but that’s it, her mobility in the air is nothing like what he’s capable of with his Explosion Quirk. If she wants to avoid his attack then all she can do is end her stupid Quirk and fall, but he’ll be ready; he’ll make sure to take full advantage of her stupid predictability.

“I’ll kill you!!” He swings his hand up in an uppercut, his palm already begging to glow bursts of Explosions.

The glowing Ochaco doesn’t flinch at his threat nor his oncoming attack. All Might’s successor let’s out a deafening battle cry as she kicks her leg downward, with One For All charging her kick a powerful gust of wind whips down. The wind acts like a springboard and launches Ochaco higher into the air and away from the ash-blonde’s Explosion.

Bakugou gasps. “What the hell?!”

“She flew!” shouts a just as surprised Present Mic. “She actually flew! She didn’t just float there; she used her own power to kick herself into the air! Now that’s one hell of a kickass move!”

As Ochaco is pushed higher into the air, she whips her hand behind her, and the power of the swing generates another gust of wind that propels her downward. “Bakugou!!”

The ash-blonde’s eyes shimmer with shock as Ochaco dive-bombs him.

The Zero-Gravity wielder swings her opposite hand forward like she’s throwing a frisbee and a gust of wind slams into Bakugou propelling him back down to Earth where he crashes onto the battlefield with a resounding bang!!

“Grr, damnit…” The ash-blonde groans as he shoves himself off the cracked surface of the battlefield.

Despite his aching pains they only serve to fuel his inner rage and thus in a blink of an eye he’s already backed up in the air with an ear-piercing boom courtesy of the powerful Explosion he used to launch himself.

In less than a second, he’s already up to the same height as the floating brunette and with a swing of his hand she is blasted away in a bang of heat and smoke.

“Yahh!” Her entire body spiral uncontrollably as she’s flung to the side but a nicely timed air kick slowly her spinning and she is able to regain her balance even though she continues to slowly drift towards the stands.

“Get back here!!” Bakugou redirects himself and fires himself forward like a fiery bird of prey that’s about to snatch up a little sparrow.

She is more than happy to oblige; with a backwards air kick she flies like a bullet through the air. And like a bullet she rams her shoulder right into Bakugou’s midsection.

“GAHHH!!!” Spit flies out of Bakugou's mouth as she hits him and hits him hard with such force that the wind is knocked right out of him.

“What a hit!!”

As Bakugou begins to fall back down to Earth, the glowing girl throws a few air kicks to readjust herself and then launches herself right back at him for another air tackle. “You’re done, Bakugou!!”

He has to be, no way he can bounce back after that hit. Plus she’s the one with the advantage in the sky now, gravity literally has no effect on her anymore!

As he falls, a gruesome sneer forms on his face.

Ochaco has no time to redirect herself as she’s engulfed by a sudden Explosion. The blast throws her up into the air with a trail of smoke following along from her partially burned uniform, hair, and skin.

With some breathing room, Bakugou redirects his hands downward. He rapidly fires off a succession of Explosions that allow him to hover in place. “Hehaha!!” Bakugou bellows out a menacingly laugh. “That actually hurt like a bitch, but…” He sneers up at his worthy opponent. “You’re a dumb fuck if you think that’s all it will take to take me down.”

Despite the inflating ego declaration, Ochaco matches the blonde’s own sneer with her own. “I know.”

There’ no point of talking anymore, Bakugou blasts himself into the air like a cannonball.

Ochaco air kicks herself out of the way, but another Explosion fires Bakugou right back at her. She once again evades with a quick spin, but he’s relentless keeping up his charges with a few swipes of his exploding hands to take her out. She in turn evades each one, but each blast is dangerously close. Every Explosion rings in her ears, each blast hits her with a shockwave, and the intense heat threatens to burn her flesh. And it does nothing to deter her from attempting to charge in herself and take a few shots at Bakugou, who evades just as expertly as she had earlier.

With the exchange of midair attacks, the match has quickly developed into a full-on midair dogfight with the two combatants chasing each other through the air with no care of where they are or how close they are to the audience themselves. They race and fly through the air so quickly that the only way people can tell who’s who is by the streaks they leave behind. Bakugou’s streak is nothing but a trail of smoke and the rapid occasion of bright burning flashes. Whereas Ochaco is moving around like a pink blur propelled across the air by powerful whirlwinds that whip and thrash against the audience and pro heroes.

Despite the wind and smoke flung into their faces the entire stadium is mesmerized by the dogfight. The two hero students are moving so fast and gracefully while still clashing that it’s almost like they're watching a midair dance, a dance between mighty warriors of the sky.

The attacks and fast-moving blurs somehow pick up speed and their movements more and more frantic as each of them become more desperate to take out the other.

“These two are incredible!!” shouts Present Mic from the commentator’s booth. “They’re moving so fast; I can’t even tell what’s happening!! They’re moving so fast and recklessly it’s hard to make out, it’s honestly amazing neither of them have crashed into anything. I mean seriously could you imag-AHHH!!!”

A loud crash of glass being smashed in accompanies Present Mic’s high-pitched shriek.

“Ow… Oh, sorry Mr. Mic, Mr. Aizawa!”

“Uraraka?!” asks a stunned Present Mic. “What the hell?!”

“Sorry, can’t talk. Have a fight to win!”

A pink blur blasts itself out from within the smashed commentator’s booth leaving Present Mic and Aizawa to deal with the broken glass and whipping wind by themselves.

“What the heck just happened?”

Aizawa lets out an exasperated sigh. “She crashed.”

After that delay the midair brawl is back at full swing but that was not the last crash. A few times one of the two of them would take a nasty hit from the other that sent them crashing into the stands! Bakugou crashed into the stands, thankfully the pro heroes occupying said seats reacted fast enough to get out of the way.

“Fuck you, Uraraka!!” The enraged Bakugou rockets into the air.

He flies so fast that he catches up to her in an instant, he slams his hand down up and over her and an explosion slams her downward. The glowing girl is thrusted down on an angle with such amazing speed that if she doesn’t do something soon, she’s going to take some massive damage.

“Ahhh!!!” She shrieks as she tries to right herself.

Right when she’s about to crash into the stands, something soft and squishy cushions her landing. “Huh?”

She feels down and finds that the soft mass is…squirming for some reason. Peering down to find out who broke her fall or rather whom. A group of Dittos are piled up under her, each one squirming to break free from the dogpile while also groaning in pain from the impact.

“Deku?!”

Looking around she finds her own classmates staring at her like she’s insane. “Uh, sorry!” She blasts off into the air again before anyone could notice the embarrassed blush on her face.

The Dittos untangle themselves and groan about their various aches and pains.

“Ow, that really hurt.”

“Oh, my back.”

“Whose idea was it to use Ditto to break her fall?”

Three of the Dittos all point to the same clone. “His.”

“What?!”

One of the Dittos doesn’t bother to indulge his clones’ complaining, he’s too busy watching the amazing fight before him. _‘You can do it, Uraraka.’_

Ochaco and Bakugou continue to clash and throw punches as they both compete for dominance.

_‘He’s strong. So, strong.’_ Thinks Ochaco as she air kicks herself away from the ash-blonde, who is quick to pursue after her. _‘I need to put some distance between us.’_

Right now her stamina is really starting to drain again, she already went through hell with her first plan now she’s starting to run on fumes here. If she can’t figure out another plan, and quickly since Bakugou’s already hot on her tail. Another problem is that her legs and hands are becoming increasingly more difficult to move, even with 10% or so of One For All coursing through her body she still has a limit. Her muscles are becoming increasingly tense and stiff, if she doesn’t break off her connection with One For All soon, she may not be able to move anymore.

She scans the stadium looking for something to assist her and give her a quick break from One For All. She looks up and spots the open roof of the stadium, with very little options she makes a break for it.

As she races up to the roof, she cuts off One For All and her Zero-Gravity Quirk. She rolls across the hard stadium roof before taking off at a full sprint, this way she can take a quick break from her Quirks while also keeping a distance between her and her opponent.

That last part doesn’t work.

The ash-blonde doesn’t just catch up to her in no time, but completely overtakes her. The mad bomber intercepts her path and forcing her to a stop.

Bakugou smirks at the sight of the thoroughly exhausted Uraraka. “What’s the matter, getting tired?”

Ochaco readies her stance for a fight even as she gasps for air. “Don’t…get your hopes up.”

He snickers, finding her defiance genuinely amusing.

He lunges forward and a large blast swallows her up as heat and smoke rise above the stadium roof.

“What the hell was that?!” cries Present Mic as the blast booms from the roof. “What the hell are those two doing?! I can’t see a thing from here! Whatever’s going on, I sure hope Uraraka’s holding her own.”

Ochaco was totally overwhelmed by that attack; she groans as she slowly pushes her head off the roof of the stadium.

“Die!!”

That’s her only warning, quickly she rolls her entire body over just as Bakugou’s exploding hand slams down onto the spot she was just occupying. With the momentum of her roll aiding her, she jumps back onto her feet.

But like a vicious predator Bakugou is already after her. He swipes at her head, but she ducks her head forward and side steps in the other direction in another attempt to get away from him. She doesn't get far as he lets out a wider blast that knocks her off her feet.

She falls onto the roof with a loud thud, she takes a second to try to catch her breath. She groans as her entire body strains and aches with every movement she makes especially as she struggles to get back on her shaky legs.

Bakugou simply stands there, amused by her determination and no giving up attitude. He’s got to hand it to her, she’s putting up a much better fight then he could have hoped for.

“HA! I gotta say this has been fun.” Bakugou’s nasty grin widens. “But it was always obvious how this match was going to turn out.” His palm pops with a small echoing explosion. “With me winning the whole damn thing!!”

With a single swing of his arm a massive Explosion flares up and crashes into the poor girl, launching right off the ledge of the roof.

“Oh, no!!” shouts the commentator. “Uraraka’s been flung right off the roof! Damn, Bakugou really is tenacious, isn’t he?!”

Ochaco’s eyes sting as the piercing wind whips at her face as she falls from such a great height. Her head is pounding, and her ears are ringing after taking that last Explosion, making it difficult to take in the screams and gasps of the audience and her classmates.

_‘You’re so strong…Bakugou.’_ Through the whipping wind and pain she somehow is able to leer up at the mad bomber even as she continues to descend. _‘You’re unrelenting. You never give up…’_ Her fists tighten, her fingers dig into her palms that blood is drawn. _‘But I’m the same way!’_

Imagining the river flowing freely, One For All surrounds her body in the all too familiar heavenly aura. With a clasp of her fingers together, Zero-Gravity takes hold and with a few well aimed air kicks Ochaco manages to redirect herself and land onto the field below without any issues.

Bakugou glares down at her from his towering position and despite the distance between them he can make out her determined stare glaring right back at him.

“What the hell was that, Bakugou?!” Ochaco roars up into the sky ensuring that he can hear her. “I thought you were stronger than that!!” The aura around her pulses as if taunting her own power against Bakugou’s. “Show me what you got!!”

The mad bomber easily takes the hook, if the psychotic killer look on his face is anything to go by. “Ha ha, I’m so going to kill you.”

With the intent to kill signaled by an Explosion that breaks away part of the roof, Bakugou rockets down like a missile.

With the power of All Might’s Quirk coursing through her, Ochaco flies into the air as a massive boom accompanies her as she nearly breaks the sound barrier.

While descending at a high speed, Bakugou spins his body and fires off consecutive Explosions to build his speed creating a spiraling trail of smoke behind him.

The twister of a missile dives down as Ochaco soars ever higher into the air, she kicks her feet from under her generating continuous gales of whirlwinds to propel up faster and faster. All too soon both combatants are nothing but blurs on a direct course towards each other: a smoking twister and a pink comet.

Ochaco speeds upward as her entire body lights up with One For All. She’s moving so fast it feels like her own skin will tear apart from the sheer force. Even so, summoning all of her strength she thrusts her own fist forward to meet Bakugou’s. “MERCURY SMASH!!!” Her entire fist glows blindingly bright as One For All focuses itself within it.

With his momentum reaching its pinnacle, Bakugou’s glowing palm extends out as he roars his bloodthirsty battle cry. “HOWITZER IMPACT!!!”

Present Mic booms into his mic. “And I thought the last two fighters were insane, but this is a whole other level!! These two are forces of nature in their own right!! And they're both on a direct collision course that’ll no doubt be epic!!”

Just before they collide, a jolt of pain of something snapping pierces through the mad bomber. It was his wrist, the same wrist that was nearly injured during Ochaco’s first plan of attack. It snapped under the pressure.

With his attack interrupted and while moving at such a high speed, nothing stands in the way of what transpires next.

Ochaco’s fist collides with Bakugou’s face, tanking him like a bullet train. The clash echoes through the stadium as she follows through with her strike. The force of the smash launches Bakugou right back from where he came from. He’s smashed away and flies backwards right into the jumbotron, crashing into it so hard that the giant screen shakes and threatens to fall from its perch, the screen cracks away and blinks as it tries to hold the picture.

Speaking of, Present Mic appears on screen, he scans the field before looking down towards the bottom corner of the jumbotron where Bakugou’s been smashed into the screen itself. His entire body’s embedded into the smashed into screen, his body limp, his left arm clearly broken, and his mouth agape with no hint of consciousness.

From the field below, Midnight cracks her trusty whip. “Bakugou’s has been knocked out, Uraraka is the winner!”

As the entire stadium explodes with applause and cheers, Ochaco can only float in place above them all. She floats about limply with no attempt to right herself, instead she just let’s One For All wash away and enjoy the cheers that she earned: cheers she had to fight for. She’s burned, pummeled, exhausted, bloodied, and broken. Her right handshakes as it begins to swell, the last attack summoning a bit too much of One For All for her to handle. But none of that can take away from this moment, this moment right here.

She scans the audience admiring their smiling and cheering faces. She sees her classmates cheering her on, she sees Deku’s Dittos doing some form of a cheer routine in celebration, but she also sees him. She sees All Might, her mentor in all his glory, giving her a standing ovation for her efforts, her well-earned efforts.

A tear accompanied by a pained, yet grateful smile adorns the girl’s soft face. “I did, All Might. I proved…that I am a worthy…successor.”

As the crowd continues to cheer and applause, Present Mic screams out in a fit of joy. “That’s it! I knew she could do it! The last match of the semi-finals is over! Uraraka’s moving on to the finals where she’ll compete with Izuku Midoriya for the crowning title!! Who will win?! Who will lose?! There’s only one way to find out listeners! And that’s to stay tuned as we prepare for the final match of this glorious Sports Festival!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone. Did you enjoy Ch.27? I really tried my best with this one, but I sort of lost motivation here and there, so it was kind of a struggle. That said I’m not going to stop writing, but the next chapter is probably not going to be out for a while (two weeks at most), but who knows maybe the next chapter will be easier to write. Probability not, though.
> 
> *So yeah, I know the first half of the Ochaco’s fight with Bakugou was the same as the anime/manga but that’s because I really enjoyed how Ochaco originally planned to take out Bakugou. So, I just had to include it. To make up for it I’d say the midair dogfight more than made up for it.
> 
> *The “Tower of Babel” is a reference to DC Comics where Batman develops a secret set of plans and files that hold the weaknesses of his fellow Justice League members, along with strategies to defeat each and every one of them. These plans are also used in the animated movie “Justice League: Doom” so you can also check it out there.
> 
> *Ochaco’s “Mercury Smash” is when she’s moving at a high velocity with One For All powering her up.


	28. Omnitrix Documentary #1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One-One decides to give video making a try.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, I know it’s been a while and I am sorry about that. I don’t have writer’s block or anything if anything I think I got burnt out by all the writing. I mean I was pumping out chapters on a weekly basis and I think it’s all caught up to me, so I need a bit of a break. I hope to be back with another chapter eventually but for now I think I just need a longer break than I thought. But not all is lost, I have something a bit different but fun for you all to read today as a nice little place holder until I can get the next chapter out. Plus I can go ahead and answer the Guest reviewers and readers. So, enjoy.

[This takes place after the Sports Festival, and a few days into the Internship Arc.]

The screen of a camcorder beeps and comes to life to find a piece of loose-leaf paper positioned in front of its lens. The loose-leaf paper is wrinkled with only two words scribbled onto it: _Omnitrix Documentary #1_.

^Omnitrix Documentary #1!^ cheers Glad-One as he tosses aside the paper to reveal the optimistic side of his being. ^Howdy-ho readers-oops, I mean viewers and welcome to Japan’s Plumber Base!^

Glad-One gestures to the open monitoring facility of the Plumber Base with all of its screens, monitors, and stations.

Glad-One turns back to the camera and performs a semi-bow with his short stout body. ^Me llamo One-^

^ _-One…_ ^ Sad-One pops into view of the camera lens before spinning the camera back at his other half.

With the camera back, Glad-One continues with his introduction.

^The Omnitrix is a strange and powerful device.^ he leans close to the camera like he’s sharing a secret. ^We’re still unsure what it’s really capable of. There’s only a few things we can say are absolutely true about it. For one it gives it wearer the ability to transform into any alien they wish!! Amazing!^

^ _It’s unnatural…_ ^

^We also learned that the Omnitrix is capable of gaining new alien DNA, but the specifics on how that works is still up for debate.^ Glad-One turns to the camera. ^Do you have any guesses?^

Sad-One doesn’t wait to respond with his usual suspicious and dreary tone. ^ _I bet some omnipotent force is manipulating our very existences for their own entertainment, and is choosing what aliens to put into the Omnitrix…_ ^ 

Glad-One gasps in delightful surprise. ^Do you really think so?^

^ _Yes…_ ^

^Ha! You’re funny!^

^ _No I’m-…_ ^

^Well as I was saying.^

^ _You didn’t let me finish…_ ^ 

^There’s so much about the Omnitrix that we don’t know! However…^ Glad-One scurries closer to the camera. ^We can tell you all about the aliens that are inside of it.^ Glad-One backs away from the camera allowing the viewer a better look.

^To get you acquainted with the many aliens you are sure to encounter; I’m conducting a documentary video series about Deku’s aliens. Isn’t that exciting?!^ He asks joyfully.

Sad-One pops into view. ^ _Excitement is just an excuse for adrenaline junkies to validate their own existences…_ ^

^True!^ Glad-One agrees before shifting back to the topic at hand. ^Each alien within the Omnitrix is as unique as their appearances and abilities.^

^ _By appearance we mean they’re ugly and by abilities we mean they’re overpowered…_ ^

^And there’s possibly even more to come, so to help you, the reader, drat I meant viewer, to better understand each of Deku’s transformations we will go into depth about each of them! Hooray!!^

^ _Yay…_ ^ Sad-One suspiciously doesn’t sound as enthusiastic as his other half.

^There are all sorts of aliens out there and each one is fascinating. For example you could see a creepy looking alien that shoots lasers from his eyes! Or a horribly dangerous alien that can spit acid slime!^

Sad-One interrupts to deliver his own P.S.A. ^ _Statistically speaking an alien is more likely to try to eat you rather than probe you…^_

^Speaking of delicacies, let’s start with this alien first.^ Glad-One pulls out another piece of loose-leaf paper with a horribly drawn blue phantom.

It’s clear One-One drew this together in two minutes with the expert level of a five-year-old armed with a box of crayons but it’s clear to anyone that it’s supposed to be a drawing of a Necrofriggian.

Glad-One folds the drawing slightly so it can stand on its own while he takes center stage. ^This **cool** looking alien is a Necrofriggian or better known as…Big Chill.^

^ _That’s such a dumb name…_ ^

^This alien is the personification of Jack Frost. With the ability to move through solid objects like a spooky ghost, woooooo. Fly with the cold breeze. And manipulate the cold around him to create freezing breath blasts.^ Glad-One cups the bottom of his head. ^Actually he could generate ice from any part of his body, guess we’ll have to make sure Deku finds out about that later.^ Glad-One turns to Sad-One who is still holding the camera. ^Do you have any fun facts about Necrofriggians?^

^ _They like to kill their enemies slowly, sometimes dragging them into space and allowing the dark vacuum of the never-ending void to suck their life away…_ ^ Sad-One gets uncomfortably close to the camera, glaring into the lens. ^ _And their souls…_ ^ 

^All true.^ It’s disturbing how undisturbed Glad-One is about that fact. ^And Big Chill will definitely be someone Deku can rely on, although…it’s unclear how he got him, hmmm… Oh, well. No point in thinking about it, so let’s move on!^ Glad-One unceremoniously kicks away the poor drawing.

^ _I think this is worth discuss-…_ ^

^Here’s the next alien!!^ Glad-One tosses up another piece of paper.

^ _Or not…_ ^

Glad-One holds up his next drawing; it’s another poorly colored abomination that’s supposed to pass for a Megawatt. ^This is Buzzshock.^ He leans the drawing in closer. ^Say hello!^

Sad-One deadpans. ^ _Go away…_ ^

^Megawatts are an interesting bunch: they eat electricity with the same gusto as how trick-or-treaters devour their candy at the end of the night.^

^ _They are such gluttonous pigs…_ ^ 

^It’s honestly quite impressive, but what’s even more impressive is how they use electricity they absorb.^ Glad-One points at his horrible drawing. ^These little guys can multiply to insane numbers and each one has a pension for mischief and mayhem! Yay! And each one is also capable of releasing bolts of electricity.^ Glad-One turns to the camera. ^So be careful when you run into one, you'll be in for a **shock** when you see how much trouble they can cause, Teehee.^ Glad-One giggles to himself, finding his inside joke rather humorous.

^ _Yeah, just ask Thirteen…_ ^

Glad-One’s attention snaps back to his counterpart. ^Oh, that’s right…^ Glad-One peers away from the camera as he reminisces about that day. ^Thirteen had a very bad experience with Megawatts.^

^ _Really…?_ ^

^Yes, it was back when they were a recruit. Don’t you remember?^

^ _Wait…waaaiiitttt…Oh! Oh, yeah…I remember now…_ ^ Sad-One shivers. ^ _That was a very traumatizing experience…_ ^

^It sure was.^ Glad-One stares off into the distance allowing an eerie silence to fall upon them all.

Through all the silence Glad-One can still hear the screams and cries of those inflicted that day, oh that horrible and traumatizing day…

^Let’s move on, shall we?!^ Glad-One’s so excited that he kicks away the Megawatt drawing.

Sad-One deadpans as his other half digs around for the next drawing. ^ _You sure bounced back quick…_ ^ 

Glad-One hugs the next paper close to his body. ^This next alien hasn’t had too much screen time recently, so we’ll make up for it now.^ He throws up the paper. ^Tada!!^

The drawing is as bad as the others, with the poor drawing being yellow and black in color, with its head detached from its body, and weird curved horns on its shoulders.

^Meet Lodestar!^

^ _We’ve met…_ ^

^Lodestar is a Biosovortian; beings known for manipulating the magnetic field around them. They are so in tune with magnetic fields that their entire bodies are made of magnetic particles that can regenerate and reform when injuries occur.^

^ _They essentially have no reason to fear death…which means they have no real appreciation for life…^_

^I’m sure that’s not true, I mean look at me! I love life! And I’m a robot, I can live forever if I wanted to.^

^ _Sure, but all of your friends will slowly die away leaving you to a sad existence that’s nothing but an endless cycle of losing loved ones that you can never hope to meet ever again…_ ^

Glad-One blinks in response to Sad-One’s usual pessimistic view on life. ^Right…^ He turns to the camera. ^Well I have one more alien for you all today, and it’s a special one.^

Glad-One reaches off screen and grabs one last piece of loose-leaf paper. ^Deku got himself a new alien the other day, and I’m so excited to share it with you!^

He drags the paper closer to the camera, trying to build up the suspense.

^It’s a really cool one! Well, actually it’s a weird one, but still cool! Do you want to see?! Are you sure? Ask nicely, please.^

^ _Get on with it already…!_ ^ 

^Wee! Okay, okay.^ Glad-One readies to lift up the paper. ^You ready because here’s Deku newest alien-^

*INTRUDER ALERT!!! INTRUDER ALERT!!!*

Glad-One drops the paper as the alarm rings through the entire Plumber Base; flashing red lights spin around the room as each monitor flash with warning signs that someone unwanted has broken into Japan’s Plumber Base.

*INTRUDER ALERT!!! INTRUDER ALERT!!!*

^Hm?^ Glad-One cups the bottom of his head. ^That’s an oddly specific alarm that I don’t remember.^ He turns and tries to smile at the camera. ^But it’s probably definitely nothing to worry about.^

Sad-One spins the camera around and leans in with his skeptical gaze. ^ _That’s what they want you to think_ …!^

And with that the camera’s feed cuts away, leaving One-One alone to figure out why the alarm is going off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it wasn’t a real chapter, but I hope it was enough for now. And I promise to continue writing. I just need a break for a little bit so I can regain the motivation I need to write. So, please hang on for a little longer. Thank you for understanding and I hope you’ll kindly await the next chapter to arrive.
> 
> *Just to be clear this semi-chapter takes place during the Internship Arc and we will get to see what’s broken into Japan’s Plumber Base.
> 
> *Yes, Izuku will be gaining a new Ben Ten alien during the Internship Arc. But you’ll just have to wait and see which one it is.
> 
> *This semi-chapter is based off Infinity Train’s “The Train Documentary” shorts from Cartoon Network. And I will be using this format as place holders for when I am late with new chapters.


	29. Final Countdown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's finally time: Izuku vs. Ochaco. Who will win? Who will lose? Only one way to find out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, yes I know. I’m back! Isn’t it great?! I’m sorry about the wait, it was a lot longer than I thought it would be. But I’m back and ready to begin again. And we’ll start with the end of the Sports Festival! Finally things will be decided and we’ll be able to move on.
> 
> Now there were some interruptions as I was trying to write this chapter so I apologize if somethings seem choppy or out of touch here and there; I tried my best. Alright, I think I’ve let you all wait long enough so here it is! The news chapter for Heroes Never Die; It’s Hero Time!

“You stupid girl!! I’ oughta smack some sense into you!!” Recovery Girl swings her cane around like it’s a sword.

The fully recovered Ochaco Uraraka covers her head as she reels back in terror. “Wah! I’m sorry!”

The Nurse’s Office fills with the sounds of Ochaco’s screams. Thankfully both Bakugou and Todoorki were released not too long ago, sparing them from the high pitched scream that surely would have burst their eardrums.

“Hmf!” Recovery Girl’s head fumes with rage as she plops down into her chair. “I swear, is it a requirement that those with One For All be so stupid and reckless?!” She shakes her head with disapproval. “At this point I should just reserve a hospital bed just for you, a plake and all.”

A bright smile pops onto Ochoco’s face. “Aw, really? That’d be so nice.”

“It’s not supposed to be nice!!” Snaps Recovery Girl finding the girl’s warming smile not at all charming.

“He…” Ochaco laughs sheepishly before slumping with dejection. “Sorry…”

Recovery Girl scowls. “Don’t bother apologizing. It’s not like you mean it…” The aged heroine swivels in her chair. “But I suppose that you may have had a hand in influencing her.”

Yagi Toshinori rightfully backs away towards the door, wary for his life. “Gah, ah, w-wel-ll…um… I’m just happy she’s giving this her all.”

“And that’s the issue!!”

The skeletal All Might winces with fright. “But it’s true! And besides how can I not be proud?”

Ochaco snaps to attention. “Huh?”

Toshinroi steps away from the door and turns his attention towards his successor. “During your match with Bakugou…you figured out how to use One For All properly. Didn’t you?”

It takes a second for Ochaco to fully understand what he’s referring to. “Yeah, I did!”

Thanks to Deku’s advice she was able to harness One For All without hurting herself…at least for the most part. But now she can at least use a small percentage of it.

“Really now?” Recovery Girl raises an eyebrow. “I find that hard to believe after witnessing your previous condition.”

The gravity girl did arrive to her with broken bones, burns, and many many bruises.

“But it’s true!” Retorts Uraraka, slightly offended that Recovery Girl would doubt her capabilities. “It was…a total rush of energy, coursing through me like a free flowing river.”

Toshinori has the look of someone reminiscing about fond memories. “I know what you mean.” The former holder of One For All cups his chin. “But it’s far from perfect, I’d say you accessed somewhere between 5-10% of One For All. Still though…” The Symbol of Peace’s sapphire eyes shine down at his young apprentice. “watching you out there was a sight to behold.”

Ochaco blushes slightly thanks due to the praise, unsure about what to say. After all it’s not everyday one is complimented by the Number One Hero themselves.

“It was like watching a shooting star, or rather a…” In a puff of smoke, All Might stands proud before his successor as he jams his index finger right into the air and declares. “ **YOU WERE A BRIGHT RISING STAR!** ”

“Pfst!!” Ochaco literally spit takes, turning her face away as she tries and fails to hold back her laughter. _‘He’s so silly!’_

All Might lowers his arm, his ever present smile never fading from his face. “ **BUT IN ALL SERIOUSNESS, I DO WANT TO EXPRESS HOW PROUD I AM OF YOU.** ”

Ochaco gathers herself as she peers back up at her mentor.

“ **YOU’VE WORKED HARD…MORE THAN ANYONE HAS UP TO THIS POINT. AND YOU’VE MORE THAN SHOWED THE WORLD WHAT YOU’RE CAPABLE OF.** ” The Number One Hero raises and clenches his mighty fist like he’s holding onto a dream that he won’t dare to let it slip out from his fingers. “ **BUT…I MUST ASK OF YOU, AND PARDON ME IF THIS SEEMS SELFISH, BUT…I WANT YOU TO GO BEYOND IN YOUR LAST MATCH, EVEN IF IT’S AGAINST A DEAR FRIEND. I ASK THAT YOU GIVE IT EVERYTHING YOU GOT AND THEN SOME.** ” He looks her straight in the eye already knowing her reply. “ **CAN YOU DO THAT?** ”

Ochaco doesn’t even consider no as an option, but there’s no need for her to speak either. Her gleaming determined eyes says it all for her. Sure Deku may be her friend and he’s probably…definitely the strongest opponent she’ll face today. But there is no way in hell she’s going to do anything but give it her all. She won’t hold back, she’ll push through this challenge and charge on. Yet despite the possible hardship she’s most certainly about to face off against she can’t help but be excited. Today she can see if One For All can take on the Omnitrix.

All Might’s glorious smile somehow widens just from witnessing Ochaco’s response. He truly is proud to call her his successor.

As the two muscle heads smile and glow in their excitement, Recovery Girl is less than happy. “I might as well get these beds ready.”

She turns in her seat where there are two empty beds, which was not what the elderly medical professional was expecting. Shoto Todoroki took off a little before Ochaco arrived at the infirmary but Katsuki Bakugou should still be here. Sure she healed him up to be as good as new but he should be resting… So where is he?

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Dammit…” Katsuki Bakugou growls as he limps his way through a dark secluded corridor, away from prying eyes.

He couldn’t stand hanging around the Nurse’s Office any longer, it’s already humiliating enough that he lost. He doesn't need some old hag to help him recover either.

_‘How…? How, damnit?!’_ Bakugou slams his fist against the wall, the hit echoes across the empty dark hall. “How could I fucking lose?”

This was not how things were supposed to go. He was supposed to beat Uraraka. He was supposed to win. He was supposed to beat Deku!

“Fuck!!” He slams his fist against the wall again, and a sqlesh sound accompanies it as his knuckles begin to bleed.

Bakugou glares down at his bleeding fist, offended that his own body is suggesting that he’s weak.

“How…? How could I lose?” His voice chokes away in the end, and even tears threaten to break free but he holds out, snarling and grinding his teeth as he recounts his humiliating fight.

He had gone all out, he had gotten serious and yet…she beat him. Uraraka put him down, down into the dirt as if to say he was beneath her.

That thought makes Bakugou even angrier, a burning rage begins to fill him from within. He just can’t seem to grasp the situation; all his life he has known of his own superiority, of his own skills outclassing everyone else… But ever since he’s arrived at U.A. it’s been nothing but disappointment and some long overdue reality checks.

He’s not the strongest. He’s not the best. And how the hell can he become the greatest hero that ever lived if he’s not either of those?!

Uraraka overpowered him and she’s not the only one that can compete with him on a greater level.

There’s Todoroki, too, with his hybrid Quirk he could easily compete with him on the same level, but yet Todoroki never graced him with his flames during class exercises and such. Why? Because of some great shame? His father? Pathetic. If he couldn’t take things seriously then he shouldn’t even be here! But…he did use his flames. But not against him. But against Deku. Todoroki saw him, freaking Deku, as a worthy opponent!

_‘Deku…Deku…DEKU!!!’_ Bakugou’s anger boils over so much he actually lets out a blood curdling roar of raging fury, if his arms weren’t bandaged up he’d probably be letting loose a barrage of Explosions. _‘Everything. Everything that’s gone wrong can be traced back to him! He faked being Quirkless, and then he fucking tries to pitch me some sad impossible tale!! How stupid does he think I am?!’_

But that’s not what hurts, not really. What hurts is far more severe.

Bakugou replays their Battle Training: it was him versus the little shit. It was supposed to be his time to finally put that fukcing nerd in his place, but instead he ended up being the one humiliated by Deku. He got freaking decked and demolished by him!

But that was nothing, just a small hiccup, he would take Deku on in the Sports Festival and show him and the entire world just how insignificant that green-haired freak show is!

And now…! Now he’ll never have that chance.

Bakugou leans against the wall, his breathing tired and labored as tears prick at his eyes. _‘Deku beat me… Todoroki, someone who can compete with me, doesn’t see me as a rival. And Uraraka is…far stronger than I am…’_ He slides down and plops onto the ground, nothing but the silence of the empty hallway to comfort him. _‘And if I can’t beat any of them then…can I really become the Number One Hero…?’_

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Inhale and then exhale. Izuku Midoriya has been continuing this process for a while now as he awaits his next or rather final match. It’s nearly been half an hour already but for good reason: 1) It gives the school time to fix and clean the stadium, and 2) it’ll give Uraraka a moment to rest up before their confrontation. But for now he’ll steal his nerves and enjoy the silence of the waiting room knowing full well that pretty soon his eardrums will be ringing due to the screams of the cheering audience.

“Well, you sure look excited.”

Izuku’s head snaps up at attention, he was so out of it that he didn’t even notice the other person walking in. “Thirteen!”

The Space Hero, Thirteen smiles and waves in greeting as they enter the room, shutting the door behind them. “Yo. How are you holding up?”

“I’m doing fine, but why are you here?”

“Oh, I thought I’d just see how you were doing…” A dark and somber aura washes over Thirteen as they turn away and slowly sulks back towards the door in shame. “But if you don’t want me here then I can leave…”

Izuku nearly panics. “N-no, w-wait! You can stay!”

Thirteen immediately brightens up like a child who was given a tasty treat. “Great!”

_‘That was a quick turn around.’_

“Congrats on making it to the finals. I can only imagine how excited you are, and I can’t wait to see how you surprise everyone next.”

“Thanks.”

“Yeah, you’ve really been putting on a real show for everyone.”

“I guess I have.”

“You bet! It’ll make for some great footage when we send out the official broadcast.”

For a split second, Izuku’s heart had stopped beating.“Broad…cast?”

“Huh? Don’t you remember?” Thirteen raises an eyebrow. “Magister Nezu’s recording the entire Sports Festival.”

…

Izuku’s mind is screaming in agony as it implodes in on itself. Somehow between all the excitement and thrill of competition, he had completely and totally forgotten about that little tiny detail… This little competition of theirs was going to be broadcasted across the stars, literally. Films of his battles, wins, and fights are going to be seen by an infinite amount of beings that aren’t even human!

Thirteen continues unaware of Izuku inner episode. “We’ll sort through the best of the footage later, but when it’s ready we’ll send it out to permitted planets, stations, and professionals.” Thirteen blinks down at the boy and finally takes note of how pale he’s become. “Are you okay?”

Izuku grabs at his stomach he can almost feel his lunch trying to make a reappearance. “I…don’t feel so good.”

“What?! Are you okay? Do you need to go see Recovery Girl?”

Izuku wobbles from his seat. “No…I’m fine.” With a shake of his head Izuku snaps out of his discomfort, the color returning to his freckles cheeks. “But hey there’s something I need to bring up to you.”

“Oh, what is it?”

The greenette raises his left wrist, displaying the ever mysterious alien device that’s permanently bonded to it. “Big Chill and Heatblast.”

“…Who?”

Izuku nearly falls out of his seat, he was hoping Thirteen would understand him right away. “Um, that blue moth and the walking bonfire aliens.”

“Oh!” Thirteen understands now. “You mean the Necrofriggian and the Pyronite.”

“Is that what they’re species are called?” Asks Izuku as he pulls out his alien portfolio from who knows where and begins jotting down their names. “I guess the question now is how did I unlock them.”

“Yeah…” Thirteen eyes the Omnitrix as if it’ll somehow explain everything. “How did that happen anyway?”

Izuku lets out an exasperated sigh. “I honestly have no idea. Really I was hoping you'd have an idea.”

Thirteen shakes their head. “Sorry, kid. I know just as much as you do if not less especially about that device of yours.”

Izuku slumps down into his seat. God this is going to bother him, just when he felt like he was starting to understand the Omnitrix it throws him a curveball…two curveballs…a frozen curveball and a fiery curveball. “But why?”

Knowing they’re not going to get anywhere with this Thirteen tries to change the subject of interest. “Uraraka’s one tough cookie. Are you going to be ready?”

That seems to do the trick as Izuku lights up with the look of someone who’s about to ride the fastest rollercoaster in an amusement park. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

He didn’t just spend the last half hour twiddling his thumbs and doing breathing exercises. He’s been considering the best possible plan to take on Uraraka. Her power is immense and he wants to be sure that he can handle whatever she throws at him.

With a smile on his face, Izuku shoves himself out of his seat and marches for the door, startling Thirteen. “Where are you going?”

“I'm heading out.” Izuku grips the door handle and turns to flash his mentor a toothy grin. “I can’t stand sitting around any longer.”

Thirteen understands. “Good luck then.”

“Thanks.” And with that the wielder of the Omnitrix takes his leave.

He marches through the interior of the stadium with purpose, although he doesn’t really have any specific location in mind. He just needs to get moving and get some of this excess energy out before he bursts. Normally with something like this, he’d be a stuttering mess of nerves but he’s honest to God excited for his match with Uraraka. This will actually be their first real fight, a true moment for them both to really see how far they’ve come since they each began their heroic journeys together. And to be fair he wasn't too sure that they would be facing off in the finals, Bakugou really pushed her to her limits back there.

“Huh?” Izuku comes to a stop as he’s about to pass a small intersection within the hallway. Looking down the narrow hallway, Izuku spots one of his own classmates walking by in the hallway opposite of him. “Oh, Iida!”

Tenya Iida snaps out of his daze, his eyes have been trailing down at his phone which is clenched tightly in his hand. “Midoriya…”

Izuku quickly runs up to his much taller classmate and friend. “Hey what’s up? What are you doing down here?”

“Oh, I um…” Iida chokes on his own words, his glasses gleaming over, hiding his eyes from view as he tucks his phone away and out of sight before Midoirya could take notice. “Apologies…but I must get going. I am needed elsewhere.”

Izuku frowns, taking note of the lack of purpose in Iida’s voice, his voice sounds reserved which is totally unlike him. “Hey is…everything alright?”

Iida stands straighter like he was just scolded. “Yes, everything is quite fine, no need to worry.” He speaks loudly like he’s trying way too hard to act normal. “I’m sorry but an important matter has come up and I must be off.”

“Did something happen?”

“It’s nothing to worry about, I’ll be back before you know it.” With that Iida turns and marches away his arms swinging up and down like a robot. “I wish you well in your final match, Midoriya! Be sure to give it your all!”

Izuku watches Iida’s retreating form. He can’t put his finger on it but something was off about that encounter. Something’s definitely weighing on Iida’s mind, but what? _‘I can’t get distracted, I’ll look into it later.’_ For real he’s about to partake in what could be his hardest fight yet, he can’t afford to get sidetracked, not now. _‘Get ready Uraraka, because I’m not holding back.’_

And so he marches off figuring he might as well prepare for the final match of the U.A. Sports Festival. And just in time too as Preset Mic’s voice rings out through the entire stadium.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Hey folks!” Present Mic’s booming voice cheers out from the television. “Who’s ready for the blazing final match of this year’s Sports Festival!?!”

The little Kineceleran girl, ML-E, waves her claws up and down as she hops across her family’s couch. “Woah!! I’m ready!! Kick his butt, Ochan!!”

“Get off the couch!!” scolds her mother.

After this she’s definitely going to have to replace the once plush cushions.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“I’m willing to bet my favorite sunglasses that this final battle will be the most heart pounding and jaw dropping spectacle yet!! That’s a U.A. guarantee!”

The alien customers of Mr. Baumann's store gaze up at the holographic screen as Present Mic continues to hype up the finale.

“Jaw dropping, huh?”

“That would be fun if I had a jaw gugg.”

“Who do you think’s going to go home the champion?”

“I got 200 on the broccoli head!” Shouts Argit.

“300 on the gravity girl!”

“Hey let me get in on this!”

Mr. Baumann has completely abandoned his task of replenishing food cans in favor of watching the screen as images display of Izuku and Ochaco. ‘ _Good luck, boy.’_

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“If the last few matches were anything to go by, then this will certainly be a bloody and brutal fight for the ages!!”

Streams of tears gush out from Inko Midoriya’s eyes, threatening to flood their little apartment. “Ahhhh!! Izuku!! Please don’t get hurt, sweetie!!” She sniffs as she takes another tissue to try and dry her face. “My heart can’t keep taking it…”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“But before we begin the rest of the staff and I have to prepare a little something special so stay tuned because we’ll be beginning immediately after!”

Shoto Todoroki blinks out the bright sun as he exits the dark hallway and reenters the stands where his fellow classmates are seated.

“Welcome back Todoroki.” greets Momo Yaoyorozu who is the first to notice him.

The rest of the hero course students immediately turn, drawing the spotlight onto him. 

“…Hi.” Shoto hesitantly makes his way to the first open seat available, which is in the last row.

Hanta Sero leans over the back of his seat and grins up at the scarred teen. “Wow, I didn’t think you’d be up already, considering what you went through.”

Shoto doesn’t really react, instead his eyes glaze over as his mind replays his fight with Midorya. “Yeah, me too.”

“Your fight was so epic!” cheers Rikido Stao. “It was amazing! It was fire versus fire, ice versus ice, I’ve never seen anything like it!”

Kyoka Jiro scratches her cheek as she ponders about that fight. “No kidding, but how’d Midoriya get new powers like that?”

Denki Kaminari shrugs. “Maybe he was holding out on us.”

“I doubt it, kero.” cuts in Tsuyu Asui.

“Hey, now!” calls Mina Ashido. “Midoriya wasn't the only one hodling out on us. So, did Uraraka! I mean didn’t you see her zipping through the air?!”

“How could we not?!” responds Eijirou Kirishima. “It was so cool!!” Kirshima’s smile turns into a frown as a thought occurs to him. “Poor Bakugou, though. The crowd really wasn’t on his side.”

Toru Hagakure smiles sheepishly. “Are you really that surprised? His personality…needs a major overhaul.” 

Mezo Shoji leans over to speak with the crow headed boy. “I got to say it. Midoriya and Uraraka really are incredible. It’s amazing to see their Quirks at work.”

“Yes.” agrees Fumikage Tokoyami. “It seems there is much our classmates are capable of. One can only presume to understand them.”

Shoto can’t help but completely agree with Tokoyami’s statement. Just when he thought he understood those two, they throw him for a loop.

He grips his left arm, he can feel the heat radiating off of it. But unlike before it doesn’t cause him any rage or despair. Instead he feels hesitant but accepting, like now he can move forward.

“Hey, so.” Itsuka Kendo interrupts Class 1-A’s banter. “Which of them do you think’s going to win this?”

Before they can answer a haughty laugh echoes from nearby. “Ha haha ha!”

Everyone’s eyes dart up at Neito Monoma, who’s grinning widely as a dark hue surrounds his features. “Win? Oh, it doesn’t matter. Because come by this time next year, my class will surely defeat yours!! Hahahaha!!”

Only Kaminari has the lack of brains to ask why. “How do you figure?” 

“Simple.” Monoma smirks. “We now have hours of videos of your class using your Quirks. Allowing us the chance to study them and find your weaknesses.” Monoma’s grin widens and he looks ready to break into a maniacal laugh. “And then the world will know who it is that truly- GAHH!!”

A quick jab to the ribs quickly silences that annoying blonde.

Kendo sighs as she sits back down, a wheezing Monoma lying at her feet in pain. “Please ignore him. I’m pretty sure he was dropped as a baby.”

Classes 1-A and 1-B have the same thought. _‘Harsh.’_

Before they can continue, present Mic’s loud voice stretches across the stadium. “Okay folks, we’re almost done with the repairs.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Present Mic frowns and turns to his mummified co-host. “You know this is really getting annoying.”

“You annoyed?” Shota Aizawa asks sarcastically. “I’m shocked.”

“Oh, be quiet!” snaps Present Mic. “I mean can’t we just, I don’t know, go back to the original set of rules. I’m getting tired of having to do repairs.”

“It is bothersome, but it’s far too late. At this point we may be dealing with a riot on our hands if we set limits to this next match.”

“So, we’re just in for some more property damage?”

A calm cherry voice interrupts the two teachers. “I think I can provide a solution.”

The two co-hosts turn and are surprised to find Principal Nezu of all people at the door of the commentor’s booth.

“Principal?!” shouts Present Mic.

Aizawa remains calm even with his friend screaming in his ear. “What brings you here? Shouldn’t you be attending the third-years’ fights?”

Principal Nezu pushes up an extra chair to join the two at the booth. “I was, but they’ve already finished. So, I decided to come by and witness how our first-years are holding up. But imagine my surprise when I arrived and found my stadium in shambles.”

The two pro heroes grimace and shiver under the Principal's gaze, despite his friendly smile, there’s an air of danger radiating off the furry creature.

Principal Nezu ignores their fear and continues. “Not to worry though, I brought something that should keep even our rowdy students at bay.” He lifts his paw and holds within it a little switch.

Aizawa eyes the little device. “Was is that sir?”

Principal Nezu snickers. “You’ll see.” He turns to Present Mic. “You may begin the match, Present Mic.”

Present Mic eyes the principal warily. “Right.”

The commentaar turns and yells into the microphone. “Here we go!” He shouts as excitement courses through his veins. “It’s been a long road to get to this point, honestly, it feels like a month has gone by, but we finally made it! It’s finally time for this Sports Festival to meet its end!”

The entire stadium shakes as cheers of joy and excitement erupt from the audience, they’re like caged animals all pent up after starving for a month. But now that wait is over, the ~~readers~~ audience can now be satiated.

“At last we’ve arrived!! The best of the best among U.A.’s first-years will be decided!”

Ochaco takes in a calming breath before stepping out onto the field for one last bout.

“She’s the underdog that many of us had written off, but boy did she prove us wrong?! She hasn’t only competed on the same level as the others but she’s completely blown the competition out of the water! Give it up for the girl that can defy the laws of physics and our expectations…OCHACO URARAKA!!!”

The entire stadium claps and cheers the girl’s name as she climbs atop the repaired battlefield.

“But if she wants to win this Sports Festival, then she’s got to defeat the master of the unconventional! The boy that can wield any power! He’s the one to beat…IZUKU MIDORIYA!!!”

The entire stadium’s cheers and roars boom even louder so much so that their screeches threaten his own hearing.

Izuku smiles a confident yet slightly shy smile as he steps atop the battlefield.

As Izuku steps forward onto the battlefield, Midnight cracks her whip at attention. “Okay you two! I want a nice clean match!” She smirks and raises her finger towards her lips. “But feel free to get down and dirty if you so desire.” She gives her finger a flick with her tongue making the teens blush and look away.

Present Mic turns to his boss. “Principal Nezu your surprise, sir?”

“Ah, here it is.” Without hesitation the strange chimera presses down on his switch and immediately everyone’s attention turns towards the battlefield.

A low humming noise resonates from below the battlefield like many generators turning on all at once. And then the most amazing and impossible thing happens.

Izuku steps back, as the ground beneath him feels like it’s humming. “What is that?”

Ochaco is just as confused. “Is this a Quirk?!”

No, it’s not.

Their questions are answered as a ring of beaming light shines from underground. The ring surrounds the entire battlefield and well into the grassy field.

Midnight leaps away and Cementos creates a platform for them as the light, impossibly, begins to rise into the air keeping out and away from the glowing light.

The light dims as a wave of energy rises and rises from the ring until they meet high above the battlefield creating a dome of see through light. With the only things inside being Izuku and Ochaco.

“What. The. HECK?!” screams a shocked Present Mic, along with the entire audience. 

Principal Nezu laughs at their shock.“Hahahaha!”

Aizawa, the ever calm one, scans the strange phenomenon with wariness. “Principal…?”

Principal Nezu gestures for the microphone which Aizawa gracelly provides. “What you are all witnessing is a state of the art Forcefield.”

It sounds like the whole stadium is in shock. “A FORCEFIELD!?!”

“Yes, a forcefield!” responds the mouse/dog/bear creature. “It was a gift from some special friends of mine. I had them recently installed into the school’s security system and I thought this would be a grand place to introduce them to you. Hahahaha!”

Present Mic and Aizawa shy away from the laughing school principal. _‘Just what kind of friends does he have?’_

Principal Nezu pauses his laughter and peers down at the two students. “This forcefield can even withstand a strike from All Might so please be sure to go all out you two. I love witnessing the power of my students first hand! Hahahaha!”

Present Mic’s grin returns. “Well you heard him, folks. Let’s get this party started!!”

The crowd cheers in agreement.

“NOW, START!!!”

The two combatants don’t make a move instead they both just smile at each other like two friends ready to play a game, a game they both intend to win.

Ochaco grins excitedly. “You know I’m honestly really excited for this.”

Izuku’s own grin widens. “I feel the exact same way.”

“Is that right?” The smiling Ochaco readies her stance, grabbing her bicep as she flexes her fist forward. “Well then you should know I’m not going to hold back just because we’re friends.”

“I’d be insulted if you did.” Izuku smiles as he raises up the Omnitrix. “Do you mind?”

Ochaco is more than happy to cooperate. “Not at all. But make sure to pick a good one, I want our first real fight to be a good one.”

Izuku grips the Omnitrix, the dial firing up, and he calmly begins to dial for the right alien. “Oh, yeah. I guess I never realized: this’ll be the first time we’ve ever fought one on one.” He smiles as he finds the right alien for the job. “Which means I have to make this a fight to remember.”

With a light press of his index finger Izuku disappears within a veil of blinding green light.

“Woah!!” shouts Present Mic. “He’s transforming!! But what will he become? Heatblast? Feedback? Four Arms?!”

The transformed Izuku smiles as the transformation completes and the light dims away. “I think this guy will do the job, after all…” He steps forward standing tall like a behemoth that’s ready to tear through a horde of enemies. “he was able to stand up to that Nomu guy.”

“We’re in for a show here folks!!” cheers Present Mic. “Midoriya’s last alien is Diamondhead, the very same one rumored to have been able to go toe to toe with the leader of the League of Villains!!”

Diamondhead’s entire body shines as the sun reflects off his crystal features, his entire body flexes making his edges look sharp and whetted, and finally a confident grin adorns the alien’s face. “Are you ready?”

Ochaco smiles as One For All illuminates around her entire being. “Yeah.”

Diamondhead chuckles. “Good.”

The Petrosapien slams his hand down on the battlefield and a crystal lance bursts out of the ground, aiming right for All Might’s successor.

With a sharp yelp, Ochaco uses One For All to kick herself away, moving to the side and avoiding the crystal lance.

“You jerk. You could have warned me.” Despite the complaint an amused smile is adorned on her face. “But I guess all is fair.”

Ochaco redirects herself and with a powerful kick forward she sprints at full speed right toward the Petrosapien. “You’re going to lose this Deku!!”

She strikes him, and strikes him hard with her glowing fist; slamming right into Diamondhead’s chest driving the alien backwards.

Diamondhead remains standing, bracing his entire body as his feet skid backwards across the ground before coming to a stop a fair distance away. He clutches at his chest where the strike landed. “Ow…”

Present Mic screams into the microphone. “He felt that! Just how powerful was that punch?!”

Ochaco grins widely at the sight, even though her own fist is throbbing after slamming it against diamonds. She’s ecstatic to see that her attack actually hurt him, even if it didn’t damage him physically.

A sharp piercing pain slices across her cheek.

With a gasp, Ochaco reaches up and touches her face before peering down at her bloody fingers; somehow a small cut had formed on her cheek.

“Better be careful.”

Ochaco gazes back up at her smirking opponent.

“I’ve been told that I can be a real pain sometimes.” Dimaondhead grins as he straightens up and raises his arm, the crystals all formed together to become a large diamond blade; a blade he tried to counter with when she struck him.

“What in the world?!” shouts Present Mic. “Diamondhead was able to sneak in a strike of his own. Pray it doesn’t scar her cute face!”

Diamondhead raises his other arm and watches as it too becomes a large blade. “Pretty cool, right? I discovered this new ability a little while ago when I was training.” He adjusts them so the sun can sheen across the surface of the blades. _‘These things would have been real handy back at the U.S.J. Oh, well I guess.’_

He turns his attention back on his illuminated opponent. “I believe it’s my turn, now.”

With surprising speed, Diamondhead charges forward keeping his upper body low with the blades hung down, the tips digging and shredding across the ground leaving scaring gouges in his wake.

“Rahh!!” Diamondhead gives a mighty roar as his blade slashes upward.

Ochaco leans to the side, the blade whizzing past her face. The alien throws his other blade at her but she braces herself and uses her glowing arms to block the incoming side swipe. With a clear opening she thrusts her fist forward, the force smacks into Diamondhead’s chest and once again the alien is forced backwards, groaning as the wind is knocked out of him.

Diamondhead grips his aching stomach. “You…really know how to throw a punch.” As the pain subsides a toothy grin grows on his face. “But let’s see a punch get you out of this!”

With a swipe of his arm, a barrage of shards fly out from his arm. The shards zip through the air as they race towards their intended target.

Ochaco gasps before sprinting to the side to evade the ranged attack. She doesn’t have time to rest as Diamondhead fires off another rain of shards at her. She jumps back just before the shards pierce themselves into the ground where she once stood. She dives in the other direction and as she does she can feel the shards fly over her head.

With his shards unable to hit their mark, Diamondhead plants his hand onto the ground and then swings it forward; a trail of crystals crash forward racing across the ground with a righteous fury.

Ochaco jumps to the right before she’s encased in the trail of crystals.

Just as she lands she leaps backwards to avoid another trail of crystals.

“Oh, no!!” cries Present Mic. “Looks like Midoriya’s taking a page from Todoroki, because he has Uraraka trapped!”

He did, Diamondhead has Ochaco between two crystal trails, limiting her movement like Shoto had done to him in their own fight.

“I’ve got you now!” Diamondhead stomps his foot and almost instantly crystals burst from underneath and begin to propel him forward at a high speed.

“What the hell!?! What is he a Diamond Surfer?!” Present Mic turns to his co-host. “Shit, will I get sued for that comment.”

Aizawa deadpans. “Get over yourself.”

_‘I’ve got this.’_ Diamondhead continues to charge forward atop the small surf of diamonds. _‘She can try to hold her ground, but that’s far too reckless. Her best bet would be to take to the air like she did with Bakugou. And when she does I can create pillars to hinder her movement.’_ She’ll have to fly around his diamond pillars while the dome forcefield also limits her range of movement.

The plan makes him smile. “Prepare to face your end, Uraraka!” As he surfs forward, he extends his arms out, and they immediately morph into large jagged blades. “Here we go, this is my…DIAMOND RUSH!!!”

This is it! His special move that’ll finish her off.

With no hint of fear or reservation, the glowing Ochaco doesn’t brace herself or jump into the air, instead she charges forward, right towards the oncoming attack.

“What?!”

Ochaco glares with a burning passion as she kicks a gale of wind behind her, rocketing her forward even faster. “MERCURY SMASH!!!” She roars as she throws her glowing fist forward. 

The two opposing forces of nature clash, the pressure generated form the attack is strong enough to break away shards from the still crystals.

Diamondhead finds himself flung backwards before he crashes onto the ground, his sharp hard body gauging into the surface of the battlefield before he eventually comes to a halt.

Present Mic gasps. “He looks like he was run over by a speeding train?! Sheesh, she may look sweet and delicate but she sure does pack a lot of power doesn’t she.”

“It’s more than that.” cuts in the mummified Aizawa.

“Huh?”

Aizawa continues. “It’s not just her power, but her will. And with such an intense drive moving her forward, Midoriya will have to match his own drive against hers.”

Nezu nods in agreement from his seat. _“_ Yes, and with these two striving for the very best they’ll also push their fellow classmates and friends to strive for greatness as well.” The odd little chimera chuckles to himself. _‘I’m excited to see just what these fine students will grow into.’_

Diamondhead groans as he grabs at his head. That attack hurt but he’s pretty much okay, but if she had more distance and time he’s sure she could have put more power and speed behind that attack; if that occured he’s positive he wouldn’t be getting up so easily.

The Petrosapien prys himself off the ground. “Wasn’t expecting that, too bad all it did was delay the inevitable.”

A wicked smile, like that of a trickster, forms on Ochaco’s features. “I don’t think so.”

“Huh?” That’s when he notices it, the feeling of weightlessness around his body.

The usually heavy alien begins to float up into the air with no way to control his movements or balance. _‘That last attack, her Mercury Smash, was just a feint. She really used it to give herself an opening.’_ She used the speed of Mercury Smash to plant her opposite hand onto him, to make him weightless under her Zero-Gravity Quirk.

Ochaco inhales as she uses Zero-Gravity on herself all before she rockets herself into the air. She tackles Diamondhead, they race through the air as she fires off air kicks behind her and then she slams him right against the forcefield.

The electrical field of the forcefield discharges around them as the alien’s spikes dig into the barricade.

“Damn!” Diamondhead swings his elbow down, it connects, and she releases her hold on him.

Ochaco groans as her back takes the hard hit, but it does little to deter her. Instead she zips away but not to retreat but to give herself enough room to move as freely as she wants to.

Just as she’s far enough away she comes right back like a racing bullet. She moves so fast that when she collides with Dimaondhead’s body she continues on her path as the Petrosapien is left to deal with the force of her attack. She redirects herself and slams into him again, throwing his body across the dome. Again and again she keeps at it, flying around the dome like a ricocheting bullet, she never loses speed or strength as she continues to assault her virtually defenseless opponent. All the alien can do is brace himself but she is powered by All Might’s very own Quirk so of course each blow delivers a ton of force behind it.

“So, fast!!” shouts Present Mic. “I can’t keep track of her!”

“I can.” deadpans Class 1-A’s homeroom teacher.

“Great…”

Nezu snickers at his underlings' synergy. 

“You’re going down, Deku!!” Ochaco roars as she cups her hands together, releasing Zero-Gravity, while she also swings them over her head.

Her fists clash onto Dimaondhead’s hide, throwing him downward where he crashes right into the ground.

The cement cracks and breaks apart under the pressure.

Diamondhead groans, shaking himself off of dust as he sits up. “You know…maybe I should have gone with Big Chill…”

“Yahh!!”

Looking up, the morphed Izuku spots Ochaco diving down towards him, her fists glowing, a clear sign that she’s about to deliver one hell of an attack.

Diamondhead slams both his hands against the ground and two wide crystals burst out, crossing each other to become a sort-of jagged barricade until they form into a thick crystal dome. Ochaco’s fists connect with the shield but the diamond-like material is far too thick for her to break through. But that doesn’t stop her as she continues to pound away at the dome.

“And like a turtle hiding in its shell, Diamondhead’s hoping to give himself some time to breath while Uraraka tries to break her way through! But what will break first? Dimaondhead’s shield or Uraraka’s fists?”

Understanding his predicament, the alien thrusts his hands forward and the outer part of the dome erupts skyward, taking Ochaco along with them. In less than a second the racing pillar of crystals slam Ochaco right against the forcefield, shoving her against its electrical energy.

“Ahhhh!!! Ochaco screeches as the piercing electrical energy shocks her to her very core and the pressure of the diamond pillar squeezes her like a bug.

“Oh, no! How’s she supposed to get out of this one?!”

_‘I’m not…going…out like this!’_ Even as the pressure increases and the electricity continues to surge through her, Ochaco wills herself free, by ripping herself out and away; the pillar of crystals slams into the forcefield since she’s no longer in between the two. 

She doesn’t give herself a chance to rest as she immediately air kicks herself downward, down towards her adversary.

The steadfast Diamondhead counters by firing off large diamond lances up into the air to meet her.

She swerves and dodges each one, but Dimaondhead retaliates by firing off hails of shards at her. With such a wide ranged attack there’s nowhere for her to dodge. So she doesn’t, instead she throws one mean punch that launches out a powerful whirlwind, a wind so strong that it deflects the shards away making the perfect opening for her to fly through.

Ochaco throws the first punch, but Diamondhead manages to strike first. His fist digs into her stomach making the girl gag as the wind is knocked right out of her. As she’s pushed upward Diamondhead swings his other fist into her, smashing her down into the ground.

“Gah!!” She hits the ground hard and with such an intense force that her head goes spinning.

The morphed Izuku takes advantage of his opponent being down and grabs her leg. “Rahh!!” He swings her around and slams her against his own crystal pillar. He slams her so hard against the pillar that tiny shards crack away from its surface.

“Gah!!”

He releases her and she slides down the pillar until she collapses onto the ground.

“Is this it?!” begs Present Mic. “Has he done it?! Has Uraraka’s iron will spirit been broken?!”

Nezu smirks. “I think we’ll be pleasantly surprised.”

“You put up a good fight.” Diamondhead peers down at his opponent who withers in pain as she struggles to regain her breath. “But only one of us can win this.”

Ochaco inhales sharply before managing a small pained smile up at her friend. “Yeah…I know.”

“Then there shouldn’t be any hard feelings between us, right?”

“No…of course not.”

A smile graces Diamondhead’s face. “I’m glad.” He raises his arm up as the crystals begin to morph and shift. “Because this is going to hurt.”

He raises his arm which the crystals have compacted together to form a sort of makeshift jagged hammer. “DIAMOND HAMMER!!!” He swings his mighty weapon down with the intention of ending the Sports Festival. 

Too bad she dodges with a quick roll to the side.

The massive hammer crashes into the broken cement, shattering the ground and forming a small crater as the power collides into the weakened surface.

“He missed!!” cheers Present Mic with a huge grin on his face. “She’s still in this!!”

With agonizing pain coursing through her body, Ochaco lashes her hand out and grabs Diamondhead’s exposed leg, her fingers glow as Zero-Gravity takes hold of the alien.

Ochaco grips his leg as she springs up to her feet. “Yahh!!”

She proceeds to slam him against the ground. She then swings him up and slams him down on her opposite side before repeating the cycle of slamming him against the ground again and again with the force of One For All behind every throw. Diamondhead finds his limp body crashing into the ground again and again like a useless ragdoll. Each hit breaks away at the cement ground forming holes that shape his own body.

Present Mic gaps at the sight of the hulking figure being thrown around by someone half his size. “I think I’ve seen this somewhere before!!”

“I’m going to beat you!!” Ochaco screams as she spins around, pulling him along, until she slams his back right into his own crystal pillar.

“Ah!” Diamondhead growls as he attempts to jump forward. “What the?!”

He tries to move forward but he barely budges from his spot. Turning his head Diamondhead is stunned to find his own back spikes have impaled themselves into the pillar. “You’ve got to be kidding me!”

“Afraid not.” Ochaco’s body glows with One For All as she throws her body forward. “Smash!!” Her fist crashes into him, the power behind the strike smashes the Petrosapien into the jagged crystals that break apart and smash together; jeopardizing the entire stability of the massive pillar causing it to come crashing down onto the both of them.

Ochaco barely has enough time to leap backwards and away from the demolishing structure just as Diamondhead is buried alive by the very same debris.

“Did that do it?!”

Aizawa sighs. “Do you really think that finished him off?”

Present Mic takes a moment to answer. “No…”

“Ow, oh…” Ochaco groans as she stumbles to her feet while gripping her hand; she can feel it straining under all the stress she just put it through. “Did that do it?” She sure hopes so, her aching hand is a good price to pay if it means she finished Deku off.

The rustling of broken shards echo behind her; from within the rubble a perfectly fine Diamondhead emerges like an indestructible zombie rising from the grave.

“Ahh!!” Ochaco thrusts her glowing fist forward once again but the Petrosapien catches her fist mid-strike.

“Grr.” She struggles to pull her arm free but it’s no use she might as well be trying to pry her hand out between a pair of boulders.

Dimaondhead’s grip tightens threatening to crush the small limb.

Ochaco gulps as the crystal behemoth towers over her with an overpowering glare gleaming down at her. “This is going to hurt. Isn’t it?”

“Yes. Yes it will. Raahh!!” He throws his own punch and it connects with Ochaco’s side.

“Gah!!” The pain is extrustianing so much so that her legs give out from under her with only Dimaondhead’s grip keeping her up.

He lifts her up and delivers a frontal kick to her abdomen, propelling her backwards as he finally releases her from his grip.

Through all the pain, Ochaco somehow manages to keep herself on her wobbling feet, by the time she regains her balance all she can do is lift her arms up to guard her head as Diamondhead starts delivering a barrage of jabs and punches to her frame.

She barely holds on as each punch lands with equal force, it’s a struggle alone to keep her own arms up as the strikes just keep on coming.

Aizawa watches with much intrigue from the commentators booth. “It appears it’s finally catching up to her.”

Present Mic raises an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

Nezu nods in agreement. “Yes, I think so.”

Present Mic leans in towards the other two. “Care to fill in the rest of us?”

Aizawa replies first. “Uraraka had to be treated by Recovery Girl after every match so far. She’s probably been fighting off the feeling of exhaustion since the very start of this match.”

“What are you saying?”

Nezu answers. “Ms. Uraraka’s stamina is far more depleted than that of Mr. Midoriya’s.”

Grabbing Ochaco by her shoulders, Diamondhead throws his head back and then…bam! He delivers one hell of a headbutt.

“Ahh!!” Ochaco collapses, a bit of her forehead is bleeding from the impact.

“Looks like you two were right. Will she be able to get back up from this or is she done…? Is this the end for Ochaco Uraraka?” 

She heard that.

Ochaco slams her fist against the ground, grinding her teeth together in frustration. “I’m not going out like this!” Her entire body glows brighter with One For All’s power and she leaps right back up towards her all powerful opponent. “I’m going to win this whole thing!”

Dimaondhead glares up at her, unafraid of her declaration. “No, you won’t.”

A massive wave of crystals explodes from the earth as Diamondhead slams his fist against the ground. The wave of diamonds slam into the poor girl, throwing her backwards as the crystals continue to crash into her.

“This match is mine, Uraraka!”

“Not…yet!!” Thanks to One For All’s power coursing through her, Ochaco miraculously pushes herself away from the rushing wave of crystals.

But she has no time to relax as another explosion of diamonds seemingly explode out from the ground right beneath her feet.

Not wanting to be impaled, Ochaco leaps forward as a massive pillar of diamonds bursts straight into the air. The rushing pillar rises into the air until it’s piercing tip impales itself into the forcefield, electricity discharges around the pillar as it makes contact.

“You can’t win this!” shouts Diamondhead as he slams his hand against the ground again.

Another giant lance of crystals erupts and nearly strikes All Might’s successor, but she manages to dodge, barely. She flips through the air as another giant lance rockets up at her, this one too.

This continues with Ochaco just barely managing to dodge each and every massive pillar of diamonds that impale themselves into the now wavering forcefield. Electrical discharges are continuously firing off from the tips of the pillars and the forcefield wavers and shakes as if struggling to stay up.

She kicks her feet off the pillars allowing her to bounce around between them hoping for Diamondhead to lose track of her within the maze of crystals.

As she hops from pillar to pillar, Diamondhead keeps up with his barrage of lances that pierce themselves into the forcield making the energy dome look like a giant pincushion.

_‘This is bad…’_ Ochaco takes refuge behind a pair of tall pillars, out of sight from her opponent. _‘I need to get in close and end this.’_

She leaps up and then with a burst of speed she kicks herself to where she thinks Diamondhead is.

As she zips through the air, bouncing from pillar to pillar she tries to locate the alien but it appears that while he was attacking her he was also repositioning himself to throw her off even more.

_‘Where are you, Deku?’_ She continues to scan from above at the shattered cement and through the giant lances of crystals.

This dome is like a labyrinth of towering diamonds guarded by an inhuman monster.

Just as she zips past a pair of pillars everything seems to go in slow motion allowing her to witness everything that’s about to happen.

Diamondhead had set up an ambush for her, he was purposefully leading her in a specific direction. He bided his time and when the time was right he propelled himself into the air by generating a massive pillar right underneath his feet, shooting him up into the air.

Due to their fast speeds, Ochaco has no time to react or defend herself as Diamondhead slams his diamond head right into her.

“GAAHHHH!!!” Ochaco is flung backwards, she crashes into a column of diamonds before she slides down the massive construct, her back scraping against the sharp and jagged shards before gravity wins out and she collapses onto the hard ground with a loud thump.

“Uraraka is down!!” screeches the overly astonished Present Mic.

The crowd gasps with fright, that was a hard hit. They’d be surprised if she doesn’t have a few broken bones from it.

“Will this decide it?!”

Midnight, the chief umpire, tries to peer through the electrical shield, but all she can see is Ochaco laying on the ground, unmoving. But it’s too soon to make any calls, she can’t tell if the poor girl really is unconscious or not.

Just when she thinks she should call it, the gravity girl budges.

Diamondhead stomps his way over as the battered girl struggles to flip herself around onto her back. Her breathing is labored and heavy and her soft features are bruised and scratched.

The Petrosapien gazes down at her with sympathy yet conviction knowing full well that one of them has to lose. “Stay down, Uraraka. You’ve fought hard and you did an amazing job. So, stay down.”

Ochaco coughs, trying to speak but the pain and exhaustion are too much. Unable to speak or stand she simply shakes her head in defiance.

The transformed Izuku sighs, he should have expected such a response from her; she’s not one to just throw in the towel.

With reservation, Diamondhead’s arm begins to shift and reshape itself into a hammer. “Are you sure?”

She glares up at him with a spark of defiance.

“Very well.” The large figure raises his arm up and over his head, readying to deliver a Diamond Hammer attack.

But before he can bring himself to finish it, he’d like to say something. “You were great by the way, I just wanted you to know that.”

Ochaco chokes out a response. “Th…thk…thanks…” After getting her thanks out she chuckles lightly to herself. “You were…pretty great too. ” 

“Thanks.”

She smiles. “You’re welcome, and just remember.”

He tilts his head. “Remember what?”

Her smile becomes cocky. “There’s no hard feelings when you lose.”

“What?”

Before he can comprehend her words, Ochaco’s entire body explodes out with energy as a blinding pik light envelops all around them!

Diamondhead is pushed back by the sheer force of the sudden burst of energy. Looking around he quickly picks up on the pink hue surrounding everything around him. _‘This is-!!’_

Present Mic’s voice cuts in. “It’s Uraraka’s Zero-Gravity Field!!”

It’s true. With the last of her strength Ochaco released both One For All alongside her Zero-Gravity, generating her signature Zero-Gravity Field.

The orbit of zero gravity has expanded across the field and has enveloped the entire battlefield and the giant crystals piercing through the fading forcefield, shrouding everything in a pink hue.

Ochaco grins as her weightless body begins to rise off from the ground. Honestly, she’s excited this even worked to begin with.

Diamondhead floats up into the air as his body becomes weightless under the mysterious orbit. “How are you still able to move?”

The gravity defying girl grins up at him. “All day, I’ve had to try and conserve my strength, I also had to hold back my power.” Her grin widens. “But not anymore.”

“What?”

“It’s the last match Deku, I don’t have to worry about breaking my body if it means I can…” She glares up at him with a wicked grin. “Beat you.” 

A chill runs down Diamondhead’s spine, without making contact with the ground he won’t be able to properly defend himself.

Ochaco squats down in preparation. “Thanks for playing, but it’s over.” And like a bullet she fires herself upward, leaving a streak of pink aura trailing behind her.

Not one to just hand over a win, Diamondhead rains down a shower of shards as he continues to rise higher and higher into the air.

All Might’s successor doesn’t so much as flinch as she simply swerves her body to evade the sharp shards, even as a few of them graze her arms and legs.

Her entire body glows brighter and brighter as the morphed Izuku desperately tries to fend her off. But it’s all in vain, in an instant Ochaco has already caught up to him.

She reels back her fist. “Are you ready Deku?”

He responds by crossing his arms, attempting to shield himself from the inevitable attack.

With the power of eight holders flowing through her, Ochaco’s entire fist somehow glows even brighter, as she allows all of One For All to flow into her hand, becoming blindingly bright like a star piercing through the darkest of nights. “Finishing move…MARS SMASH!!!” 

Screaming at the top of her lungs, Ochaco brings her fist and delivers an All Might worthy punch. The moment her fist makes contact with her opponent, pure strength erupts from her fist and an explosion of power and wind blasts through the entire battlefield. Pillars of crystals break under the sheer pressure, the cement battlefield is blown away, and the electrical force field wavers and shakes as it struggles to withhold the surge.

“RAAAAHHHH!!!” Diamondhead screams as the raw power slams into him and sends him flying up at such a high speed.

He moves so fast and thanks to his diamond-like body he smashes right through the forcefield, causing it to dissipate into nothingness and with nothing holding it back, crystal shards, rubble, and a power whirlwind whip through the stadium forcing the entire stadium to brace themselves against the sheer force of power.

Soon the wind dies down and a giant dust cloud shrouds the entire battlefield. The audience scan the field for any sign of the fighters, as they scan the entire stadium falls into a deafening silence as they wait for the outcome.

Conveniently the jumbotrons flash to life and reveal what had occurred to one Izuku Midoriya. The entire audience gasp at the sight of Diamondhead laying atop of a smashed food stall from right outside the stadium. He’s surrounded by astonished and terrified onlookers and pro heroes who were a bit more than startled after hearing a massive eruption and witnessing a giant mass of diamonds crash land right in front of them. Kamui Woods looks ready to fight temporarily mistaking Diamondhead for an attacking villain, Mt. Lady is pale as a ghost having been caught completely off guard by the sudden crash, and Death Arms stares on finding the entire situation rather odd and surprising.

Diamondhead groans and groups his head while the food stall owner cries over the fate of his business, never imagining it would become a crash sight. “My cabbages!!”

Back within the stadium everyone, the heroes, students, and teacher turn their widen eyes towards the demolished battlefield. None of them dare to look away each waiting with baited breath as the dust begins to settle.

There amongst the debris is a sign!

A battered bleeding Ochaco Uraraka stands proud amongst the rubble, her sleeve had torn away with the immense power surging through her muscles exposing her right arm that’s purple in color and clearly broken. But despite the pain she’s still standing with her left arm raised as if to say: I am here.

Amongst the stunned silence Midnight, who was protected by the blast thanks to a barricade via Cementoss. “Midoriya has been thrown out of the arena! Therefore-” She cracks her whip and announces. “Ochaco Uraraka is this year’s champion!!” Good thing too, if they continue there’s no doubt they may bring the whole place down with them.

All at once the entire stadium bursts into cheers!!

“SHE WON!!!” cheers the one and only Present Mic.

[ **AN:** I have a reason for Ochaco winning, please read Author’s Note below for more details.]

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Present Mic’s voice blasts through the television set. “That’s it! After all that Ochaco Uraraka has taken the crown all for herself! Isn’t that amazing?!”

ML-E excitedly hops atop her family’s couch before zipping around the room so quickly she generates a small twister. “She did it! Take that losers!!”

“Stop!! My rug!!” screechers ML-E’s poor mother.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“She’s put all she had on the line! And her blood, sweat, and tears were definitely worth it! Congrats!!”

The crowd of aliens cheer and clap, at least those who bet on Uraraka are.

Those who put their faith on Midoriya are a bit sour, but still in good spirits especially after witnessing such an intense and thrilling final match.

“They did so well gugg.”

“These kids are like crazy strong.”

“Kinda terrifying.”

“Eh…can you imagine how strong they’ll be when they go pro?”

Argit shivers. “I don’t even want to think about it.”

Meanwhile, Mr. Baumann smiles up at the screen as he watches a groaning Diamondhead shakily sit up from within the rubble. _‘Nice try, Izuku. But you sure got this old man’s blood pumping.’_

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Midoriya gave her one hell of a fight, heck I thought he had it a few times. But getting kicked right out of the stadium is a sure way to go out! Better luck next time kid!”

Tears gush out from Inko’s eyes as she wails from the top of her lungs. “Wahhh!! Izuku!! You were so amazing out there sweetie!! I’m so proud of you!!”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“These two future heroes did amazing!!”

Tomura Shigaraki scratches at his neck so hard that he actually draws blood, he scowls at the laptop screen finding Present Mic’s comment infuriating.

And he’s not the only one, towering behind him, Nue looks ready to murder the screen especially as the screen flashes between Deku and his opponent.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Now these two are the embodiment of going PLUS ULTRA!!!”

Bakugou’s fingers dig into his shoulders in frustration as he continues to sulk in his seclusion. @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Groaning as he sits back up Diamondhead disappears behind a flash of red light.

“What the heck?!” shouts Kamui Woods as he reels back from the unexpected flash.

A battered Izuku moans and groans as he grabs at his aching head, ruffling his matted and dirty hair. “Not so loud please…everything…hurts.”

Mt. Lady collapses, her face stunned with shock. “How are you even alive right now?!”

“Huh?” Izuku blinks. “Oh! What can I say?” He smiles up at the bewildered pro heroes. “I’m way more durable than I look.”

Ironically, gravity wins out and he collapses right onto his back.

“Hey!” shouts Death Arms worriedly. “Are you alright?”

Iuku doesn’t response, he just lies there with a stupid grin on his face. _‘Aw, man…I was so close…’_ He peers up at the expansive blue sky. _‘Well done Uraraka, well done.’_

He takes a moment to enjoy the peace of it all, even as cheers continue to roar out from the stadium, letting all of his competitive spirit to wash away now that the U.A. Sports Festival is over. But at least he was right, he was technically the one to beat. And Ochaco sure did beat him.

“This was so amazing!!” Present Mic’s voice somehow overpowers the loud cheers and screams. “Stay tuned folks, because we’ll be bringing you the U.A. Sports Festival Awards Ceremony! After, of course, we get our young competitors some much needed medical attention!”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Puffs of color smoke and daytime fireworks pop and crack above the stadium, signalling that it’s finally time for the Awards Ceremony.

Down on the field of the stadium, all of the first-year classes have gathered around to await the medals to be awarded. The teachers didn’t bother with repairs, instead they focused on clean up while Izuku and Ochaco got patched up. The field is clear of grass having been burned away or tossed aside through the semi-finals and finals. All there is is a flat cement platform for the students to gather upon.

Midnight stands atop a podium, her voice echoing across the stadium as the crowd continues to cheer and applaud. “The first-year students have completed all of the events for the U.A. Sports Festival. Now it’s time to relax and enjoy the Awards Ceremony.”

The crowd cheer and applaud as triumphant music plays and fireworks fire off from above, even the jumbotrons flash images of a trophy and the word VICTORY across their screens.

From behind Midnight bright smoke jets into the air along with streams of confetti as a platform begins to rise from below.

Standing on the lowest column is Shoto Todoroki looking as calm as ever. But there’s an air of somberness around him, clearly he rather not even be up there but he’s far too polite to decline.

On the opposite side is of course Izuku Midoriya, who looks like he’s being held at gunpoint. With a shaky dopey smile, sweating bullets, and nervously shaking from being in the spotlight for far too long.

And finally, on the tallest column is the champion of the Sports Festival, Ochaco Uraraka. Her rosey cheeks are even more red even with the bandages covering parts of her face. Her right arm’s in a sling and cast and her legs are wrapped in bandages like that of a mummy’s. She looks like she’s going to pass out at any moment, the exhaustion of the day finally catching up to her. But despite all that, she bears one of the brightest grins one has ever seen.

Their classmates grin up at them in awe.

Kirishima, bless his soul, cheers. “Way to go guys! You rock!”

Yuga Aoyama winks up at them. “You were magnifique!”

Sero smiles nervously. “Ha, these guys are monsters.”

Kaminari nods with a worried smile. “No kidding. Kinda glad I didn’t have to fight 'em.”

“Dammit!!” shouts Tetsutetsu from within his own class. “All the top runners were from Class 1-A! That’s bullshit!”

“Easy Tetsutetsu.” chides Kendo. “We’ll just make sure to do better next time.”

Yaoyorozu overhears and adds. “Yes, and the same can be said for the rest of us.”

From General Studies the purple-haired Shinso smirks. _‘Nice job, gravity girl. Next time I’ll try and be more of a challenge.’_

Hoards of photographers and reporters, who gained permission to be there, stand nearby behind barriers. Their camera flashes with every shot they take of the winners.

Midnight turns to them for one more announcement. “Katsuki Bakugou actually shares the third-place award with Todoroki. But, unfortunately, he declined to join us in celebration. The poor boy, he must be devastated.”

Izuku frowns, as he gazes over towards where Bakugou should be standing. _‘Kacchan…?’_

Before Izuku can think about it, Midnight snags his attention back. “Now, let’s break out the hardware! Of course, there’s only one person worthy of distributing the awards.”

“ **HAHAHA HA HA!!** ” A mighty hearty laugh echoes from atop the stadium.

The reactions are instantaneous as everyone in the stands rise with smiles on their faces and excitement in their hearts.

The Symbol of Peace leaps off the stadium roof and lands down onto the field before the winner. “ **CITIZENS! I AM HERE WITH THE MEDALS!!!** /All Might, the Number One Hero!!” Unfortunately, Midnight wasn’t done introducing him yet, and so their lines ended up mashing together making it unclear what the other had to say.

The umpire claps her hands together in an apology and grimaces as All Might’s smile falters for a moment. “Ruined that, didn’t I…?” 

“ **TCH.** ”

Midnight tries to save face by moving on. “So, now that you’re here, All Might, why don’t you start the presentation?” She presents the medals, signaling for them to start.

The crowd cheers once again as All Might takes a medal and approaches the third place winner. He makes sure to stand tall in front of these future heroes as he holds up each medal. “ **YOUNG TODOROKI. CONGRATULATIONS.** ”

Shoto silently bows forward allowing All Might the privilege of placing the medal around his neck.

“ **YOU SHOWED GREAT SKILL OUT THERE TODAY. AND I’M GLAD TO SEE YOU OPENING UP TO BOTH SIDES OF YOUR QUIRK. WELL DONE.** ”

Shoto’s gaze falls, not in dejection, but in thought. He then looks up towards the other two competitors, the ones who earned their right to be up there. “They opened my eyes. Especially Midoriya during our match.” If he wants to be a hero, a real hero, then he can’t use such petty excuses to hold himself back. Otherwise he can’t really call himself a hero can he? “I want to be the kind of hero you are, but my path isn’t as clear as I thought it was. I have a lot to think about.” His gaze finally meets the pro hero’s. “And I still need to settle things with someone, very soon.”

All Might nods in understanding. “ **I’VE NEVER SEEN THIS SORT OF LOOK ON YOUR FACE BEFORE.** ” He gently embraces the young man in congratulations. “ **I WON’T ASK FOR DETAILS, BUT TRUST YOURSELF. I’M SURE YOU’LL WORK THINGS OUT.** ”

“Right.”

With nothing else to say All Might releases the young man and steps across the podium until he stands before another young man, a young man he himself didn’t expect to see here a year ago. And now…now he must confront that mistake. 

“ **YOUNG MIDORIYA.** ” He speaks calmly as he grips the second place medal. “ **CONGRATULATIONS.** ”

For a moment Izuku looks excited like it’s a big honor to receive a medal from All Might but it quickly washes away and he remains bitterly silent as the Number One Hero awards him his medal.

Once it’s around his neck, Izuku stands straight up and gives a curt nod, hoping for All Might to move on.

But he doesn’t.

“ **YOUNG MIDORIYA.** ”

Izuku hesitantly gazes up at the pro hero, barely meeting his piercing blue eyes.

All Might leans in and like with Shoto he gently embraces the young man. “ **I’D…LIKE TO APOLOGIZE…TO YOU FOR WHAT…I SAID ALL THOSE MONTHS AGO.** ”

Izuku gasps softly in surprise, he didn’t actually think All Might remembered that day. He figured he was just a lost memory especially after all this time. “Oh, um…it’s water under the bridge…All Might.” He doesn't sound too convinced.

“ **NO, IT’S NOT.** ” All Might grabs the boy by the shoulders and makes sure to look him right in the eye with the respect he deserves. “ **YOUNG MIDORIYA, I FAILED YOU THAT DAY. I FAILED TO SEE THE POTENTIAL IN YOU AND FOR THAT I DARE SAY I FAILED AS A HERO AND AS THE SYMBOL OF PEACE.** ”

“All Might…”

“ **I TOLD MYSELF THAT I ONLY SAID THOSE THINGS TO KEEP YOU SAFE.** ” His smile falters neary frowning. “ **BUT EVEN IF THAT WAS MY INTENTION, I SHOULD HAVE BEEN FAR MORE SYMPATHETIC AND TRIED TO ENCOURAGE YOU.** ” He holds his hand towards his heart as if to make a pledge. “ **NOW AS YOUR TEACHER I HAVE EVEN MORE OF AN OBLIGATION TO SEE TO IT THAT I CAN GIVE YOU MY FULL SUPPORT. AND I HOPE YOU’LL GIVE ME THAT CHANCE.** ”

“All Might…” Izuku’s voice falls away and his eyes fall back toward shis red shoes, his green hair casting a shadow over his eyes. “I…never hated you for what you said…not once.”

All Might, is actually a bit relieved to hear that, but he can hear the sadness in the boy’s voice.

“Truth is you were far from the worst person to tell me that I couldn’t become a hero. If anything you were just…the one that hurt the most,”

“ **YOUNG MIDORIYA-** ”

“But I can’t lie about my feelings.” Izuku shakes his head, clutching his fist as if disappointed in himself for feeling the way he does. “I’m sorry, even though I know you weren’t trying to hurt me, I can’t stop my heart from aching everytime I think about what you said. So, I’m not sure if I can actually forgive you yet.”

“ **I’M-** ” 

“But then again…I’m not really the same person that I was back then.” Izuku’s emerald eyes peer up into the pair of sapphires above him. “Am I All Might?”

**_‘NO, HE ISN’T. HE’S NOT THE SAME.’_** This boy walks with a purpose now, he’s driven and it most certainly shows. “ **NO, YOU’RE NOT.** ”

Izuku smiles, genuinely smiles. “You said I need to set realistic expectations for myself, well All Might.” The greenette gazes down at the shiny alien device on his wrist. “That’s what I’m doing.” With a sudden burst of energy he aims his left fit up into the sky and points upward.“I’m aiming for the stars!! Because now I know…” He gives a beaming grin, a grin that could even rival All Might’s one day. “that I can be a hero.”

The Number One HEros own grin widens with joy. “ **YES, YOU WILL BECOME A HERO.** **AND ONE OF THE BEST, I’M SURE.** ”

Izuku nods, grateful for finally hearing those words. “Thanks.” A few small tears leak from the corners of his eyes.

All Might steps aside as he does his mind recalls all of his previous concerns surrounding the boy. **_‘YOUNG MIDORIYA, YOU HAVE A HEROIC SPIRIT BUT I FEAR HOW YOU CAME ACROSS YOUR POWER IN THE FIRST PLACE. AND I TRULY HOPE THAT IF THE TIME COMES, YOU’LL RELY ON ME FOR HELP.’_**

The pro hero and teacher stands tall in front of the first place winner. “ **AND NOW FOR OUR CHAMPION.** ”

Ochaco beams up with the biggest smiles he’s ever seen her adorn, her eyes twinkling with child-like excitement and possibly One For All, too. The rush of excitement she feels is preventing her from speaking, if she tries she’ll only choke on her own words. She looks ready to burst from pure joy and is trying her best to be composed especially in front of so many cameras and people.

All Might grips the golden medal in his hands and grins down at her. “ **WORDS CANNOT EXPRESS THE PRIDE AND JOY OF SEEING YOU STAND BEFORE THE WORLD TODAY. IT GIVES ME GREAT HOPE FOR THE FUTURE, KNOWING YOU WILL CARRY ON THE WORK OF THOSE BEFORE YOU.** ”

To those nearby it sounds like All Might is talking about how new heroes will join the fight against crime, but for Ochaco she understands; she understands that All Might is proud of her and sees her as a worthy successor to carry on the torch that is One For All.

“ **YOUNG URARAKA, PLEASE TAKE THIS.** ” He holds up the medal. “ **AND LET IT BE A REMINDER OF NOT ONLY WHAT YOU ACCOMPLISHED TODAY, BUT AS A SIGN. A SIGN OF THE CHALLENGES THAT YOU’LL NO DOUBT BREAK THROUGH IN THE FUTURE.** ”

Ochaco gleaming eyes and a beaming smile that’s threatening to break into a grin, Ochaco happily leans forward allowing her mentor to bestow her the first place medal.

As All Might lets go of the medal, the audience cheer and applaud in respect of these fine hero course students.

All Might turns his attention towards the rest of the student body as he gestures pridefully towards the cream of the crop. “ **HERE THEY ARE! THE WINNERS OF THIS YEAR’S SPORTS FESTIVAL! BUT LISTEN CLOSELY.** ”

The students, especially those in the hero course, stand at attention, knowing that whatever All Might has to say will be important.

“ **ANY OF YOU FIRST YEARS COULD HAVE ENDED UP STANDING ON THESE PODIUMS.** ”

Izuku, even though he came in second place, makes sure to hold onto every word All Might says.

“ **THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU’VE DONE TODAY. YOU’VE CHALLENGED EACH OTHER, LEARNED, AND CLIMBED EVEN CLOSER TOWARD YOUR GOALS OF BEING PROS.** ” Yes, he feels confident in saying that. “ **I THINK THE NEXT GENERATION OF HEROES IS PROVING TO BE OUR MOST PROMISING ONE YET!** ” He throws his hand into the air, his index finger pointing straight up to the heavens. “ **SO I HAVE ONE MORE THING TO SAY!!** ”

He becomes more excited as he tries to get the crowd involved. “ **I WANT TO HEAR EVERYONE YELL IS WITH ME! YOU KNOW WHAT IT IS!** ”

All together the entire audience shouts out in unison. “PLUS ULTRA!!/ **THANKS, EVERYONE, FOR YOUR HARD WORK!** ”

A harsh pause washes over the stadium, and then the entire crowd boos and groans at All Might for dropping the ball.

Even the students lash out at him in perfect synchronization. “WHAT?! That was the perfect time to say “Plus Ultra,” All Might!!”

“ **WELL, YEAH, I GUESS, BUT EVERYONE DID SUCH A GOOD JOB…!** ” 

Izuku sheepishly chuckles from the podium. “Oh, wow, All Might…was that really on purpose?” 

Shoto glances over at him. “Maybe he was trying to be funny.”

While the crowd complains about All Might’s lack of timing, Ochaco just continues to bathe in her joy. The happiness around her is so bright one could swear her entire body was glowing from under a star’s light.

Present Mic’s voice booms over the loudspeakers one last time. “ **And there you have it folks! Our winners of our first-year Sports Festival are Katsuki Bakugou, Shoto Todoroki, Izuku Midoriya, and of course our champion, Ochaco Uraraka!** ”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“ **These future heroes are a true force to be reckoned with, I’d be surprised if there’s anything that can really stand up to them!** ”

A hulking mass glares at the holographic screen displayed within his healing pod. The commander glares intensely at the three winners, especially the boy in second place.

The commander growls as he observes his command ship’s deck. Most of the haul has been repaired but it means nothing if he cannot make a move. His own repairing body may be near completion but it will still take some time, plus he needs time to regain his strength as well. But for now he intends to listen and watch. Fortunately for the commander, he had the foresight to hack into this planet’s global interspace, which wasn’t too difficult at all. If anything it was a surprise for the commander that these apes even had developed such technology.

And now they’re very invention will allow him the access he needs to study this planet, and even keeps tabs on the Omnitrix and its unworthy wielder.

The commander’s glare hardens. “To use such a powerful device for entertainment…these earthlings…truly are a backwards and primitive lot.”

But then again, he did just witness the power these primitive beings possess. It’s almost terrifying to think that there could be someone down there that can even match his own strength… The thought nearly makes him chuckle. But still he better remain on the side of caution, if humans become aware of his existence there’s no telling how they may react. Not to mention the Plumbers; he’s already breaking laws for being in the same galaxy as Earth. If they discover him here then it may just mean war, a war that will undoubtedly slow down his ambitions.

_‘I must remain ever so patient, the time for me to take action will come.’_ He eyes the frozen image and zooms in on Izuku Midoriya. _‘But the Omnitrix does not belong in the hands of a human larvae!’_

He turns to the nearest drone. “You!”

The droid quickly stands at attention before his master. “Yes, master?”

“Contact the Guild, immediately!”

“Yes, master.” The droid marches off for the nearest terminal, obeying his master’s command without question.

The commander turns back to the image of his prey. _‘Soon, Izuku Midoriya you will be nothing but a squashed bug underneath my foot.’_ The commander chuckles minacelly to himself as a news bulletin pops up on his display.

The display reads “ _Ingenium Attacked: Hero Killer Still At Large._ ”

The commander becomes silent as the news grabs his attention. Looks like he has something else to study.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that was Ch.28! I know it was a long wait and I sure hope it was worth it for you all. If not then I do apologize. Hopefully I can make it up to you by being on time for the next chapter which I hope to be done with within the next two weeks. Hopefully. Please comment and let me know what you liked, didn’t like, and felt about this chapter. I’d love to hear from you.
> 
> *So why did I have Ochaco Uraraka win instead of Izuku Midoriya? Well the truth is that I was trying to think long term. I want it to be clear that even though Izuku has the Omnitrix, which is arguably more powerful than One For All, I want to firmly establish that Izuku can still lose even when using it. Why? Because if Izuku can lose at the Sports Festival then that means he can also lose against villains…powerful villains…powerful killer villains. In other words, I’m trying to create a bit more tension for future fights and chapters. Plus if Izuku won all the time then he’d get a really fat head and inflated ego like another Omnitrix wielder we know and love.
> 
> *BTW quick shout out to one of my editors for that “My cabbages!!” line! It was genius and I wish I had thought of it sooner.


	30. The Meaning Behind a Name

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Class 1-A prepare themselves for their Internships by coming up with their very own codenames.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, so a quick announcement about this chapter. For full disclosure this chapter isn’t much it’s just a transition chapter to get us to the start of the Internship Arc so there’s not really much here except for some small scenes here and there.
> 
> *I want to thank “Drag0n5on” for writing up and sending me an Opening Theme for this story. Which you can read down below and I will add it in to some of the earlier chapters involving the Sports Festival. Thanks again Drag0n5on, you rock and so does your Opening Theme!

**_ **********(Opening Theme)********** _ **

_*Lyric_

*Scene 

_Oh, woah, ohh Oh, woah, ohh Oh, woah, ohh ohh_

Izuku slowly walks up a stage as he fades between his alien forms. Below him students look up in anticipation as the crowd cheers.

_Instrumental_

Izuku makes it to the top of the stage and looks down at his fellow students who look back up at him challengingly.

_Itsuka bokura no ue o suresure ni toorisugiteitta ano hikouki o_

Izuku flys through the sky on his hoverboard with a smile before running into turbulence and slipping off it

_Fushigi na kurai ni oboeteru imi mo nai no ni naze ka_

The teenager ends up crashing through a familiar building. A moment later he runs out as Mr. Baumann chases after him with a broom. Inside the store Nezu and Thirteen laugh as they watch the events unfold.

_Fugainakute naita hi no yoru ni tada tsuyokunaritai to negatteta_

Izuku walks towards class as he's joined by Ochaco and all his friends. They pass by other students such as Hitoshi, Mei, and the 1-B students and a few megawatts as they continue walking.

_Sono tame ni hitsuyou na yuuki o sagashimotometeita_

Izuku slows down to see Todoroki standing in front of him with a serious expression. Behind him Endeavor glares.

_Zankoku na unmei ga sadamatteru to s***_

Ochaco meditates as she allows One For All to flow around her as Toshinori looks on. Suddenly Toshinori turns around to look at Izuku in his middle school uniform on the roof.

_Sore ga itsu no hi ka boku no mae ni arawareru to s***_

Behind Izuku the shadows of his tormentors including Katsuki appear before fading, leaving just Henzu who gives a mock salute.

_Tada isshun_

Izuku and Henzu are seen laughing together at something.

_kono isshun_

The two are now standing back to back, Izuku looks sad while Henzu looks angry.

_iki ga dekiru nara_

Izuku turns to reach out to Henzu who walks away and slowly turns into his mutated form.

_Dou demo ii to Omoeta_

Izuku a single tear comes down his face before opening his eyes revealing back on the stage as the other students look up at him.

_sono kokoro o Instrumental_

Slowly a smile appears on his face as the other students give him challenging looks. He returns the challenge by holding his hand out in a 'come and get me' motion

_Mou ichido tooku e ike tooku e ike to boku no naka de dare ka ga utau_

Izuku runs across the field ducking and dodging other students as they let loose their quirks, such as Mei gliding by in support gear, Shiozaki creating multiple vines, Kendo shattering the ground with her hands and Shinso walking through it all with a cool expression.

_Dou shiyou mo nai hodo netsuretsu ni_

Ochaco grins as she roars out, all around her gravity begins to distort. Behind her the shadows of the previous wielders appear.

_Itsudatte_

_me o harashita kimi ga nido to kanashimanai you ni waraeru_

Heatblast destroys an oncoming glacier, XLR8 races against a certain speedster, Four Arms fights off Dark Shadow, Diamondhead dodges multiple falling rocks only to be consumed in a powerful explosion.

_Sonna hiiroo ni naru tame no uta_

Izuku runs out of the fire with a determined expression as he runs at all his waiting opponents.

_Saraba kakagero Peace Sign_

All across the universe multiple aliens look on their screens at the sports festival

_Korogatteiku sutoorii o_

Izuku grins as he holds the Omnitrix up.

_Instrumental_

The scene fades out to reveal Izuku in his Hero costume along with the 1-A students as they all head out into battle.

[Illustrated by **Drag0n5on** ]

**_ **********(End Theme)********** _ **

After the Sports Festival was over, the entire student body was allowed a few days off to relax and recover. Amongst the competitors there were celebrations and even tears, but most just took advantage of having no school or homework for the next few days. But the rest and relaxation are over, now the students must once again return to class.

Which is what Izuku Midoriya is trying to do. He’s having a bit of a slow morning, somehow in the span of two days he really got used to sleeping in and now he’s paying for it, his body feeling like it should still be lying in bed. It also doesn’t help that the train seems even more crowded than usual that morning. He can’t even sit down to rest, he’s wedge in between several strangers who are either heading off for work or school themselves. The only thing keeping him awake right now is scrolling through his phone for any new updates on heroes; there’s not a lot just more articles talking about the Sports Festival.

Izuku yawns, his eyes becoming dangerously close to not opening again as drowsiness keeps his hold over him.

“Hey you. Excuse me.” A hushed voice calls out from within the crowded train car. “You’re Midoriya from Class 1-A!”

Izuku’s eyes pop with a jolt as he turns to find a friendly looking businessman smiling at him.

“Great job in the Sports Festival.” The man winks and gives the young man a big thumbs up. “I rooted for you!”

Izuku snaps awake and so does everyone else. Literally every person within the train car turns their attention to the startled greenette, calling out to him all at once with excitement and awe.

“Woah! You came in second, didn’t you?!”

“That’s so impressive!”

“Your Quirk is literally god-level stuff!”

“Can I have your number?”

“I can tell you really wanna be a pro one day!”

The goofy grin on Izuku’s face is nothing but a mask to hide the panic he’s feeling right now, god he’ll never get used to the spotlight. Maybe Mr. Aizawa was onto something with being an underground hero?

With well-wishes the entire train car cheers. “Keep trying for it, hero!!”

Izuku’s brain can only process a small response. “I will. T-thanks!”

Thankfully he doesn’t have to wait too much longer for his stop, freeing him from his captive audience and making a mad dash for it before he breaks down under all of the attention. Luckily it doesn’t seem like anyone followed him, probably due to the heavy downpour that they’re experiencing. The storm’s been raging since early that morning and it doesn’t seem like it’s going to let up anytime soon. So grabbing his umbrella Izuku heads off for school, which should be less than a ten-minute walk away.

Even if it’s a relatively short walk it still takes Izuku some time to get even close to the school, taking his time as his drowsiness lingers. “I feel like I’m barely awake.”

“Hey Deku!”

“Huh?” Izuku spins around and just in time to see his good friend. “Oh, Uraraka!”

Yup, it’s Ochaco Uraraka looking as lively and bubbly as ever, her pink colored umbrella keeping her dry from the rain.

Izuku smiles as she runs to meet him. “Tell me how’s the Sports Festival Champion doing this fine morning?”

Ochaco’s entire sprinting body freezes up like someone used a pause button on her. And then that same person presses the play button, Ochaco breaks down with her face blushing to a bright pink making her face look like a tomato. She drops her umbrella as she desperately tries to cover her face but it’s for not. Her face is burning so much that when the rain lands on her head, steam radiates off of it as the water evaporates. 

Izuku is more than shocked by her reaction. “What?! Are you okay?!”

Ochaco exhales, calming herself down and picking back up her umbrella. “Y-yeah, s-sorry.” She grips her hair, wringing it out to drain out the water. “It’s just my parents showered me with so much attention over the last few days. I even got to go back home to Endori…” Her red face returns accompanied by a goofy-shy grin. “And my neighbors and even my old classmates came by to congratulate me, huh!” It was nice at first, but it got really embarrassing as everyone started chanting her name and asked her to demonstrate her Quirk. “And it was the same for my ride here!!” She actually had to push and shove her way out of the train before the excited crowd trapped her there and make her miss the school.

Izuku sweat drops. “I…can understand.” 

“Good morning, Uraraka, Midoriya!”

“Ah! Whoa, Iida?!” Both Izuku and Ochaco spot Tenya Iida sprinting towards them. “You really went all out with the rain gear.”

He sure did, Iida’s all bundled up in a large raincoat, good thing too because an umbrella wouldn’t be doing a thing since he thinks he needs to be in a full sprint towards the school. “Why on Earth are you two walking so slowly?” He dashes right past them. “You’ll both be late!”

Izuku chases after him. “Late? But…”

Ochaco who nearly slips when she runs through a puddle, catches up to them. “There’s still five minutes until the first bell.” 

Iida continues to sprint his arms swinging back and forth. “U.A. students should always arrive ten minutes early, don’t you think?” He goes even faster leaving them far behind. 

“Uh…” The duo slows down as they pass U.A.’s main gate, watching their Class President zip away into the building.

They share a questioning look between each other, something seems off. But not wanting to be standing in the rain, they quickly make their way inside.

Once inside they quickly find Iida removing his raincoat and folding it up to store in his locker. Ochaco immediately tries to dry herself off with some paper towels as Izuku shakes off his umbrella.

Izuku watches Iida store away his coat and figures now maybe the best time to talk to him. “So, Iida. Um-”

“If it’s about my brother, don’t be concerned.” Iida flashes the two of them a firm smile as if to show that he truly is fine. “I’m sorry if I made you worry. Everything’ll be fine.”

Ochaco frowns, her brows furrowing with concern. “A-are you…sure?”

They don’t notice it but for a split second there was some hesitation in Iida’s voice. “Yes.” He does not sound convincing. “Also congrats on making it so high in the rankings.” He turns to face them directly. “I’m sure it was a sight to behold.”

And just like that he’s off once again, moving at a fast pace as he strides for their classroom leaving behind a very confused Izuku and Ochaco.

Izuku and Ochaco are left to watch him off once again, both unsure about what to do. They both share looks of concern but they also don’t want to be a bother after what happened…

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“It’s so weird that people recognize us from TV.” A grinning Mina Ashido is happily telling her classmates all about her days off, especially how many times she got stopped by people who saw her and her classmates during the Sports Festival. “Everyone wanted to talk to me on my way here.”

“Yeah, me too!” adds in Eijirou Kirishima with a bright shark-toothed grin. 

“People on the street were staring at me!” chimes in Tooru Hagakure. “It was kind of embarrassing.”

From his desk Mashirao Ojiro sheepishly smiles up at her. “Sure, but isn’t that pretty normal for you?”

Denki Kaminari smiles widely as he chats with Mineta, Jiro, and Yaoyorozu. “All it took was one Sports Festival and suddenly we’re like celebrities.”

Minoru Mineta can’t help but agree. “This school really is amazing.”

Izuku and Ochaco walk in just to hear them all chatting away, the closing of the door instantly catches everyone’s attention.

“Well, well, well. Look at you too.” Mina grin as the two of them approach their desks. “Walking in here all high and mighty.”

“What us?” Ochaco coyly faux innocence. 

Hagakure quickly joins the conversation. “Well, why not? You two came in the top three.” 

“Top three?” Questions a snarky Denki Kaminari. “Uraraka freaking won the whole damn thing!”

Ochaco smiles, finding all the praise to be somewhat embarrassing. 

Momo Yaoyorozu approaches the two of them along with Kyoka Jiro. “Congratulations, you two. Your victories were well earned.”

Jiro nods in agreement. “Yeah, you guys were totally amazing out there.”

Ochaco beams up at the two of them. “Thanks.”

Izuku tries his best to respond, but it’s clear that he is not used to being in such a positive light. “Uh, uh, y-yeah.”

“Don’t be shy, Midoriya!” Kaminari slings his arm around the shy boy's shoulders. “Liven up! Show off a bit! Brag!” He then leans in and whispers. “I bet you got all sorts of ladies after ya now huh?”

Izuku’s brain literally short circuits. “Uh, uh, uh, uh…”

Tsuyu Asui takes note of his exhausted expression. “I think his brain is fried.”

“Ha ha ha!” The group laughs together as Izuku tries and fails to compose himself.

Izuku sheepishly holds his head, like a turtle tucking its head into its shell.

As the others continue to talk about the Sports Festival, Izuku’s eyes wander the classroom. He spots Shoto Todoroki in his seat, the two lock eyes and Shoto respectfully gives a curt nod in greeting, which Izuku is kind enough to mirror.

His eyes wander a bit further and they land on one Katsuki Bakugou. But not the normal Katsuki Bakugou that he’s come to know over the years, instead this Bakugou is…sulking? He’s slouched over in his seat, ignoring all the commotion round him with a far off look in his eyes. 

_‘Bak…Kacchan?’_

Without warning the classroom door swings open accompanied by a drawl greeting from their homeroom teacher. “Morning.”

All of Class 1-A instantly rush to their seats. “Good morning, Mr. Aizawa!”

The students finally get a good look at their teacher as he strides across the front of the classroom. His bandages are all gone, his arms are free of their casts, and he seems to be walking around just fine.

But…Izuku can’t help but feel a bit somber about the new scar underneath Shota Aizawa’s right eye. It must have been a result of his…fight with the Nomu back at the U.S.J. Izuku shivers in his seat as his memory plays the gruesome scene of the Nomu crushing Eraserhead’s arms and head.

“Kero? Mr. Aizawa, you don’t have bandages anymore.” Leave it to Tsuyu to be so direct. “That’s good news.”

Aizawa scratches at his left cheek, the cheek opposite of his new battle scar. “The old lady went a little overboard in her treatment.”

Ochaco’s not sure if that’s funny or disturbing. _‘Did he…want to stay as a mummy?’_

“Anyway.” Aizawa closes his eyes as if preparing to make a major announcement. “We have a big class today on Hero Informatics.”

As soon as the words leave his mouth a rush of dread fills the students. _‘Oh, no.’_

 _‘Informatics?!’_ Kaminari is paralyzed in his seat. _‘Please don’t tell me it’s a pop quiz!’_

Kirishima’s lost his usual toothy grin. _‘Crap, I bet it’s about hero laws. I’m so bad at stuff like that.’_

Aizawa almost wants to sneer at the sight of his petrified students, but it’s too early in the morning for drama so he might as well alleviate their worries. “You need codenames. Time to pick you hero identities.”

Almost the entire class burst into a fit of cheers. “This is gonna be totally awesome!!”

Aizawa’s eyes flash dangerously red as his hair flares up like black flames from the pits of hell itself.

“Shh…” The class settles down in a second acting like nothing was even said or done.

Aizawa honestly should have seen that reaction coming. Even so these brats need to learn some professionalism, so he won’t bother hiding the irritation in his voice. “This is related to the pro hero draft picks that I mentioned the last time we were in class together.”

Oh, yeah. That was so long ago some of them have actually forgotten.

“Normally, students don’t have to worry about the draft yet. Not until their second or third year actually, but your class is different.” For reasons that Aizawa rather not bring back up. “In fact, by extending offers to first years like you, pros are essentially investing in your potential. Any offers can be rescinded if their interest in you dies down before graduation, though.”

Mineta’s fist bounces off his desk. “Stupid, selfish adults.”

Hagakure leans forward in her seat. “So, what you’re saying is, we’ll still have to prove ourselves after we’ve gotten recruited.”

“Correct.” responds the tired pro hero.  
Basically any of these offers can be terminated at any time. They’ve had internships where the students were only present for a few hours. Heck, Aizawa has even heard of cases where a student’s whole hero career ended before it even began because an agency wouldn’t take them for long. So, it’s important that they all take this with extreme importance and seriousness. If anything they need to work twice as hard just to keep their internships.

“Now.” Aizawa turns and holds a remote towards the blackboard. “Here are the totals for those of you who got offers.”

On the blackboard a projection of those who've gained offers and how many they received already pop onto the screen.

  1. Midoriya: 3556
  2. Todoroki: 2739
  3. Uraraka : 2244
  4. Bakugou: 1209
  5. Tokoyami: 301
  6. Iida: 272
  7. Asui: 108
  8. Yaoyorozu: 77
  9. Kirishima: 68
  10. Mina: 20
  11. Jiro: 14
  12. Kaminari: 11



Aizawa steps aside so his class could see the results. “In past years, it's been more spread out. But there’s a pretty big gap this time.”

Kaminari gasps as he falls back in his seat after he scans the list. “Gah! That’s not fair…” He’s only got 11! That’s nothing compared to some of the others.

Yuga Aoyama is fuming mad, if one can tell from his usual smug smile. “What about the real star? Moi?”

Jiro eyes the list with mild curiosity. “Midoriya got the most, ahead of Todoroki and Uraraka?”

Kirishima frowns. “Huh? Yeah it’s completely different from how they placed in the festival.”

Tsuyu cups her chin. “Well it's not really a surprise though.”

“Well, duh.” Jiro turns in his seat. “I mean imagine getting a sidekick that can take on any kind of villain. Of course they’d all want a piece of him.”

“It’s sort-of unfair.” groans Kaminari, he throws his head back towards Izuku. “Your Quirk is so overpowered and flashy.”

Ojiro full heartedly agrees. “I know right.”

Izuku smiles with mild embarrassment as he grips the Omnitrix. _‘You’d be surprised…’_

As the class continues to talk about the results, Bakugou silently clenches his fists as he tries and fails to hold back his ever-growing anger and frustration. _‘They all…got more than me…’_

Yaoyorozu sighs at the sight of her offers, it’s so low…

She smiles softly as she turns to her neighbor. “That’s amazing. You must be proud.”

Shoto, who’s been silent all morning, remains as indifferent as ever. “These offers are probably because of my father.” And that leaves a bit of a bad taste in his mouth.

Meanwhile, there are tears of joy in Ochaco’s eyes as she grabs Iida’s shoulders and shakes him back and forth. She did it! She got so many offers it’s amazing! “People want us!” She giggles as Iida tries to hold his composure despite the harsh thrashing.

Aizawa continues with his explanation. “Despite these results, you’ll all be interning with pros. Got it? Even those of you who didn’t get any offers.”

Sero raises an eyebrow. “So, we’re all interning?”

“Yes.” Aizawa replies. “You already got to experience combat with real villains during the attack on the U.S.J. facility” Fun times… “But it’ll still be helpful to see pros at work. Up close and personal, in the field. Firsthand.”

Rikido Sato grins, throwing his fist up. “And for that, we need hero names!”

A smiling Ochaco swings her arm up too. “Things are suddenly getting a lot more fun!”

The pro hero is almost tempted to call them out for interrupting but that’ll only slow things down. “These hero names will likely be temporary, but take them seriously or-”

The door swings open, slamming out of the way. “You’ll have hell to pay later!”

Everyone, mostly the boys gasp with pleasant surprise when they see who it is that’s entered their classroom.

The new arrival struts to the front of the class; she has both her hands over her head, and she walks with a swing of her hips flaunting everything in her skintight suit. “What you pick today could be your codename for life. You better be careful, or you’ll be stuck with something utterly indecent.”

“It’s Midnight!!”

Aizawa sighs, tired of the conversation already as his coworker, Midnight, joins him at the podium. “Yeah. She’s got a good point. Midnight is going to have final approval over your names.” Aizawa bends down grabbing his yellow sleeping bag. “It’s not my forte.”

##########(Flashback)#########

A much younger Hizashi Yamada, or Present Mic, turns to his classmate. “Hm? So you haven’t decided on a codename yet?”

A much younger, but still as dreary, Shota Aizawa can’t even bother to look at his friend. “It doesn’t matter what I choose. I don’t wanna be in the spotlight anyway.”

“Bro. I got it!” Yamada grins and shoots out of his seat as inspiration strikes. “How about-”

A third voice cuts in. “-How about Eraserhead?”

Yamada’s grin falls, having his thunder stolen, while Aizawa’s red eyes drift over to his right to the other self-declared friend in his life.

Their friend is a tall boy of average stature with light blue, wavy hair that’s swept back to flow upwards above his head. He bears an excited tooth-bearing grin and his blue eyes gleam with anticipation as he awaits Aizawa’s response.

“So, how about it?” There’s definitely an air of cheeriness and positivity radiating off of him, but thankfully for Aizawa he is immune to such a disease.

Aizawa considers the name before turning back to his desk showing no interest whatsoever “Sure, whatever.”

“It’s perfect!” shouts Yamada.

Aizawa clasps his ears. “Stop shouting…”

Their friend grins at his friends, appreciating their company. “Ha ha ha!” 

########(End Flashback)#######

And back in the present, the much older and somehow more sympathetic Aizawa continues on with his explanation. “The name you give yourself is important. It helps reinforce your image and shows what kind of hero you wanna be in the future. A codename tells people exactly what you represent. Take “All Might” for example.”

Both Izuku and Ochaco go rigid in their seats as they consider Aizawa’s words. ‘ _All Might…’_

Before they can even think, a crack of Midnight’s whip snaps everyone awake and at attention. “Hold it, I know your youthfulness is urging you all to come up with delectable names. But I have something else in mind that will sedate your youthful urges!”

Aizawa eyes his coworker suspiciously, mainly because whatever she’s got planned is going to cut into his nap time.

Midnight smiles at the class as she grabs a box from seemingly nowhere. The box is white with green stripes with a single hole on top.

Midnight smirks at the sight of the students’ bewildered expressions. “Each of you will write down a suggested codename for each of your classmates and place them in the box. We’ll call each other by whatever codename I draw out.” The only drawback is that they’ll have to do about twenty different drawings.

Okay, Aizawa really wasn’t expecting this. “Where’d you get this childish idea?”

Midnight’s eyes light up like stars. “From a Shonen Jump of all places!”

Aizawa lets out a deep sigh. “Of course…”

The frog girl of Class 1-A raises her hand. “Um? Ms. Midnight?”

Midnight smiles down at the girl. “Yes.”

“Um, why are we doing this?”

“Good question. This exercise will help demonstrate the importance of choosing a proper name and the ramifications of creating a name with poor taste.” She smirks as she hands each of the students twenty slips of paper. “Also we’ll be conducting an exercise to help this lesson sink in.”

Kaminari grips his patch of papers. “This could be fun!”

Mina looks far too happy about this. “Yeah!” 

Sero grins as he starts writing suggestions down. “I’m writing down the first thing that pops in my head.”

Sitting nearby, Jiro chuckles to herself as she writes down her own fake codenames. Her eyes drifting over to Kaminari.

“Also, I should mention this.” Everyone stares back up at Midnight whose smirk becomes dark and conniving. “For the rest of the day real names are forbidden!”

That was the last thing Class 1-A expected to hear. “WHAT!?!”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Jimmy John’s Delivery. Come in, Jimmy John’s Delivery.” Ojiro peeks out from the bush he decided would make for a good ambush. “Can we confirm that the target’s on the move?”

Jimmy John's Delivery’s (Iida) voice echoes out through his intercom. “Sorry, Monkey Man, that’d be a negative. Eraserhead is still hiding out there somewhere in the trees.”

After receiving their temporary codenames, Class 1-A was taken out for a quick exercise in teamwork and communication. Their mission is to communicate between each other to capture their own homeroom teacher, Eraserhead.

The point of the exercise? To work on their team building skills and communications skills. Especially before they each head off for different agencies that rely on such tactics.

Jimmy John’s Delivery (Iida) peers out from behind the tree he’s been hiding behind, his armor is far too obvious in this environment. “Doc Oc, Beats are either of you reading anything?”

A fair distance away Doc Oc (Shoji) scans the forest with various noses, ears, and eyes. “No, sorry Jimmy John’s Delivery.”

“Wait, I got something!” shouts Beats (Jiro), her Earphone Jack embedded into the ground. “Pikachu, he's heading your way!”

A fair distance away, amongst the trees and shrubs, Pikachu (Kaminari) gripes as Beats (Jiro) calls him out by that stupid nickname. “All right…” He grips his fist and grins wickedly. “Let’s do this!”

Before he can even process it, something whizzes past him and Aoyama making them both gasp with shock as they turn around and find their target running away.

Eraserhead sprints away, perfectly at home amongst the uneven terrain. “Congratulations. You let your target slip away from the scene. Shape up, Pikachu!”

Pikachu (Kaminari) growls in frustration.

Aoyama steps forward aiming his belly outward, his cape billowing behind him. “Not to worry, monsieur. He can’t escape my shining grace.”

“Wait, Croissant!”

Too late, Croissant (Aoyama) fires off a massive beam of energy but Eraserhead was ready. He simply shifts to the side and turns away using the trees as cover while the Naval Laser pierces the earth and vegetation.

Pikachu (Kaminari) snarls. “We’re not letting you get away!” Pikachu (Kaminari) shouts into his intercom. “SpoderMan! Chowder! Easy Bake Oven! He’s headed your way!”

Eraserhead glides through the trees, moving like a graceful fox, expertly evading the hunters. With his speed he quickly hops down into a little makeshift trail.

The moment he steps out of the brush, three of his own students, deck out in their hero costumes, leap out from different directions.

Easy Bake Oven (Yaoyorozu) leaps out first. “Apologies, Mr. Aizawa, but we have a goal!” She throws forward a smoke bomb that fires off right into the pro hero’s face, blocking his vision.

“SpoderMan! Chowder!”

“Yeah! Take this!” SpoderMan (Sero) grins as he fires out dual strands of tape into the smoke.

Chowder (Sato) grabs the tape and rips it away from SpoderMan (Sero) and gives it a good tug ensuring that Eraserhead was pinned. “Now guys!”

Easy Bake Oven (Yaoyorozu) summons a metal bow-staff and rushes into the smoke as SpoderMan (Sero) charges in from the opposite end.

*Clank*

“Gahh!!”

“Oh, my. I’m so sorry! Please forgive me!”

Chowder (Sato) gasps as the tape in his hands falls to the ground, losing all tension.

The smoke clears away to reveal a bowing Easy Bake Oven (Yaoyorozu) and a very hurt SpoderMan (Sero) who’s very glad his helmet protected him from most of the blow.

“What? What happened?” asks a very confused Chowder (Sato).

“You were all overconfident.”

“Huh?!”

The three students look up to the trees and spot their teacher squatting down in a branch above their heads.

Eraserhead’s red eyes gleam through his yellow goggles. “Easy Bake Oven, your little smoke bomb was a double-edge sword. It may have cut off my vision, but it also cut off your own. Providing me with the perfect cover to escape.”

Easy Bake Oven’s (Yaoyorozu) frown strains as her confidence wavers.

“Better luck next time.” And with that Eraserhead disappears in a blink of an eye, like a ninja.

“Wait, where’d he go?” Chowder (Sato) scans the trees for any sign of their target.

“He couldn’t have gotten far!” SpoderMan (Sero) fires off a strand of tape and launches himself forward so he can go search for Eraserhead.

Chowder (Sato) takes off soon after and Easy Bake Oven (Yaoyorozu) is left alone to stew in her failure.

Eraserhead leaps from tree branch to tree branch, so swiftly and smoothly one would think he was flying.

_‘That was honestly a nice attempt, but try as you may, all your efforts will mean nothing if you have nothing to show for it. Learn from these mistakes class or you can’t call yourself a hero worth their salt.’_

As he continues to traverse the canopy, a surprise still manages to leap out from above. “I’ve got you!” Tsuyu throws her arms and legs out alongside her long tongue, completely blocking Eraserhead’s path.

“Tch.” Eraserhead allows himself to fall, avoiding Tsuyu’s reach, rolling across the dirt ground before leaping back up to his feet.

“Rahh!!” Kirishima lunges at Eraserhead as he slides onto his feet.

The pro hero’s eyes flash red and his hair floats upward as Kirishima charges.

Kirishima’s Hardening fades away, but he’s moving too quickly and with his fighting spirit he slams his fist against Eraserhead’s chest. “I hit him!”

“I let you.” Eraserhead’s capture weapon wraps around Kirishima’s wrist binding his arms together.

Tsuyu leaps out from behind. _‘He’s distracted!’_

Rookie mistake, because Eraserhead swings around, pulling Kirishima along with him and using him as a swinging mace, slams him into Tsuyu, knocking both of them into the dirt.

Eraserhead stands tall as his students reel back in pain, his scarf recoiling around his neck. “Ms. Kermit. Tetsutetsu. That was a fine ambush, but overconfidence can sometimes hinder one's efforts.” As if he has a sixth sense, he ducks down just as Mina pounces out from the bushes directly behind him.

Mina’s grin drops as she hits the dirt with the grace of an ox.

“Same can be said for you, Pink Lemonade.” And like before he takes off into the woods, moving so fast that neither of his students could dare to keep up.

And so for the next few moments he continues to race through the trees, looking around he doesn’t find many signs of his students hanging around. That could only mean two things: they are so incapable that they aren’t covering the entire area, or…they’ve finally got something figured out.

As Eraserhead zips away he actually fails to sense that he was being watched.

The master of stealth, Hagakure, whispers into her intercom. “This is Hide N’ Seek, the target is approaching the west.

It’s Izuku’s voice that responds. “Copy that, Hide N’ Seek. Try your best to follow him.”

Hide N’ Seek (Hagakure) sweat drops as Eraserhead quickly disappears out of sight. “That’s…easier said than done.” 

At the same time, Eraserhead really covers some ground even using his scarf to swing from tree to tree. _‘It’s quiet.’_

Within the trees a few sparks pop and then…

*BOOM!!!*

An entire tree canopy is blown to smithereens as Bakugou literally blasts himself out and at Eraserhead. “Die!!”

*BOOM!!!*

A mushroom cloud rises in the air as a result of Bakugou’s ferocious attack.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Pikachu (Kaminari) gaps at the sight of the explosion, thank god they’re far enough away from the blast. “What was that?!”

Beats (Jiro) frowns. “I think that was Mad Pomeranian.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Mad Pomeranian (Bakugou) growls as he remains hunched over like a feral animal that’s going to tear its prey apart. “Fucking losers, giving me this fucking name.”

He scans the newly demolished section of these fucking annoying woods; thanks to his blast he created a large enough crater to give himself some room to play with.

“Sheesh, what with you kids and property damage?”

Mad Pomeranian (Bakugou) snarls as the smoke clears to reveal his unscratched target.

Eraserhead grips his scarf calmly assessing the damage. “You and the others were just as prone to property damage during the Sports Festival, perhaps we need to have a special lesson to prevent it in the future.”

“Shut it! I don’t need to be lectured!” Mad Pomeranian (Bakugou) barks just before he rockets himself forward with a well-executed blast. “I’ll take you down myself!!”

He figures that if he can move fast enough, he should be able to take down the target before he can cancel his Explosion Quirk.

Mad Pomeranian (Bakugou) swings his arm forward as sparks dance in his palm. But like a dying flame the sparks flick away. “My Quirk!” Forget his Quirk what about him, the carbon-metal scarf wraps around his body, binding him in place.

“Don’t act surprised.” Eraserhead’s hair sways with the wind as he glares through his yellow goggles. “You’re well aware of my Quirk by now.”

“Shut up!” Mad Pomeranian (Bakugou) struggles against the tightening binds, his rage and frustration forcing him to resist. “I’m…not weak…I’ll show…everyone what I am!” 

Eraserhead wasn’t expecting such a reaction, he makes a mental note of it for later. “Mad Pomeranian…why is it you want to become a hero?”

“Huh?” Mad Pomeranian (Bakugou) blinks. “To become Number One, obviously.”

Eraserhead considers the response before smirking. “Interesting. I’m afraid you still have a long way to go.”

“Shut the fuck up! You don’t know a thing, loser!”

“And that’s your problem.”

“Huh?” Mad Pomeranian’s (Bakugou) usual scowl drops.

“The way you see those around you, as nuisances, won’t serve you well when you go pro.”

“What the hell do you mean?”

“Look around, where’s your teammates?”

“What? Those losers?! They’re useless, they’ll just get in my way!”

“A shame, have you ever considered that working with your classmates could make you a better hero?”

Mad Pomeranian (Bakugou) actually looks confused. “What…How does that make any sense?” All Might never worked on a team, he took down every single villain by himself, like a true hero. 

Eraserhead sighs, exasperatedly. “You truly do have a long way to go.”

He doesn’t even give the boy a chance to speak before he pulls him in, Eraserhead leaps up and over the bound blonde before kicking him down into the dirt, the scarf unraveling around him as he skids away. The pro hero dives into the brush, moving low and quickly as to escape what he’s going to assume is a fiery outrage.

“Get back here!!” Mad Pomeranian (Bakugou) roars as he shoves himself off the ground, he aims his hands back and with two resounding booms he rockets himself after his prey. With his rage and determination fueling him, he quickly catches up to his target. “Don’t look down on me!”

He swings his hand down but Eraserhead dives to the side and just in time as a burning inferno decimates the brush around them.

“I never look down. All I do is push you down.”

“What does that mean?!” Mad Pomeranian (Bakugou) shouts as he throws his palm forward but there’s no Explosion.

“Because I want to see each of you spring back up.” With his lecture said and done, Eraserhead throws down a smoke pellet and vanishes before the ash-blonde’s eyes.

“Fuck! Where are you!” Mad Pomeranian (Bakugou) frantically scans the trees like a deranged killer, his frustration seeping through with each passing second knowing his target is getting further and further away. _‘Push me down…My attitude? Working with them? What the fuck is he talking about?’_ With an agonizing roar he fires off an Explosion, releasing his anger. “Dammit!!” It seems to have worked as he finally settles down. _‘Why…why can’t I win? I’m supposed to be the best…’_

Meanwhile, Eraserhead glides through the brush and trees, his keen eyes picking up everything around him even as he moves with such incredible agility. _‘Bakugou…you’re strong, smart, and talented. Your grades and performance during the Sports Festival more than prove this. But you’ve been cuddled for far too long. All the worship and praise over the years have sewed their way into your head.’_

He recalls all the times Bakugou’s ignored or degraded his teammates: Battle Training and Sports Festival. ‘ _You believe, to your very core, that there can only be one person standing at the top, that you are the very best, the strongest, Number One… However, in a place like U.A., those mentalities rarely succeed for very long. Because for the first time in your life you have to face the reality…that there are those who are stronger than you.’_

His feet skid across the ground as he swerves and changes directions, hoping to throw anyone off so that maybe following him. _‘When heroes come across a powerful villain or a terrible disaster, it is often impossible to deal with it alone. A hero has to be willing and able to work with those around them, to coordinate, communicate, and cooperate. You never know, often or not you can learn a lot from those around you.’_

Eraserhead grabs a raised tree branch, and somersaults into the air and lands atop the tree canopy, he grips the trunk and takes advantage of his new vantage point to catch his breath and observe the area. _‘You need to figure these things out or-.’_

“Caw!”

Eraserhead jolts before turning ever so slightly to the right there he sees…a crow. No not Tokoyami, just a regular old crow.

The pro hero doesn’t like the look in that thing’s eyes like it’s plotting something diabolical.

Without warning the crow begins to caw as loudly as it can, its wings flapping as if it’s trying to make even more noise. “Caw!! Caw!! Caw!!”

Before the pro hero could even understand the situation an entire flock of birds swoop in and slam into him from behind, throwing him off balance, and forcing him to the ground where he lands on his feet.

If he thought what they did was odd, then what the birds do next is on an entirely different level. The large flock of diverse bird species begin to circle around him making a swirling tornado of feathers and wings that circle around him like a pack of sharks.

Eraserhead prepares himself for battle. “This has Animal Crossing written all over it.”

Sure enough off to the side, hiding behind a tree is the ever so shy Animal Crossing (Koda), quietly directing the flock to keep Eraserhead in place.

Eraserhead eyes the swirling feathers with trepidation, his years of experience telling him that an impending attack is imminent.

“ _Rahh!!_ /Dark Shadow!” The birds fly away as a black mass breaks through the tornado of wings.

“Shit.”

Dark Shadow glides forward and slams its body into the pro hero, shoving the hero backwards. Eraserhead manages to stay on his feet but the blow definitely took a toll on him. “Well done, Ryuk.”

Ryuk (Tokoyami) stands tall, his black cloak billowing in the wind as Dark Shadow coils around him like a serpent. “Thank you, sir. But I’m afraid I have to bring you in now.”

Eraserhead snickers. “Do you really think it’s going to be that simple?”

Ryuk (Tokoyami) stands at the ready. “No.”

“Caw!” The massive flock of birds swoop in right between the two edgelords before circling around the pro hero once again, obscuring his view of the raven-headed student.

Eraserhead takes a defensive stance, gripping his capture weapon. “Darn these rats with wings.”

“ _Ahhh!_ ” Dark Shadow bursts through the blockade of birds and takes a swipe at the surprised Eraserhead.

The hero’s eyes flash red and Dark Shadow retreats from view as the birds quickly close the gap, blocking the hero’s sight from landing on his student.

Eraserhead scans the winged mass warringly. _‘Clever.’_

With Animal Crossing (Koda) providing the perfect cover, Ryuk (Tokoyami) can attack him continuously without fear of having his Quirk completely canceled out. Because by the time the hero can land his eyes on his opponent, Dark Shadow can land a hit first before it can be erased.

“ _Peek-a-boo!_ ” Dark Shadow bursts in from behind, lunging at Eraserhead with its claws outstretched.

Eraserhead performs some expert level acrobatics as he spins up and backwards into the air, allowing the black mass to glide right underneath him. He brings his feet down onto Dark Shadow’s main body and then bursts into a ninja like run, using the shadowy being as a running platform. Eraserhead cuts his way right through the circling tornado of birds, scattering those that were unfortunate to be in his way.

Ryuk’s (Tokoyami) usually calm demeanor drops. “After him Dark Shadow!”

“ _Rig-Ahh!!_ ” Dark Shadow fades out of existence under Eraserhead’s red gaze.

Ryuk (Tokoyami) growls. “Animal Crossing don’t let him escape!”

The massive flock fly up and then dive bomb for Eraserhead who, at the sight of them, takes off for the trees, hoping to scatter the flock within the branches and brush.

And it works, the birds dwindle as they enter the woods, being blocked by thick branches, bushes, and rocks. With all the cover Eraserhead manages to flee the scene heading south and away from both Ryuk (Tokoyami) and Animal Crossing (Koda).

As the birds dissipate, Animal Crossing (Koda) joins Ryuk (Tokoyami) and the reformed Dark Shadow as they gaze southward.

Ryuk (Tokoyami) smirks and turns to Animal Crossing (Koda). “We may have failed, but I think we can still call this a success.”

Meanwhile, Eraserhead travels further south, never slowing down. _‘That…was easy. Too easy.’_ He doesn’t like it; it seems like those two gave up on chasing him far too quickly. _‘Something’s definitely not right.’_

He inhales as he sprints but as he exhales his own breath becomes visible; the sight of which makes his breath hitch.

Almost like magic, the entire forest around him becomes frozen in ice, turning everything into a frozen wasteland from the trees, brush, and ground. But the ice doesn’t just encase everything in frost but continues to crawl and expand across the trees and branches, rising up as giant icicles, trapping Eraserhead in a circular cage of ice and frozen vegetation.

“I’m assuming this is your doing.” Eraserhead glares towards a frozen tree that lies just before the heightened icicle wall.

Shoto strolls out from behind his hiding place. “Mr. Aizawa.”

“Zuko.” Eraserhead stands ready for a fight. “I figured I’d run into you sooner or later.”

Zuko (Shoto) strolls forward a few steps. “We figured that we couldn’t chase you, so instead we opted to have you come to us.”

“We?” The realization hits Eraserhead, his eyes flaring red and his hair flows up. “Ryuk and Animal Crossing…they led me here.”

Zuko (Shoto) can feel his Quirk fading away, even so he’s not that all disturbed by the sensation. “Yeah, just like he planned.”

Eraserhead, keeping his Erasure Quirk activated, raises an eyebrow. “He planned?”

“Like we were told earlier, this exercise is about teamwork and communication.” Zuko (Shoto) peers up at the sky. “And that’s what we’re doing.”

From behind his goggles, Eraserhead risks peering up at the sky, and what he sees makes him doubt his chances of escaping.

Especially as two new competitors come diving down from the sky. “We are here!!”

Four Arms smashes through the frozen canopy, his muscular legs easily catching his weight as he crashes onto the frozen ground. Following along is Ochaco, floating down to the ground at a much more graceful pace.

Eraserhead remains calm despite the circumstances. “Broccoli Boy. Mochi.”

“Hey Mr. Aizawa. Oops! I-I mean Eraserhead.” Mochi (Ochaco) blushes in embarrassment, she meant to call him by his hero name from the start.

“Don’t worry about it.” Four Arms slams his four fists together. “Besides he called me the wrong name, it’s Four Arms not Broccoli Boy.”

“Get over yourself, Broccoli Boy.” chides Zuko (Shoto). “At least your codename makes sense, because I don’t get mine.”

Four Arms spins around and points an accusing finger at Zuko (Shoto). “It’s from Avatar the Last Airbender and you are going to watch it when this is all over!” 

Mochi (Ochaco) frowns with contemplation. _‘I think All Might mentioned that series before.’_

Eraserhead eyes his students with mild annoyance, they should know better than to get distracted before a villain. “So, I’m up against the top three finishers of the Sports Festival. That hardly seems fair…” He smirks. “for you three that is.”

Oh, that’s smart.

Four Arms makes the first move by lunging forward. “Sorry Mr. Aizawa but we have to pass!”

“If you want to pass,” Eraserhead charges straight towards the stampeding behemoth. “then you’re going to have to earn it!”

“Rahh!” Four Arms throws his two right fists forward to greet the hero.

Eraserhead easily sweeps his way past the Tetraman, positioning himself behind the large brute. With his back turned the hero aims his red gaze at the alien’s back hoping to cancel the kid’s Quirk.

“Oh, no you don’t!” Mochi (Ochaco) pounces at the hero, forcing him to turn away from Broccoli Boy (Izuku) before his Erasure Quirk could take effect.

“Thanks, Mochi.” Four Arms sighs and smiles at Mochi (Ochaco). _‘Seriously!! I don’t know how I’d bullshit my way out if Mr. Aizawa used his Quirk on me…’_

Mochi (Ochaco) lunges forward at Eraserhead, her open palm extended out to grab him.

Eraserhead’s red eyes lock onto Mochi (Ochaco) just as her hand lands on his stomach. “Nice try.”

Mochi (Ochaco) gives her teacher a wicked grin just before she grips his shirt and pulls with all her might. “Raaa!!” With her finely trained muscles she manages to toss Eraserhead into the air. “Zuko!”

“I have him.” Zuko (Shoto) quickly follows up by slamming his foot to the ground and a burst of ice sprouts from the ground, aiming right for the launched Eraserhead.

 _‘Clever.’_ Eraserhead flings his capture scarf into the trees and the moment it snags onto a branch he pulls himself away before the icicle could snare him. _‘But not quick enough.’_ He swings to the tree and hops down before racing off for cover.

*Smash!*

*Smash!*

*Smash!*

“Eraserhead!” Four Arms comes crashing through the frozen trees and brush, his iron knuckles smashing through everything in his way like a bulldozer.

The target in question takes off as Four Arms chases after him. The hero swerves in and out between the icicled trees and bushes, but it’s all for not as Four Arms easily crashes through the ice forest.

Four Arms reaches for his target. “I’m not going to give up!”

Eraserhead jumps and throws his feet forward into a tree, he then kicks himself backwards, throwing himself up and over Four Arms. “I know.” His capture scarf unravels and descends down on the still moving behemoth. “And that’s part of being a hero.”

As Eraserhead lands onto the ground the scarf tightens and wraps itself around Four Arms’ head, and before the Tetraman could change directions due to the ice, Eraserhead pulls throwing the giant’s balance off making him slip backwards.

Four Arms crashes onto the ground, unable to see thanks to the scarf, and disoriented from the sudden slam.

“I’ve got your back, Broccoli Boy!” A pink hued Ochaco zips onto the scene, her glowing fist at the ready.

Eraserhead releases his hold on Four Arms and then spins out of the way of the girl allowing her to fly on by. He barely has a moment to catch his breath as he leaps to the side to avoid an ice trail courtesy of Zuko (Shoto).

Eraserhead faces the scared teen while his own back is turned towards the downed Tetraman.

Seeing an opportunity, Zuko (Shoto) fires out another ice trail of freezing icicles.

Expecting such a reaction, Eraserhead dodges to the side avoiding the ice trail. But the ice is moving too quickly for Four Arms who is very surprised to find himself encased in a cocoon of ice.

Zuko’s (Shoto) gasps. “Shit!”

“And this is why we’re conducting this exercise.”

Zuko (Shoto) glares at his teacher.

“You all need to learn about battlefield awareness and to coordinate with other heroes.”

Without warning a pair of slim yet muscular arms wrap around his torso and arms.

Mochi’s (Ochaco) dauntless smile grows as her Zero-Gravity takes hold of him. “Don’t underestimate us, sir!” 

With a mighty roar, she swings and throws Eraserhead towards the massive ice wall encasing them.

Eraserhead’s back slams into the wall, not enough to crack it but enough to certainly make him feel it. “Is that all I thought-...” His voice trails away as he feels his body struggling to move away from the wall. “What?”

Peering through his goggles he spots a few purple balls stuck between his arms and the wall. Feeling around he can tell that there are even more attached to his back and legs, heck there are even a few purple balls sticking onto the wall.

It becomes very clear to the pro hero what this really is. “Well done you.” He smiles, accepting his defeat gracefully. “You did understand the lesson far better than I thought.”

Mochi (Ochaco) smiles with pride as Zuko (Shoto) actually uses his left side to heat up the shivering Four Arms.

Mochi (Ochaco) smiles up at the frozen canopy just above Eraserhead. “Good job by the way, No Ship.”

No Ship (Mineta) groans, his entire body shivering in the cold, even his feet are stuck to the frozen branch thanks to the ice. “Wh-whatever…c-can we l-leave now?”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Midnight smiles down joyfully at the class. “So, what did you all think?”

Class 1-A slump in their seats, unable to look up from their desks. “Actually it was kind of embarrassing.”

And for good reason, the entire class not only had to go through the entire exercise with those fake codenames, but due to Midnight’s conditions they had to keep the fake codenames throughout the rest of their classes. Hell, even their other teachers forbade using their real names and only referred to each of them as their individual fake names. And not too long after the rest of the student body (especially one Neito Monoma) caught on to the scheme and pretty soon it became clear that their fake codenames may just be sticking around longer than any of them would have liked.

So, here they are humiliated with the lesson about choosing a good codename drilled into their heads.

And what do their teachers have to say about it? Nothing. Heck Mr. Aizawa is already huddled up in his sleeping bag half-asleep.

Midnight on the other hand is more than happy with the results of this little social experiment. “I hope this all showed you how much a codename can affect how others see you.” She starts handing out stacks of whiteboards for the students to write on. “So, consider what your codename means and what people can take away from it. Are you a friendly neighborhood hero, just wanting to serve the community? Are you a caped crusader out for justice? Or are you a symbol? Be sure to consider what it is you are and what you want to be when deciding your own hero name.”

 _‘My hero name…’_ Izuku stares down at his whiteboard, the platform he is to use to present his future. _‘I need something that embodies the kind of hero I wanna be one day.’_

As he ponders about what fits him best, his classmates also ask themselves the same questions. They all remain seated in silence and frustrated sighs as they each try to come up with something unique.

Midnight struts across the front of the room. “Now, students, who among you is ready to share?”

Kirishima’s heart stops. _‘We’re presenting these?!’_

As does Sero’s. _‘Oh, great! Who’s got the balls to go first?’_

Aoyama apparently as he strides up the class without any hint of hesitation. “Hold your breath. The Shining Hero.” He raises his board with a whoosh. “My name is “I Cannot Stop Twinkling!” Mon amis. You can’t deny my sparkle.”

The students gap. _‘Come on!!’_

Midnight snatches the board from his hands and writes away at a few edits. “It’d be better this way. Take out the “I” and shorten the “Cannot” to “Can’t.” She flips the board and presents the new name: “Can’t Stop Twinkling.”

Aoyama’s smile never falters as he gazes upon the suggestion. “It’s stunning, mademoiselle.”

The students’ jaws drop. “She likes it?”

Sato takes it a step further. “Also, you’re not really French, are you? That’s just an act.”

“Okie dokie, lemme go next!” Ashido bounces her way up to the podium. “My codename: The Ridley Hero, Alien Queen!”

Now it’s Midnight’s turn to gasp with freight and disgust. “Hold on. Like that horrible monster with acidic blood? I don’t think so.”

Ashido sulks back to her seat in defeat. “Dang it.”

The rest of her classmates frown as she walks back to her seat in shame. _‘That one wasn’t okay?’_ It seems like a new wave of dread rises in everyone’s hearts. _‘Since the first two were so weird, I feel like I have to come up with something really clever now.’_

“Kero!” Tsuyu raises her hand. “I think I’ve got one. Okay if I go next?”

Midnight points at her with a friendly smile. “Come on up.”

Tsuyu strolls up to the front and addresses her classmates. “I’ve had this name in mind since grade school.” She flips her board over, revealing her hero name. “Rainy Season Hero, Froppy.”

“That’s delightful!” awes Midnight. “It makes you sound approachable. What a great example of a name everyone will love!”

“Froppy! Froppy! Froppy! Froppy!” Well her classmates certainly do, especially as a sense of relief eases their dread. _‘Thanks, Froppy. Finally, a normal one.’_

“I’ve got mine, too.” Kirishima firmly slams his whiteboard down onto the podium. “The Sturdy Hero, my name is Red Riot!”

“Red Riot?” Midnight inquiries. “Interesting. You’re paying homage to the Chivalrous Hero, Crimson Riot, yes?”

Kirishima grins happy someone understood the reference. “That’s right. He may be kind of old school, but someday, I wanna be just like he was. Crimson is my idol.”

“Hm. If you’re bearing the name of someone you admire you have that much more to live up to.”

“I accept the challenge.”

Izuku awes at his classmate’s admiration. _‘Wow, that’s so cool.’_ His smile drops into a somber frown. _‘Before I met All Might I had a couple of names picked out…’_ Well more like fantasized about such as Mighty All Man, Mighty Boy, Small Might, Captain All Might, Super All Might… Oh, god he’s such a freaking fanboy that it’s almost embarrassing. _‘I loved coming up with all those names. They never failed to put a smile on my face back in those days. Now though…’_ He stares at the blank whiteboard. _‘Now I know I can’t be like All Might, I’m going to be my own hero. I don’t know what my future has in store, but…’_ He eyes the ever present Omnitrix. _‘I’m willing to find out.’_

As it turns out those around him are having similar issues.

Kaminari grabs at his head in frustration. “Man. I still haven’t been able to think of anything that’s cool enough.”

Jiro’s Earphone Jack taps his shoulder. “Hey, I’ve got one.” Jiro smiles, a marker wrapped in her Earphone Jack. “How does “Jamming-Yay” Sound to you?”

Kaminari beams. “Ha! Oh, it’s like “Hemmingway,” who wrote ‘A Farewell to Arms’, right? Real clever. I like it.”

“No.” Jiro has to cover her mouth to stop herself from bursting into laughter. “It's because even though you’re powerful, you always” She nearly chokes as she fails to hold back her laughter. “jam your brain.” She takes off for the front with her white board as Kaminari snaps at her. 

“Oh, come one, Jiro! Quit messing with me!”

The purple-haired girl smiles as she stands at the podium and presents her name. “The Hearing Hero, I’m Earphone Jack.”

Midnight nods. “Now that’s a good one!”

After that things really start rolling. 

Shoji’s up next. “The Tentacle Hero, Tentacole.”

Midnight claps. “Oh, I like what you’re doing with that. A nice portmanteau.”

Then there’s Sero. “The Taping Hero, Cellophane!”

“That’s on the nose. Good work!” Midnight’s praise makes Sero blush. 

Ojiro flexes his tail to empathize his name. “Martial Arts Hero, Tailman.”

Midnight’s not surprised. “No surprise with that one, I guess!”

Sato grumbles at Ojiro as he takes the podium. “Copycat. I’m the Sweets Hero, Sugarman!”

Midnight gushes. “Perfect!”

Mina returns and loudly declares her new suggestion. “PINKY!!!”

“Make those looks work for you, girl!” cheers Midnight.

Kaminari stands next, finally he thinks he’s got something cool. “Stun Gun Hero, I am Chargebolt. Electric dontcha think?”

And Midnight loves it. “Makes me all tingly!”

Hagakure slides onto the front of the room. “The Stealth Hero, Invisible Girl!”

Midnight can’t argue with that one. “That really suits you!” Midnight’s really getting heated up now as she addresses the remaining students. “Now come one, who’s gonna step up next?!”

Apparently Yaoyorozu wants to go next, she gently raises her whiteboard. “I hope that I can live up to this name. The Everything Hero, I’m Creati.”

Midnight gushes with joy. “Creative!”

Tokoyami follows up with his codename. “Jet-Black Hero, Tsukuyomi.”

Midnight swoons. “Ah, God of the night!”

Mineta, who can’t even see over the podium, has to hold up his whiteboard up over his own head. “I’m the Fresh-Picked Hero, Grape Juice!”

Midnight nods. “Very kitschy!”

Koda shyly approaches the podium, too shy to speak out loud but he wrote the following: Petting Hero, Anima.

Despite the lack of a declaration, Midnight is still just as enthusiastic. “Yep. All about it!”

The very overconfident Bakugou quickly dampers the mood. “King Explosion Murder.”

Midnight’s cheery demeanor falls. “I’m gonna say that one’s a little too violent.”

He instantly snaps at her. “Huh, whaddaya mean?!”

Kirishima calls out from his seat. “Why don’t you be Explosion Boy?”

“You shut up, Shitty Hair!” Bakugou snatches the nearest marker, which happens to be from Shoji’s desk, and begins to write out a new name. “Okay. How. About. This?!” He slams his whiteboard down and declares with a sense of finality. “Lord Explosion Murder!!”

Midnight deadpans. “That’s basically the same thing.”

“Tch…” 

Midnight sighs. “Why don’t you sit down and think on it for a bit.” She turns to the class as Bakugou trudges away. “Are there any other volunteers?”

Shoto steps out from his seat. “I’ll go.”

Everyone watches on in anticipation as Shoto calmly strolls up to the podium. They’re all wondering the same thing: just what kind of name will the son of Endeavor pick? It’s got to be something that screams power and heroism.

Shoto calmly turns and presents his codename. “Shoto.”

Each and every student’s mouth drops. _‘That’s it?!’_

Midnight frowns. “Just your name? Is that it?”

Shoto remains as indifferent as ever. “Uh-huh.”

Izuku has to fight the urge to interrupt. He actually has few suggestions for Shoto, but he doesn’t want to overstep; it’s his decision after all. _‘But…he could have picked anything! How about…Freezer Burn? Cold Flare? Or Thermo?’_

Across the room, Ochaco clutches her white board. _‘Okay. My turn.’_ She gets up from her seat and the class settles down as they watch her approach the podium. _‘It’s okay Ochaco, you should be proud of this codename. I know the kind of hero I want to be, and this name will represent that.’_

As she stands before her peers, she gently reveals her codename that will carry her into the future. “This is the name I thought of: Uravity!”

Midnight smiles, clapping her hands together, finding the name delightful. “I just love that!”

“Whew.” She is more than relieved that it got Midnight’s seal of approval.

As Ochaco practically skips her way back to her seat, her classmates chat about the rate they're going.

“Man, everyone’s names are just so cool!” cheers Kirishima.

“And we only got a few more to go.” adds Sero, before turning to a very focused Izuku. “I can’t wait for your name though.”

“What?!” Izuku breaks his concentration of still trying to think of a name.

“Yeah.” Mineta leans forward in his seat. “You give your transformations such kickass names, you must have something for yourself at this point.”

Jiro turns in her seat. “For sure I bet it’s something like One Man Army, you know a name after his Quirk.”

“Na.” Kaminari shakes his head. “I bet it’ll be Green Machine.”

“What about Yokai?” suggests Tokoyami.

Everyone turns to him for further explanation.

“He turns into such strange beings; one would say that they are almost inhuman in nature.” Tokoyami eyes Izuku, who can’t tell if the bird boy is accusing him or just trying to be ominous. “Wouldn’t you say, Midoriya?”

Izuku gulps. “I…I…uh, don’t have a name yet.” And he turns away as his classmates all shout out more suggestions.

Thankfully Izuku is spared any more questioning and suggestions as Iida goes ahead and walks up to the podium.

The class quiets down as Iida stands there, he seems a bit subdued than normal but considering the news no one is really all that surprised.

Unknown to them all, Iida’s mind begins to wander, specifically he recalls his visit to the hospital. His visit to see his wounded brother and hero…

##########(Flashback)#########

Tensai Iida, also known as the hero Ingenium, is bound to his hospital bed. Bandages and casts line his body, a heart monitor sits nearby constantly beeping, the only comforting noise that’s desperately trying to say that he is alive. But looking at him, he’s been cut down and now the future for the pro hero Ingenium is endangered.

Tensai stares up at the ceiling, his gaze hazy but he can still make out his little brother sitting nearby.

Tenya Iida’s body shakes with grief and stewing frustration, it must be hard for anyone to see their own personal hero in such a weak state.

Tensai chokes on his words, but this must be said. “I wasn’t sure if I wanted to say anything yesterday. But I…can’t feel my legs. They’re useless.”

Iida gasps. “What? No way!”

“Yeah. I think the hero Ingenium…is finished.”

Iida…refuses to accept that reality. It can’t be true. It. Just. Can’t! His brother’s supposed to be a hero. A great hero. His hero. How? Why? Why did this happen? How could anybody do this to such an inspiring and chivalrous soul? A monster. A villain could… 

“At least for me.”

“No!” Tenya shoots out from his seat in protest. “You still have so many people to help and inspire, brother.” He shakes his head in denial. “This can’t be true.”

“I’m sorry. I’m afraid it is.”

Iida looks like he’s on the verge of tears. No he already is crying.

“That’s why…I want you to take the name.” Tensai eyes him, he knows this is hard to hear but he wants Iida to do this; for both of them. “Will you do that? For me, Tenya.”

########(End Flashback)#######

Iida grips the whiteboard as his brother’s words run through his mind. _‘No. I’m still…’_

He reveals his whiteboard, but he too decided to take a page from Shoto’s book, because his codename is just “Tenya.”

Midnight frowns with concern. “You’re using your real name, too?” She’s genuinely surprised and she really wants to ask why but…she can tell that something is off about him, there’s just an air of sadness around this boy. 

But Iida is not going to reveal anything soon, instead he solemnly returns to his seat.

Not wanting to pry, Midnight decides to move on for now. “Well, Midoriya, are you ready?”

“Oh!” Izuku jolts up in his seat. “Y-yes!”

Before he can even leave his seat a certain angry pomeranian slams their hand down onto his desk. “No way, nerd!” Bakugou barks, a small Explosion firing off the paralyzed Izuku’s desk.

“R-right!”

“Tch.” The scowling ash-blonde marches up to the front.

Midnight, despite the aggression, offers a friendly smile as Bakugou approaches the podium. “Finally thought of something did we?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Bakugou turns to address the rest of the class. “Here’s my codename you bunch of whiny bitches.” He flips up his whiteboard. “Call me…Ground Zero. And don’t fucking forget it.”

Midnight approves. “Aw, now that’s a great name.”

Bakugou snaps at the teacher with full aggression. “Of course it is! Dammit!”

The students sweatdrop. _‘Is he…happy or not?’_

Midnight laughs off Bakugou’s fury and turns to the very last student. “Alright, Midoriya, are you ready?”

Every last student turns to Izuku with anticipation, making the greenette even more nervous than he already is.

With a deep calming breath Izuku gets up and approaches the podium, avoiding the tracking eyes of his classmates. 

He stands behind the podium, gripping the whiteboard. _‘This is it. It has to be.’_ And like ripping a Band-Aid, he flips the board over, revealing his codename.

Class 1-A gasps in surprise, of all the things he could come up with he went with…that?

Even Bakugou is stunned, his mind going blank as he takes in the unbelievable outcome.

The stunned silence is eventually broken up by Mineta. “Really, Midoriya?”

Mina pouts disappointed with his lack of creativity. “I thought you’d have something else in mind.”

Kaminari grimaces as he reads Izuku’s suggested codename. “You sure about that?”

As does Kirishima. “Yeah, man, remember, that could be your name forever.”

Izuku chuckles softly, he understands their confusion, and why not? But…it just feels right to me. “Right. I used to hate it. But then, something changed. I guess…” His eyes subtly shift over towards Ochaco. “Someone taught me that it could have a different meaning. And that had a huge impact on how I felt. So, now I really like it.”

Actually his feelings towards this name changed back during the Battle Training: also the first time he truly stood up to Bakugou: _‘“You can call me Deku, but I’m not helpless anymore! From now on, Deku is the name of a hero!”’_

Izuku smiles up at the class and states with full confidence. “Deku. That has to be my codename.”

Bakugou is totally in shock right now. His brain is definitely fried, it’s like the world has just flipped upside down.

Ochaco, however, is smiling proud of the fact that Deku can truly move on from his torment. And plus she can take pride in saying that she gave him his hero name, too.

Heck, even Shoto is taken for a loop. He really can’t seem to get a grasp on Izuku’s logic. But maybe he doesn’t have to. _‘You are an odd one, Midoriya.’_ Shoto shakes his head and smirks to himself. _‘Or should I say, Deku?’_

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Huh.” Cementoss eyes his computer screen as another email comes in. “Offers for the first years are still coming in. Looky here.”

Yagi Toshinori, who just happened to walk in just now, blinks at the screen. “Who’s that one for?”

“It’s for Uraraka.”

Toshinori silently smiles with pride. _‘Another offer! Oh, Young Uraraka you’re making this old man proud. You have so many offers it’s unbelievable!’_ Toshinori leans in wanting to take a look. “Here may I have a look?”

“Of course.” Cementoss moves aside allowing the Symbol of Peace to have a look for himself.

“So, who’s after her?” Toshinori leans in and reads the name of the agency, and as his eyes land on the hero’s name…his heart stops. “WHAT!?! Are you kidding me?!”

As if to add to the horror his phone starts blaring from his pocket!

Toshinori scrambles to grab his phone, nearly dropping it as it juggles between his fingers, before holding it up in his shaking sweaty palms. As his eyes land on the caller’s ID his face turns ghostly pale and he stops breathing.

Cementoss blinks up at Toshinori, and he can swear that he can see his soul leaving his body. “Are you feeling alright?”

Toshinori doesn’t even address Cementoss directly. “Yeah…I just need to take this…”

Toshinori wobbles his way out of the room, his shaking finger fearfully moving towards the Accept Call button, moving so slowly that maybe just maybe the caller will give up.

But that is a pipedream.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Meanwhile, Aizawa finally crawls out from his sleeping bag. Although it’s still wrapped around his legs even as he addresses his class of misfits. “Now that everyone’s decided on their hero names, we can go back to talking about your upcoming internships.”

Aizawa eyes his students as Midnight stretches behind him, she has had a long day after all, judging others isn’t easy.

“They’ll last for one week. As for who you’ll be working with. Those of you who were on the board will choose from among your offers, everyone else will have a different list.” Aizawa holds up the forms they’ll be needing to fill out. “You have a lot to think about. There are around forty agencies across the country who’ve agreed to take on interns from your class. Each agency has a different specialty that its heroes focus on. Keep that in mind.”

Midnight chimes in with her own advice. “Imagine that you were Thirteen. You’d want to choose a place that focuses on rescuing people, not fighting villains. Understand?”

The entire class responds. “Yes!”

But Izuku and Ochaco silently chuckle to themselves, like kids that share the same juicy secret. _‘If only they knew the truth.’_

Aizawa continues. “Think carefully before you decide.”

The class is quick to reply. “Yes, sir!”

And with that they have reached the end of the school day just as they are handed their forms and the bell rings. 

Kirishima grins at his own list of offers. “I want to fight crime and bad guys in a big city.”

Tsuyu eyes her own list. “I just hope I can intern someplace where there’s a lot of flooding. Or maybe a lake.”

Aizawa turns to his class just before he leaves for the exit. “Turn in your choices before the weekend.” And just like that he stomps off alongside Midnight who was kind enough to wave them bye.

“We’ve only got two days?!” shouts Sero.

“Yeah, so you should start now.” Aizawa lazily addresses the class for one last announcement. “You’re dismissed.” His announcement is quickly met with a closed door.

Back inside the class, Shoto stares at his extensive list, his eyes instantly locking onto a particular name on it: Endeavor Hero Agency.

Nearby, Mina is laying atop her desk in defeat, her list of agencies flung onto her desk. “So, guys, have you decided what pro agency you wanna go for?”

Mineta is quick to reply with a perverted grin. “Mt. Lady’s my top choice.”

Tsuyu walks by and frowns at the little pervert. “Mineta. Are you thinking something perverted?”

“Possibly…!”

Other students discuss their own choices of internships such as Tokoyami who eyes his list with much interest. “Interesting, very interesting, it seems fate has dealt me a good hand.”

Ochaco, of course, is scanning through her own list and she definitely has to agree with Tokoyami’s statement. “Interesting, very interesting, it seems fate has dealt me a good hand.” she even tries to say it as dark and edgy as he did.

Tokoyami eyes her with surprise, he’s not sure but he could have sworn someone just copied him.

Ochaco highlights the offers that stand out to her the most: Ryukyu, Kamui Woods, Crust, Edgeshot, and so much more. This…is going to be difficult to decide. “Hey, Deku, who’s on your list?” She gasps when she realizes the kind of state, he’s in.

Izuku is busy muttering away to himself, ranting on and on about how to go about deciding on an agency. “So by looking up their specialties and splitting them into groups, I can start narrowing it down. There’s those who excel in combat, but those who focus on rescue too, then there’s places all about PR, and then there’s of course the ones that excel in a wide array of those areas…”

Several of the students smile at the odd sight, finding it amusing. _‘There he goes again.’_ Thankfully, Izuku’s muttering isn’t as disturbing as it used to be, probably because they’ve just grown accustomed to it.

“Huh?!” Izuku snaps out of his rant. “Oh. Sorry, what’d you guys say?”

Tsuyu smiles, finding his obliviousness amusing. “You’re really thinking hard about this, aren’t you?”

“It’ll all work out.” cheers Ochaco.

As they all continue to make up their minds about the internships, Iida too comes to his top pick and he quickly scribbles it down onto his form.

In the meantime, Izuku continues to ponder over his list some more as the rest of his classmates begin to head home for the day. By the time he thinks he’s narrowed it down to a single choice, the classroom has nearly emptied out. So, with it getting so late he figures that he might as well turn his form in and head on home too.

So he grabs his oversized yellow backpack and makes his way to the exit.

“Hey, Deku! Wanna walk together?” calls Ochaco, running up to him with her own backpack strapped up.

“Mm-hm.” Izuku nods and smiles in agreement. “I just need to turn this into Mr. Aizawa.” He holds up his filled-out form.

“Cool.” Ochaco turns towards Iida’s seat. “Iida, come with u-...” Oh, he’s not there. “Huh…”

Izuku follows her gaze. “I bet he already decided where he wants to do his internship.”

Ochaco nods in agreement as she grips the door as Izuku continues with his theory. “My guess is he’s off turning his forms in right now.”

Ochaco flings the door open and no sooner than she does a wild All Might appears from seemingly nowhere.

“ **HAHAHA! I AM HERE IN THE BIZARRE POSITION!** ” 

“WHA?!” Izuku jumps away in surprise. 

Ochaco, however, doesn’t even react like she’s become used to this sort of thing. “Um, but why? And why are you in such a hurry?”

The surprisingly out of breath and sweating All Might waves her to come with him. “ **HI, COME WITH ME FOR A SEC.** ”

“Uh, sure okay.” The bubble girl turns to her friend. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Kay, take care alright.”

“Sure will!” Ochaco waves him off as she follows All Might down the hall.

Izuku watches on as they turn the corner, his mind contemplating the two of them. But he can’t pry, he won’t pry. If his mother has taught him anything, then it’s manners. Besides if Uraraka really wants to tell him then she will and until then he shouldn’t pry into her business. _‘Right?’_

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“ **I’LL GET STRAIGHT TO THE POINT.** ” All Might has his back towards his apprentice, his entire demeanor feeling grim and dire, after leading her into an empty hallway. “ **YOU’VE RECEIVED AN OFFER FROM A HERO WHO’D LIKE TO TAKE YOU ON.** ”

“Really? Another one?” Ochaco chuckles with delight, pride swelling up inside her; she truly did do an amazing job at the Sports Festival.

“ **YES. THE HERO’S NAME IS GRAN TORINO.** ” The sweating All Might is straining to keep his smile up, like speaking the hero’s own name is going to summon him. “ **HE TAUGHT AT THIS SCHOOL BACK IN MY DAY, BUT ONLY FOR ONE YEAR. IN FACT, THE MAN WAS MY HOMEROOM TEACHER.** ”

Ochaco gasps in surprise. _‘No way.’_

“ **HE KNOWS ABOUT ONE FOR ALL, AS WELL.** ”

Her smile widens, shining like the rising sun.

“ **ACTUALLY HE…HE EVEN CONTACTED ME ABOUT YOU. HE’S BASICALLY ORDERED ME TO SEND YOU HIS WAY FOR SOME… “PROPER” TRAINING.** ” All Might’s mind slowly begins to spiral out of control as he fights the urge to go sulk and cower in a corner alone.

“This guy sounds totally awesome!!” Ochaco gasps. “Wait. So, he knows how your Quirk works, too? But how?”

“ **GRAN TORINO WAS THE SWORN FRIEND OF MY PREDECESSOR. HE RETIRED A LONG TIME AGO, SO I FORGET TO COUNT HIM AMONG THE PEOPLE WHO KNOW.** ” If All Might was trembling before, then he’s shaking like a dead tree in a tornado now. “ **THIS IS BECAUSE I WROTE ABOUT YOU IN THE LETTER, I SENT HIM? OR DID HE WATCH THE FESTIVAL AND THINK THAT MY TEACHING WAS INADEQUATE? IF HE WENT SO FAR AS TO USE HIS OLD HERO NAME WHEN MAKING THE OFFER…** ” His entire body is shaking with deathly fear, he can no longer hide the trepidation in his voice making it clear just how terrified he is. “ **IT’S SCARY. TOO SCARY.** ” He starts slapping his own leg, as his knees continue to wobble from underneath him. “ **DAMMIT, LEGS, STOP SHAKING!** ”

Ochaco is astounded by the sight. _‘All Might’s actually trembling in fear?!’_

The trembling All Might does his best to continue on. “ **ANYWAY, IT IS MY DUTY TO TRAIN YOU. BUT, SINCE YOU GOT AN OFFER, AND HE’S NOT GOING TO TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER, YOU SHOULD WORK WITH HIM THIS WEEK IF THAT’S WHAT YOUR HEART SAYS.** ” All Might actually sounds sick and he’s not even in his skeletal form! Hell even handing Ochaco a note is a struggle thanks to all the shaking. “ **ANYWAY, H-H-HERE’S THE-THE-THE-THE ADDRESS.** ”

_‘Just how terrifying is this guy?! And he was All Might’s homeroom teacher? Does that mean he’s worse than even Mr. Aizawa?!’_

Guess she’ll just have to find out.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Aizawa is seated at his desk going through several forms that were already turned in by students who have already come to a decision. He just received Midoriya’s and he had a bit of an unexpected but yet reasonable choice of internship. Todoroki’s was no surprise as was Bakugou’s. And judging from what he’s seen so far, he can gladly say that his students are taking these matters seriously.

Aizawa’s coworker and fellow hero, Snipe, takes notice of the forms in his hands. “Internships, huh?”

Aizawa nods, scanning through each and every one of them. “Yeah. A few students already chose theirs.”

“It’s an important time for them. Make sure they do it right. Plenty a’ third years around here still regret their picks.” Snipe is about to walk off but instead he stops. For some reason there’s a lone offer form on Eraserhead’s desk. “Is that an offer?”

Aizawa follows Snipe’s finger towards the lone form. His eyes jolt before he calmly grabs the form and adds it to the pile and out of sight.

“Yeah, whatever.” Snipe walks off knowing he won’t get a response out of his colleague when he’s like this. 

Aizawa watches him off before continuing through the other forms. He goes through a few before he spots something that makes him double take. _‘Iida only listed one place. That’s strange.’_ He frowns, that's not like the disciplined and well-prepared class president. _‘He must have gotten better offers than this one.’_ Finally he reads the single agency name listed. _‘A hero agency in Hosu. Don’t tell me…’_

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Outside the gates of U.A., Izuku enjoys the fact that the rainstorm long subsided, but with a lack of company to accompany him he opts to check his phone for the latest hero news. He pulls out his phone and checks his favorite apps but they’re all talking about the same thing or rather the same person: Ingenium. 

After the Sports Festival the news was plagued with the same story: Ingenium attacked by the Hero Killer. As it turned out he’d been attacked by some maniac in Hosu City, Tokyo while out on patrol. And the fight…ended with some dire results. Apparently, his injuries are so bad that many are predicting an early retirement. Izuku can only imagine the pain especially for Iida who’s had to watch his hero fall. He knows from experience how hard of a reality that is. Maybe…maybe he should have said something sooner. 

But there’s also the fact of who maimed the pro hero, Ingenium. The person responsible had already killed 17 heroes and he attacked 23 other heroes, injuring them so badly that they were beyond recovery. They say he’s a Hero Killer. His villain name? Stain.

A shiver runs down Izuku's spine, he can only hope that the villain is caught soon before his body count grows any further.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Master…the Guild has sent the one you’ve requested.”

The commander slowly spins around in his healing pod before addressing his underline. “Send him in, now!”

The drone bows in respect. “As you wish, master.”

The drone steps aside and the massive bay doors part away revealing a tall slim figure who marches into the command center without a bit of hesitation.

The tentacle massed commander glares down at the new arrival. “I’ve been expecting you.”

The figure peers up at the commander, awaiting further orders.

The commander continues. “This is the Omnitrix.” A holographic image of the Omnitrix pops into view. “It is wielded by a boy, a boy of the name of Izuku Midoriya.” A picture of Izuku in the Sports Festival companies the hologram. “Your mission will be to track him down, acquire the Omnitrix, and bring it to me.”

The figure stands taller as if at attention.

The commander glares into this hunter’s eyes. “Are there any questions?”

The figure takes a moment to think about it before addressing the commander. “Ydeap ienbg i ma hucm owh?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that is the end of this transitional chapter, like O said there’s not much to it. But that’s because it’s a setup into what is going to happen next. That said ,the Internship Arc will be stretched out to max of five or so chapters. Yes, the Internship Arc will be that long. So not only will we get Stain, but a new alien for Izuku, and the introduction of some fan favorite MHA and Ben Ten characters! Stay tuned, because I think you are all going to really enjoy what I have instore. You can guess but I won’t tell you anything :P
> 
> *By the way when Vilgax mentions “the Guild,” from this chapter and last chapter; it is a small reference to Star Wars (Specifically the Mandalorian). It is not a reference to something in Ben Ten lore.
> 
> *The fake codename scene and exercise were inspired by the anime known as Assassination Classroom. Which I highly recommend that you check out when you get the chance.
> 
> *Here is a full list of the fake codenames that Class 1-A gave each other. These names were designed by my “editors” and I have to say I really enjoyed coming up with these codenames with them.
> 
> 1\. Jimmy Johns Delivery (Iida)  
> 2\. Monkey Man (Ojiro)  
> 3\. Doc Oc (Shoji)  
> 4\. Beats (Jiro)  
> 5\. Pikachu (Kaminari)  
> 6\. Croissant (Aoyama)  
> 7\. SpoderMan (Sero)  
> 8\. Chowder (Sato)  
> 9\. Easy Bake Oven (Yaoyorozu)  
> 10\. Ms. Kermit (Tsuyu)  
> 11\. Tetsutetsu (Kirishima)  
> 12\. Pink Lemonade (Mina)  
> 13\. Mad Pomeranian (Bakugou)  
> 14\. Hide N’ Seek (Hagakure)  
> 15\. Animal Crossing (Koda)  
> 16\. Ryuk (Tokoyami)  
> 17\. Zuko (Shoto)  
> 18\. Broccoli Boy (Izuku)  
> 19\. Mochi (Ochaco)  
> 20\. No Ship (Mineta)


	31. The Novice and The Master

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Class 1-A begin their internships with pro heroes all across the country. How will they fair?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Labor Day! I hope it’s a good one for you all. Be sure to Social Distance, have a mask on, and to make good decisions. But you should still try to enjoy yourselves as much as you can. It’s good to take care of yourself and that includes having time to relax and enjoy yourself. And hopefully this chapter can help you with that. Enjoy the read and once again thank you for being such great readers.
> 
> *Also the Opening Theme by Drag0n5on has been added to Chapters 21 - 29. Thanks again Drag0n5on, I greatly appreciate your time and effort.

“Everyone has their costumes, right?”

This is probably not the best time for this, but Shota Aizawa figures he might as well address this here at the station than never. Then again, his students might be distracted by the other commuters who are busy smiling and pointing at them, saying they saw them in the Sports Festival.

Oh, well, that’s on him. “Remember, you don’t have permission to wear them out in public yet, and don’t lose them or anything.”

“Gotcha!” cheers Mina Ashido.

Aizawa cannot deal with this level of cheeriness this early in the morning. “Speak properly. It’s ‘Yes, sir,’ Ashido.”

Mina slumps down and pouts in embarrassment. “Yes, sir…”

“Make sure you mind your manners with the other heroes during your internships.” He shows them off with the wave of his hand. “Now get to it.”

The students all shout out in unison. “Yes, sir!”

With all the buzz and excitement, Class 1-A quickly disperse across the station in the hopes of making it onto the right trains and heading off for their very special and very important internships. They all march off with excited smiles and high spirits.

Well except for one, Tenya Iida, he’s been rather silent all morning, which is very odd for the usually boisterous and direct Class President.

“Iida, wait!”

Iida stops allowing Izuku Midoriya and Ochaco Uraraka to catch up to him. They couldn’t help but notice his subbed nature all morning and it’s going to bug them if they walk away without saying anything. They need to, after everything that happened…

“Hey, if you ever wanna talk or anything, just let us know.”

Ochaco nods with worry in her eyes. “Mm-hm! Mm-hm!”

Iida’s quiet, he doesn’t respond, he just stands there with his back turned and his face turned away.

Izuku gulps, he’s really worried, this whole situation isn’t good. “We’re friends, right?”

Another second of silence and then finally a reaction, Iida quiet and slowly turns to face them and despite his smile, it’s clearly nothing but a mask. “Yes.”

It’s so…off and sad neither Izuku nor Ochaco could form a response before Iida turns away again and walks off. Leaving behind the desolate pair to wonder if there’s more they could do. And if so, what?

Guess it’ll have to wait until after their Internships are over, just hopefully they won’t come to regret it.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

For now though Izuku has a different problem, uncomfortable teenage awkwardness.

The greenette nervously turns in his seat and eyes the just as awkward Ochaco sitting just a few seats away.

There’s only a few other commuters in the train car with them, but they seem far too distracted by their phones and their own conversations to even notice the two U.A. students.

Actually in this case, Izuku kinda wishes someone would draw attention to them, to at least break the awkward silence between them.

After they boarded their train especially after that odd exchange between them and Iida, they just couldn’t figure out how to bounce back from it. So here they are sitting in silence and waiting for their respective stops.

Izuku bucks up the nerve to try and break the awkwardness. “S-s-so…?”

Ochaco, who was actually unaware of the awkwardness, turns to him, waiting for him to continue. 

“W-who did you pick?”

Ochaco’s head tilts to the side. “Pick?”

“Y-you know.”

Her eyes widen. “Oh! You mean for my internship!”

“Y-yeah!”

“I picked Gran Torino!”

Izuku snaps out of his awkwardness, his mind snapping to attention when he hears the unfamiliar name. “Gran Torino?”

“Yeah!” Ochaco’s smile falls when she notices the distressed look on his face. “What’s the matter?”

What’s the matter? It’s the worst-case scenario. “I never heard of him…”

…

Ochaco blinks. “Oh.”

…

“TELL ME ALL ABOUT THEM!!!” Izuku explodes, sliding across the seats until he’s towering over the startled girl with a maniac grin and his Hero Journal out and ready.

“WHA?!” Her brain fries for a few seconds as Izuku rambles on.

“I can’t believe there’s a hero out there that I don’t even know about! Are they new? Are they a foreigner, maybe? What’s their Quirk? How old are they? What-”

“Woah! Woah! Easy, Deku!” Ochaco puts a hand on his head and slowly pushes him away, giving herself some breathing room. “I hardly know anything about him. Only that All Might recommended him to me.”

And just like that Izuku’s thrilled demeanor falls away as his hair casts a dark shadow over his eyes. “All Might…recommended him…to you?”

The change does not go unnoticed. “Y-yes…” There’s no reaction and that scares her. “He…he said that Gran Torino was even his homeroom teacher…at U.A…”

He still refuses to meet her gaze or even respond, just sitting there in a deathly silence.

Ochaco gulps, this is getting really concerning for some reason. Is he alright? Did…did she say something wrong? 

Her worry only grows as Izuku continues to sit there without saying a word or moving a single muscle… “That’s great!” 

Ochaco’s mind goes blank in response to Izuku’s sudden cheery deposition. “Huh?”

Izuku’s eyes gleam with jubilation. “Oh wow! You’re going to do an internship under All Might’s own teacher! Wow! That’s great Uraraka!” He genuinely means it, just because he’s on poor standing with their hero doesn’t mean he can ignore the guy’s achievements and hard work. Plus this is a good opportunity for his friend, he shouldn’t squander it. “You’re going to learn so much! This guy sounds totally amazing!” He gasps as an idea pops into his head. “Do you think I can meet him, too?!” 

“I don’t see why not. Maybe we can come and visit you.” Ochaco’s smile slowly reforms, relieved that Deku is back to normal. _‘Although All Might seemed pretty freaked out about him so…’_

“Really?!”

“Yeah!” Ochaco nods her head furiously but then she pauses as something else crosses her mind. “Wait, who are you interning with?”

Izuku blinks realizing that he in fact had not said anything about it. “Oh, did I not tell you? I’m interning with-”

The train’s intercom echoes across the train car. “Arriving at Rugosa City, please be ready to disembark.”

Ochaco springs out of her seat, she slings her backpack over her shoulder and grabs her suitcase. “Well this is my stop.” She takes off for doors just as the train begins to come to a stop. “I’ll see you later Deku. Have fun at your internship.”

“Yeah, you too.” Izuku offers up an encouraging smile as the train comes to a halt.

The train doors open up and with a friendly wave the gravity girl heads on out.

Izuku watches her walk away as the doors slide back closed and the train slowly begins to move on to his own Internship.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Yes, their own internships are an exciting time to learn from a hero without the classroom setting, a time for the students to get their feet wet, their hands dirty, and to learn what it means to be a hero.

But before that can occur, they must first find their respective agency.

_‘Gran Torino?’_ Ochaco eyes the map she was given; it’s supposed to lead her to the agency but it’s a bit too small to read. _‘Weird, not even Deku knows about you. And he knows everything about every single hero. Just who are you?’_ A shiver of fear runs down her spine. _‘Also why is All Might so s-scared of you?!’_ Just what kind of monster is he?! 

_‘But…if he taught All Might then…he might be able to help me control One For All better.’_ And like that the fear washes away for the thrill and excitement of making some real progress. _‘If that’s the case, then whatever happens will all be worth it! Yes.’_ She throws her hand in the air and does her best impression of All Might’s laugh. “Ha Ha Ha! Look out, Gran Torino! Your new protege is on her way!”

…

Well there goes the sense of adventure as she finds herself in front of what’s supposed to be a hero agency. It’s just some rinky dink apartment building!

“This…is not what I was expecting.”

The building looks like it’s one year away till the city declares it as condemned. It’s literally in shambles with rusted window frames and cracked glass, Ochaco can even see the inner layer of brick from within the crumbling building, the building’s even been tagged with spray paint!

She checks her map real quick. _‘It’s the correct address, but…’_

She looks up at the only bright thing about this place; the big and colorful “welcome” sign over the dual doors, but even that’s crooked and she’s pretty sure that it can’t light up anymore.

But it's the right address so it must be the place.

So, summoning her courage she stomps forward and knocks on the door. As she knocks the door pushes inward, apparently it was unlocked and not shut properly.

So, she hesitantly pushes it open, sticking her head in not wanting to be jumped. “H-hello? I-I’m O-Ochaco U-Uraraka… from U.A. I’m supposed…to…meet…” Her voice trails off as her eyes land on the gruesome scene before her.

There lying on the floor with blood and a broken platter is…a corpse! A real corpse! Some old man with a yellow cape is lying facedown on the floor in his own blood and Oh God are those his entrails?!

Ochaco holds her mouth in a silent gasp and tears prick her eyes, _‘Oh, my gosh! He can’t be!’_ No she can’t just assume she needs to make sure.

So she hesitantly steps ever closer towards the corpse, her eyes scanning the area before some killer jumps out, but the place seems deserted. So she steps a tiny bit closer until she’s only an inch away from the pool of blood.

“Is he…” She gulps and whispers with some real dread. “dead…” Freaked out by the idea of touching a corpse she leans back and stretches her foot out.

With her shoe she lightly nudges the corpse, hoping or not hoping for some sort of reaction. There isn’t one so not wanting to assume the worse she nudges it again.

A yellow gloves hand grabs her leg and the grinning corpse lifts its head off. “I’m alive.”

“WAAAAHHHHH!!!”

Ochaco clutches at her feint heart, having almost suffered a heart attack.

While she tries to come to her senses the presumed dead old man rises acting like nothing traumatizing had just occurred as he laughs innocently and dusts off his costume.

“Whoopsie.” The old man’s dopey-smile never fades as he looks down at the red liquid and sausage links. “I was carrying a nice big plate of sausages covered in ketchup when I accidentally tripped and fell down. Clumsy me.”

It’s a miracle he didn’t actually die from such a fall.

This old man is extremely short with heavy wrinkles, grey hair and trimmed beard, and a scrawny built. Even so his body is shaking as if his legs are struggling to keep him up even with the help of his wooden cane. His hero costume consists of a full-body monochrome suit along with a yellow cape, his belt has the letter "G" on it, and he wears very thick yellow gloves and boots, and a dark domino mask.

The frail and possibly senile old man peers up at Ochaco with a dopey yet friendly grin. “Now who did you say you were, young lady?”

Ochaco blinks in confusion but she tries to salvage the situation. “Um, I-I’m O-Ochaco Uraraka. I’m from U.A.’s Class 1-A.”

Gran Torino cups his ear, like he didn’t hear her despite the fact that they’re only a few feet apart. “You’re who now?”

“I’m Ochaco Uraraka!”

Gran Torino pauses, his dopey-grin unmoving, before he speaks again. “So, what’s your name? It’s rude to keep your elders waiting.”

_‘Oh, great.’_ Ochaco internally grumbles to herself. _‘I knew he was…up there in age, since he was All Might’s teacher and All Might’s…wait. How old is All Might anyway?’_ She shakes her head. _‘No! Stay focused. Anyway this is going to be a problem.’_

Without warning the old man collapses onto his tush.

Ochaco gasps out of concern. “Are you alright?!”

“I could really use some food.”

“Some…food?” She tilts her head, is that really all he needs?

“Hm?” The old man looks up at her as if noticing her for the first time, and his dopey-grin widens as if he’s seeing an old friend. “Nana?”

Ochaco scowls, but she tries her best to remain polite. “No, I’m Uraraka.”

The old man just continues to grin up at her without any reaction making it very difficult to tell whether or not anything she said registered in his fading mind,

_‘Oh, come on!!’_ She grabs her head in frustration and crouches down trying not to scream. _‘This was a mistake! I had so many offers! There was Ryukyu, she would have been amazing! Or Edgeshot! Or Crust! Or literally anybody else! I’m supposed to be interning, not play as a nurse for some senile old man! Oh, All Might, why? Why did you say I had to come here?!’_

While in the midst of her rant, her ears pick up on the sound of something clicking open.

Peering up and through her arms Ochaco’s more than surprised to see the old man is now crouched down in front of her open suitcase and is examining her hero costume. “Hey! That’s mine!”

The old man doesn’t even bother to look at her instead he continues to browse the suitcase for any flaws in her costume. “Why don’t you fire off a One For All smash at me?”

“Huh?”

He’s different somehow: his voice is calmer and more assertive; he’s not shaking anymore, and he doesn’t even have his cane anymore! He looks totally natural squatting down without any issues.

“I wanna know how far you’ve come in terms of handling its power.”

Ochaco is still too stunned to really form a proper reply. _‘What’s…what’s going on? Is this guy…?’_

The old man reaches into the case and pulls out an unfamiliar pink disc-shaped device with several protrusions impeded into it. “This is a pretty good costume.” He puts down the disc before Ochaco can actually have a good look at it. “Now, where’s that attack?”

“Um…”

The elderly man frowns up at her like he’s examining her and then, his dopey-grin returns and so does his frail innocently oblivious voice. “Hey, what are you doing here?”

Okay any more of this back and forth and Ochaco’s brain is going to fry. _‘What the heck’s with him?! Is he short a few screws or something?!_ ’ Ochaco takes a breath before answering, maybe she should just go along with it. “I’m here to learn, sir.”

No response just that stupid oblivious-grin is the only response she gets. 

So, she continues. “I…I need to learn…I need to become stronger. I need to get better.” Her hand clenches in frustration as she thinks about all the times One For All’s backfired on her. “I need to learn how to properly control One For All. Because…they’re counting on me.”

The old man tilts his head, at least that’s a sign that he’s listening.

“Everyone: All Might, my parents, my friends, and those that will need me someday are counting on me. All Might’s…All Might is hurt and…he…might not have that much time left as a hero. So, I need to get better, for everyone’s sake.”

The old man turns and peers back down at her costume again.

Ochaco bows. “I’m sorry, sir! But…I can’t waste any more time.” It sucks but…she can’t be wasting her time here. She needs tutelage, she needs to get better, she needs help. But…she can’t get that here, that much is obvious. “Please, excuse me.” She turns as if about to walk away or to at least call U.A. to see if she could switch.

“As I thought.” That assertiveness is back, stopping her in her tracks instantly.

She turns around as the confusing old man straightens up. He takes a deep almost calming breath and then he does the most unexpected thing imaginable.

Like a bullet fling in the wind, he shoots up into the air bouncing off his ceiling, then the wall, then the floor, and literally all over. Ochaco is taken for a real loop here as this seemingly frail old man bounces off the walls like an out of control ping-pong ball. She can’t help but to compare his movements to that of Bakugou’s. With that speed, trajectory, and the wind being generated in his wake as he continues to blast himself here and there with his Jet Quirk.

Suddenly he slams into the wall, just above the exit that Ochaco was ready to walk through. He smirks down at her finding her astounded expression oh so amusing.

The old man smiles wickedly down at her, like a drill sergeant that’s gotten hold of some new recruits to break down. “It’s time for you to show me what you can do, ya newbie. He, he, hehe.” Oh, he is going to enjoy this. “I watched the U.A. Sports Festival on television. The way you used your power was unthinkable. Reckless. Destructive!”

It stings but he’s right, he’s absolutely right.

“He’s not training you well. He may be the Symbol of Peace and the Number One Hero, but All Might’s a total novice when it comes to teaching. I can only imagine what a blunder he is in the classroom.”

Ochaco’s mouth hangs loose as her eyes are still trying to register what they saw was real. _‘This…really is All Might’s teacher.’_

The old man, no, Gran Torino glares down at her with a wicked smile. “If you ask me, you shouldn’t have won the tournament not against…Midoriya anyway. That boy has a much better handle on his powers. All you did was overpowered him, and that doesn’t take much skill at all now does it?” He glares down at her with the intensity of a veteran that’s seen his fair share of catastrophes. “I can’t stand to watch you use your Quirk the way you did, so I suppose I’ll have to teach you. Properly.” He grins. “Now, hurry and get your costume on.”

The young woman, despite the harsh jab towards her and her mentor, is excited yet scared at the same time. Somehow Gran Torino is both terrifying and inspiring, and she is more than willing to take him on.

And so with a determined yet terrified grin she gives her response. “You got it…old man.”

“He, he, hehe!”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Ochaco finds herself in the guest room pulling up her sleeve and finishing her hero costume. As she bends down to close her suitcase, she finds the strange disc from before and a small manual besides it.

_‘Instructions?’_ She picks up the device and the instructions trying to figure out what they’re for. And then it hits her, this must be the support item that Mei Hatsume promised her. _‘I’ll read it later.’_ She tosses aside the device and the instructions, now is not the time to read up on it right now she’s got more pressing matters.

She puts on her helmet before returning to the main lounge area where Gran Torino is still waiting for her. “All right. Let’s get started.”

Gran Torino stands before her and gives her a direct order. “Show me a smash.”

“Um, Are you sure?” She peers at the room and there’s a lot of breakable things here.

There are huge shelves surrounding a couch and TV, a table with two chairs, and a full kitchen set on the opposite wall full of appliances like the microwave, fridge, and oven.

“This place is…” She spots the very breakable looking dishes sitting near the sink. “small.”

She could really end up destroying this old man’s home! Also there’s another concern. “And are you sure you could…handle it?”

“Hahaha!!” Gran Torino bursts into laughter, like an adult laughing at the naivety of a small child. “Good grief, kid. What do you take me for some feeble old man?”

She averts her gaze not wanting to answer that question.

Sensing why she won’t respond; Gran Torino activates his Jet Quirk and boom he’s bouncing off the walls as blasts of wind propel him in every direction. “Well you’re dead wrong!”

Bam! He lands a solid kick to her back and then kicks off with a blast of wind, carrying him away.

“Ah!” Ochaco nearly falls over from the sudden strike. “That hurt!”

He continues to zip around, striking her, laughing all the whole while. “Ha, ha, ha, ha!” He eventually slams down on his own microwave, smashing it to pieces, coming to a stop. “What? You didn’t realize my true strength earlier?”

Without giving her a chance to react he goes right back to propelling himself into the air and ricocheting off any surface he comes into contact with, moving around with expert level acrobatics.

Ochaco gaps as Gran Torino speeds around the room, throwing her off just with his agility alone.

“I can’t believe you’re the ninth holder of this great power.” The ricocheting Gran Torino smirks, finding this novice amusing. “All Might’s hardly taught you anything. Guess all that fame doesn’t translate into being a good mentor.”

While zipping around he slams into her back before jumping away again but not before delivering a swift spin kick that knocks away her helmet. 

Ochaco winces as her helmet flies off. _‘He’s fast! Too fast!’_

Another hit to her side throws her off balance and bam a strike to her back brings her to her knees and the strikes just keep coming.

_‘Come on, Ochaco.’_ While bracing herself near the floor, her eyes try to trace Gran Torino’s trail. _‘He’s not letting up, so I can’t run or hide, all I can do is take the hits.’_ Why does that sound like she’s giving up? _‘No, I won’t do that!’_ But what can she do? He’s too fast and there’s no chance to read his movements with him zipping around like that. _‘There’s no openings so I have to make one.’_

She shoves herself off the ground, clenching her fists, and readies her next move. It was time to use her Zero-Gravity Field. Sure it may be overkill but this old man literally asked for it. ‘It may be too much, but it’s got to work.’ Thinking about letting the power flow through her, her entire body begins to glow as One For All courses through her entire body, boosting her Zero-Gravity Quirk, and her body begins to shine brightly with a pink aura.

Gran Torino easily notices the change even while buzzing around at a high speed, and he recognizes it from the Sports Festival. So, with a superior smirk he zips behind her and fires himself off the wall, shooting for her turned back.

_‘There you are!’_ The scowling Ochaco spins around and throws her hand out, hopefully to fend him off with Zero-Gravity.

Gran Torino easily does a midair sidestep, evading her hand. “Sorry, but you’re actually slower than I am.” As he races forward, he reaches for her head. “You didn’t think I wouldn’t notice what you were trying to do?” He slams her headfirst onto the ground, using his foot to pin her opposite arm, keeping her in place.

The strike was so disruptive that the pink hue around her died away as she lost her concentration.

Gran Torino grins down at her, more than happy to put her in her place. “I saw that little trick of yours, your Zero-Gravity Field, in the Sports Festival. It’s a powerful technique but it’s sloppy, reckless, and takes far too long to utilize. That’s why I bested you.” And brought this one-sided fight to an end.

Ochaco frowns. “Darn, I thought I’d get you for sure.”

“Listen to me.” Gran Torino jabs at her forehead. “The way you used One For All in the Obstacle Course, Cavalry Battle, and the Tournament showed that you're adjusting to the Quirk. You understand its fundamentals. But…you’re allowing that power to flow far too freely. Perhaps your admiration for All Might is clouding your judgement.”

“I…don’t understand.”

Gran Torino finally releases her from his hold. “It’s true that you need to get stronger, and quickly. Time waits for no man or woman. Real villains don’t care if you’ve reached your full potential yet.” He turns away, and his cape whips into her. “And you think One For All is more special than it really is.” With nothing left to say, he marches off for the door.

Ochaco sits up in a hurry. “Then…what do I do?!”

Gran Torino stops just as he opens the doors. “Think about that on your own time.” He smiles back at her. “Meanwhile, I’ll go buy us some grub.” With his cane in hand, he walks off for the nearby convenience store. “Clean this place up while I’m gone.”

And so Ochaco finds herself alone with her thoughts and Gran Torino’s lesson in mind. _‘My admiration for All Might is clouding my judgement? I let One For All flow too freely? What…what does he mean?’_

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Meanwhile, in Hosu City a pro hero is out on patrol alongside his sidekicks.

This pro hero is nothing out of the ordinary with messy brown hair and black eyes. His hero costume is nothing fancy either consisting of a blue and white, skin-tight, long-sleeved shirt that tuck into his orange gloves. He wears dark pants, white boots, and sports a signature helmet that features a fish-like fin and blue visor.

And this pro hero’s name is Manual.

“On a normal day, I’d just be waiting for client calls to come in. Not really exciting.” Manual offers up a friendly, which is not out of place with his open and kind personality.

Which is something Iida has come to admire in the short amount of time he’s spent with him so far. Actually Manual here was one of Tensei’s old classmates back at U.A., his brother often spoke respectfully of him, so he wasn’t exactly surprised by the warm welcome he got. 

Manual is currently leading Iida through town, overlooking the people’s daily routines and functions. “But things’ve been fairly hectic here lately.”

Iida, in his full body armor, scans the busy street, examining each and every person they pass by. “So you’re using street patrols to suppress crime.”

“Yeah, exactly. Man, kinda can’t believe Ingenium’s little brother is interning at my agency.” Manual waves to some friendly students across the street who were kind enough to call out to him. “I’m sure you had offers from pros with much bigger followings than mine.”

Iida doesn’t respond instead he follows along and allows his mind to recollect on why he actually chose to be here. _‘The Hero Killer.’_ The terrible villain that maimed his own hero and brother. _‘So elusive he’s managed to avoid capture for his deplorable crimes. I know that I might not find him. But still…’_ He thinks about his brother’s weak and frail form from his hospital visit, especially how frail and hopeless he seemed just lying there with his heart monitor being the only sign of life. _‘I have to try to track the villain down. Because I can’t forgive him for what he’s done.’_

His fists clench as he glares ahead keeping a vigilant watch for his target. Vowing to end the Hero Killer’s reign of terror, to remove this Stain from all of society.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Back in Rugosa City within Gran Torino’s agency/apartment building, Ochaco can be found sitting on the surprisingly comfortable couch with her mind trying to decipher Gran Torino’s lesson.

_‘My admiration for All Might is clouding my judgement is it? I understand its fundamentals but letting One For All flow too freely. I think One For All is more special than it really is.’_ And she really doesn’t get it, damn this is so much harder than it should be! All this thinking is really starting to hurt her head, too, but it’s necessary if she wants an answer.

Maybe the answer lies in her memories, after all she has an example of One For All to refer to, All Might. He uses One For All so naturally, never struggling to summon it or use it. He can manipulate the level of power he gives as naturally as one would flex their arm.

Heck even Deku and his aliens are more in sync than she is with One For All, he uses them without any real issues when it comes to harnessing their powers. Almost like he’s been using them all his life!

And just like that, her mind clicks. _‘Oh. My. God. That’s it!’_

She’s so ecstatic that she hurls herself out off the couch. “Quirks are just extensions of our bodies!” How could she forget that?! “I’ve been treating One For All like a limb that’s been sewed onto my body rather than something more natural. It’s a part of me.” She’s even been referring to One For All as All Might’s Quirk; when in reality it is now her own Quirk. “It makes sense!” Her euphoria dies away as she realizes that there’s still a piece of the puzzle she needs to solve. “But…that still doesn’t add up to me letting All Might’s Quirk…my Quirk from flowing too freely. Hmmmm.”

Unbeknownst to her, Gran Torino listens in just outside the doors, which they never closed, with a proud smile on his face. _‘Well, at least she’s figured a part of it out. But from what I’ve seen during the Sports Festival I doubt she’ll give up trying to figure it out, she’s got a lot of spirit. She’ll overcome this I’m sure.’_ He watches as she continues to scratch her head in frustration, trying to figure it all out. _‘You found a good one, huh, Toshinori? Or should I say, All Might?’_

And with any luck he can teach the Ninth Holder a thing or two about being a pro hero.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Whoa!!/Whoa!!”

Eijirou Kirishima, decked out in his full costume, is astounded to discover that he is not participating in this internship alone. “Tetsutetsu?”

Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu, decked in his own similarly designed but grey costume, gasps. “Kirishima?”

They both jab fingers at each other. “What are you doing here?”

The pro hero, Fourth Kind, remains seated at his desk as he addresses the two rock heads. “We were able to put in two offers this year.”

Fourth Kind is a large, wide-set man with four big arms. He has buzzed, grayish-brown hair and small but wide eyes with no eyebrows, although the skin where they’d be is notably heavy and defined. His teeth are prominently straight, and he also has a stitched scar running diagonally over his left eye.

His hero costume consists of a plain black suit, altered to include four sleeves, with a cyan-colored tie and thick gold rings on each of his twenty fingers. His jaw also appears to be made of metal, or at least have a metal casing, as with his neck.

Fourth Kind claps a pair of his hands together. “Let’s begin right away.”

Both Kirishima and Tetsutetsu bow in respect. “I look forward to working with you.”

“I was impressed by the guts both of you showed at the Sports Festival. I like you two. However, being a hero isn’t easy and you can’t rely on brute force alone. So this week, you’ll learn from my experience.”

Tetsutetsu rises and grins in admiration. “That’s the chivalrous hero.”

Kirishima’s own grin could match his. “He’s so manly!”

Fourth Kind pounds his fist onto his desk with an angry snarl. “Wait for me to finish speaking!”

“Yes, sir!” Both bow. “Apologies!”

“Seems I’ll have to teach you proper manners, too.” growls the pro hero.

They both remain in sync. “Thank you very much, sir!”

Fourth Kind calms down before moving on. “First, let’s talk about why we’re even here. Pros receive wages from the government so we’re civil servants. But there’s more to it than that. With the Quirks we offer, our responsibilities are different from regular workers.”

The two U.A. students remain at attention, listening intently to his words, because he's going to have a lot to say.

“Now regarding our actual duties.”

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“Control crime, that’s the basic job of a hero.” The pro hero lazily leans back against the railing, just one more inch and he’ll be falling right off the thirteen-story building, yet he doesn't seem all that concerned. “When a crime occurs, the police will contact heroes based on their districts.” The pro hero yawns out of boredom, his wings stretching as he does so. “But me…I rather be out here on patrol, dealing with the crime as it occurs or even before it can begin. There’s of course rescuing people too which I accel at.”

Fumikage Tokoyami listens intently, his display of seriousness not counteracting this hero’s air of indolence. “That seems very productive of you.”

The pro hero smiles as he jumps back and sits atop the railing looking over the busy street below. “Ha, yeah, I guess it is. Of course there’s also the boring side of things too like filing reports, which, fun fact, a special agency looks them over and decides how much a hero gets paid…” With no warning the hero’s deposition changes, there’s an air of unease and danger around him. Tokoyami raises an eyebrow at his new teacher. “Sir?”

The pro hero’s friendly smile returns. “Haha, sorry, never mind me.” He leans to the side, holding his chin in thought. “Now, Tsukuyomi, I was wondering if you’d answer some questions of mine.” His smile turns into a conniving and devious smirk. “If that’s alright with you?”

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“Additionally, heroes are allowed to have side jobs.” Adds the very beautiful woman as she finishes applying the last of her makeup.

Her whole demeanor screams diva, so much so she’d probably get along with Midnight. She is an attractive and curvaceous woman with long blonde hair that is styled in curly locks and golden eyes with vertically slit pupils. Her most distinguishing feature are the three snakes (a rattlesnake, a yellow King cobra snake, and a Japanese rat snake) that are seen protruding from her hair.

As for her hero costume, she wears a maroon dress with scale-like details, matching shoes, and a choker, and golden snake-like bracelets on her wrists and ankles.

She turns to address her two interns that have joined her in her dressing room. “There were a lot of arguments about this when the world of pros was first being established, but heroes ended up being so popular that the public demanded it.” Which is a very good thing for the Snake Hero, Uwambi.

The two interns, Itsuka Kendo and Momo Yaoyorozu, are a bit lost here but they’re too respectful to interrupt.

“For example: I’m about to film a commercial. Stick around, okay?” Uwambi turns back to her mirror to check up on her makeup.

“Um, well.” Kendo isn’t sure how to go about this respectfully, but she’ll try. “I was kinda hoping I’d see something a little more action-y.”

She is adorning her own hero costume which is a turquoise knee-length qipao, over which she has a black double-breasted corset. She also sports black short pants under the qipao. For accessories, she wears a loose brown utility belt around her hip, a satchel attached at the back, a thin black domino mask around her eyes and white-heeled navy-blue boots.

“No!” snaps the costumed Yaoyorozu.

Kendo jumps startled by Yaoyorozu’s sudden shout.

“This sort of attention is something you can’t avoid if you’re a pro!” Yaoyorozu clenches her fist and holds her hand over her heart. “Besides, she was kind enough to offer her wisdom to an unworthy, student.” She’s really serious and fired up despite the lack of action and thrill. “So I’ll take every lesson she has to give!”

Kendo averts her gaze and murmurs to herself. “She’s really into this.” She snaps out of her murmuring to address Uwambi. “Okay. But isn’t there anything else we can do while you film this commercial, or whatever?”

Uwambi gets up from her seat. “So, do you know why I chose to recruit you two? Any thoughts?”

Kendo takes a minute to think about it “Well, I guess…”

Yaoyorozu excitedly butts in. “It must be because you saw such heroic potential in us!”

“Of course I did. But there’s another reason.”

The two girls aren’t sure what the other reason could be.

Uwambi gives a seducing and leering expression. “You’re both very cute young ladies.”

It’s no surprise to say that both girls are a bit more than dumbfounded. “Huh…?” 

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“Heroes must practice and train constantly.” states Death Arms as he continues to jog through Tatooin Station with Kyoka Jiro struggling to keep on his tail. “You can’t take a break, even when you’re on patrol.”

“Right! Kay!” She’s really breaking into a sweat here, who knew jogging would be so difficult? _‘Aw, man. This is so much harder than class.’_ Her mind flashes to Mr. Aizawa and his…teaching methods. _‘Nevermind, this is better…’_

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Mt. Lady lazes about on her couch, reading a magazine, and eating chips. “You know what’s a useful skill? Knowing how to pass the time while you’re waiting to be called out to rescue someone. Got that?”

“Uh, sure.” Minoru Mineta busies himself with vacuuming her agency’s floor, and he’s not too happy about it. _‘This is not the kind of role play I was hoping for.’_

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Somewhere near the ocean shore, Tsuyu Asui completes a set of pushups alongside the other sailor themed sidekicks.

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It’s good to know that most of Class 1-A are having some real predictive internships, but Ochaco is definitely not one of them.

Mainly in part of her mentor, who is busy sleeping!

“I’m snoring! I’m snoring!” Yup, Gran Torino is totally passed out in his bedroom. “I’m snoring! I’m snoring!”

Ochaco’s bloodshot eyes stare up at the ceiling of the guest room. _‘He can’t be serious…’_ Why are the walls so thin?! And why is his snoring so freaking loud?!

And to add to the growing frustration she still hasn't figured out what Gran Torino was saying. _‘My first day has come and gone yet…I don’t feel like I accomplished anything. We didn’t even go out on patrol or anything.’_ And it’s frustrating that she hasn’t made any real progress.

“I need some air.” She tosses her sheets aside, slips on her shoes and grabs her pink hoodie before making her way outside.

The moment she steps out she takes a nice deep breath of the cool night air. Already she can feel the reassuring effect and the peace and quiet of the empty street is rather calming. So with no real destination in mind Ochaco begins her little night stroll.

_‘Gran Torino. Not even Deku’s heard of him. And he was a teacher at U.A. but only for one year. He’s such a mystery.’_

She pulls up her hood, throwing it over her head before pulling it closed, swaddling her head in the nice soft hood. She continues down the block with only the streetlamps lighting her way and the soft sound of crickets chirping in the gardens surrounding the buildings.

_‘I need to change how I think about One For All.’_ It’s a part of her, her power; it’s not some sort of borrowed power, it’s her’s. _‘I have to treat it like a natural Quirk, like how I treat my Zero-Gravity. Instead I’ve been treating One For All like a finishing move or a special ability that I can only summon when I need it.’_ She continues her stroll as she passes by the nice couple chatting away in the opposite direction. _‘But then there’s also the fact that I use One For All too recklessly and freely, but what does he mean?’_

With a heavy sigh Ochaco is slowly starting to accept the fact that she may not figure anything out, maybe it would be best to turn around and try to get some sleep. Well maybe just one more block and then she’ll head back.

And so she continues on her stroll passing by an electronics store that has its windows stocked up with TVs all playing an old movie from the twenty first century. Ochaco takes a moment to watch her mind somewhat recognizing the film; it’s a comedy but she can’t remember the name for the life of her. She thinks the main character’s name is J.J. Bunny or something.

Anyway she watches the scene play out for a few minutes and it’s a weird movie. Why is that boy running alongside…Hitler?! Holy Shit, that kid just snagged himself a grenade?! And he’s running with it and why is Hitler following him?

She watches as the blond little boy throws the grenade into the air, it slowly spins across the woodland until… it harmlessly bounces right off a tree and lands at the boy’s feet.

Ochaco silently gasps. “Shit…”

The grenade explodes with a loud boom, burning the ground and knocking the boy away and unconscious.

Only for the drill sergeant who’s been watching this all unfold to say something silly and uncaring.

Ochaco grimaces as the scene ends. _‘Sheesh, and Bakugou’s got several of those things strapped to his body.’_ She shivers when she realizes that Bakugou is essentially a living grenade. _‘Those things are just so violent but so tiny! Just little items that hold in so much destructive power that explodes out hitting everything…in…reach…’_ Realization, realization ever so slowly dawns on her and with it does a huge grin slowly begins to form. _‘Just like my Zero-Gravity Field!’_

She’s the grenade in the situation and her Zero-Gravity Field is the explosion! That’s what Gran Torino meant when he said she uses One For All too freely and recklessly. Sure her Zero-Gravity Field worked out well for her in the Sports Festival but in another situation, it would have definitely done more harm than good. For example, if there’s a mass panic of people running away from a scene and she uses her Zero-Gravity Field then there’s a good chance everyone would get swallowed up and there would be even more panic as people try to navigate through Zero-Gravity with cars, rubble, and villains floating alongside with them! Plus she could do some real damage, all it would take is for her Zero-Gravity to weaken a building’s foundation and it’ll come crumbling down when its weight returns to normal.

That’s what she needs to focus on, she needs to control the Zero-Gravity Field and find a way to use it that won’t put others in danger. She needs to restrain it.

Ochaco hastily scans the surrounding area; she thinks she spots a good place to practice. A construction site right across the street.

Rushing across the street she levitates herself up and over the fence before descending down into the construction site where just the foundation of the building is just being built. So there’s plenty of equipment and building materials lying about, providing a decent cover for her. Also it appears the nearby buildings aren’t residential so hopefully no one will notice her.

_‘I need to control the radius of my Zero-Gravity Field!’_ She strides further into the work site until she comes to a good clear opening, it’s nothing as big as the stadium but it’ll have to do. _‘But how…? Maybe if I focus on only using a small percentage, no I’ll only let a small percentage of excess power flow through me.’_ She clenches her fists and scans the area making sure she’s alone, she is. _‘Let’s give it a shot!’_

Remembering to let the power flow naturally, One For All summons forth without much resistance. And so with a deep breath Ochaco’s body begins to glow and the aura begins to expand as a Zero-Gravity Field begins to form around her.

_‘Don’t let it explode out! Keep the field in a small concentrated area.’_ She continues to chant this in her mind as the Zero-Gravity Field ever so slowly continues to grow around her, but it only holds for a few seconds as it explodes out swallowing up the entire construction site and into the nearby buildings.

She cuts off the Zero-Gravity Field and is met with the sound of falling materials, dirt, metal, and glass. _‘That was too much! I need to dial it back.’_

And so with grit and determination she begins the process all over again, and again, and again never succeeding in holding back the radius of the over encompassing power. And every failure is just more and more strain on her body, but that doesn’t matter. She will figure this out even if it takes her all night to do it!

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“Good morning.” yawns Gran Torino as he enters the main sitting area, adorning his oblivious shit-eating grin. “What’s wrong? You look beat.”

The dirty and baggy eyed Ochaco struggles to keep her eyes open, but even so she greets her elder with a kind and polite smile. “I…got a little ahead in my training…” Truth be told she only left when a bag of floating cement landed on her head and knocked her out for a few minutes, but Gran Torino doesn’t need to know that. “I was thinking about what you said yesterday and was trying to put it into practice.”

“And?”

“And…” Her cheeks puff out as she pouts from sheer disappointment. “I didn’t make much progress.”

“Ha, ha, ha. Obviously, you still have a long way to go.” Gran Torino presses his thumb against the side of his nose. “But to be fair, it is your first time trying, so it’s to be expected. That is just how training works. Of course, I suppose All Might can’t wrap his mind around that. He was pretty much able to use One For All right off the bat, so I taught him in a very different manner.” As he finishes his explanation, he waddles off for the kitchen area.

Ochaco steps aside letting him through. “Different manner? Like what?”

Gran Torino stops to think back to his younger days. “Hm? Huh… It was all combat training for him.”

And Gran Torino never held back during those sessions; there were plenty of times he made that poor boy cough up vomit during sparring matches, hell, he even brought him to tears a few times. But it was all necessary of course. 

Ochaco shivers as if she could picture everything Gran Torino’s thinking about. _‘So, that’s why All Might’s so scared of you! You’re merciless!’_

The old man continues not noticing Ochaco’s shock of fear. “The training was difficult, but I couldn’t hold back on him. He was entrusted to me by a sworn friend who had just passed away.”

The girl’s voice softens as she takes in the elder’s words. “All Might’s predecessor, right? What were they like?”

“Huh?” Gran Torino is genuinely surprised but before he could clarify, his doorbell rings grabbing both of their attention.

The delivery guy shouts from the other end of the doors. “Package for you!”

“Oh, allow me.” Ochaco happily goes to the door, greeting the delivery guy.

As she turns away, she misses the retired hero’s remorseful frown. _‘So you haven't told her about the seventh holder yet, eh, Toshinori?’_ Maybe he should say something…no, it may not be his place. _‘It’d be best if Toshinori was the one to tell her.’_

By the time Gran Torino enters the kitchen area, Ochaco has already floated the large package into the room.

She opens the floating box up and finds, “A microwave?”

Gran Torino’s dopey-smile appears as he grabs the floating device from midair. “Yeah, for some reason, mine broke yesterday.’

Ochaco deadpans. _‘Yeah, you broke it…’_

“Heh. So, I bought a new one.” Gran Torino gives the microwave a light shove allowing it to float its way to the counter.

_‘I just can’t read him sometimes!’_ Ochaco grumbles to herself.

After setting the microwave down, the old man grins back at the student. “So whaddaya think, how ‘bout we eat some of that frozen food I bought? It’ll be good!”

If she can remember properly, all he bought yesterday was a bunch of frozen desserts, taiyaki… “Okay!” The grin and light drool on her face are not out of place as her eyes shine with glee.

“Haha! I knew you had a sweet tooth!” Gran Torino swings around and marches off for the fridge. “Finally someone else likes the finer things in life.”

Soon he comes back with a package of taiyaki and Ochaco offers to heat them up for them as she grabs a plate from the counter.

As she throws in a few taiyaki into the microwave, Gran Torino playfully waits at the table swinging his legs and padding his hands up and down like a child who’s going to have their favorite sugary cereal for breakfast.

Ochaco watches as the taiyaki spins inside the microwave and with the hum of the machine cooing to her she lets her mind drift back to her question: how to manipulate her Zero-Gravity Field?

The ding of the microwave interrupts her thoughts, she reaches in and grabs the steaming plate of taiyaki and sets them down in front of a very excited Gran Torino.

“Oh, yeah, look at these delicious babies.” There’s drool leaking out from the side of his mouth as he leans in to examine the tasty treats. “Come and get ‘em while they’re steamin’.”

Thankfully he waits for Ochaco to grab them two clean plates and to set them down onto the table along with a set of forks. But even being a few seconds away from a tasty breakfast Ochaco’s face no longer has a hint of joy rather she’s subdued and quiet.

“Why the long face, girly?” Gran Torino smiles up as he grabs and picks up one of the steaming taiyaki. “Just focus on these pippin’ hot pastries for now.”

And so, opening his mouth wide Gran Torino takes a mighty big bite out of the taiyaki. However, instead of being met with a savory and sweet taste of the pastry the moment his teeth puncture the outer dough, SPLAT, the piping-hot bean paste bursts out splashing into his face.

“IT BURNS!!!”

“Wah!!” Ochaco screams, as Gran Torino flails in his seat as the steaming bean paste continues to burn his exposed flesh. “I-I’ll save you!”

In a hurry to save him, Ochaco snatches up the faucet spray hose from the nearby sink. She yanks the hose out from the sink and aims it right at the screaming old man and with no hesitation she squeezes the handle with all her might. And the amount of water that bursts out should have been impossible for a hose of that size! It’s like a geyser just exploded within her hands as water rushes out and slams into Gran Torino’s face with so much force that it actually knocks him right off his seat and onto the floor!

“Oh, no!” Ochaco releases the hose, but it gets worse. The hose doesn’t shut off instead it continues to spray water, propelling and whipping across the kitchen, spraying water in every direction.

Almost in slow motion Ochaco spots the handle, it’s crushed! During her panic she must have crushed the handle when she first grabbed the hose!

“Wah, I’m so sorry!!”

The soaked Gran Torino, with no more burning bean paste of his face, barks as he ducks under the table. “Don’t just stand there! Cut the water off from the source!”

“Oh, o-okay!” Ochaco reels around towards the sink but being in such a freaked-out state she grabs the end of the hose and pulls. Her plan was to pinch it shut but the moment she gives that thing a pull it snaps right out of the sink.

“…Oops.”

And even more water geysers out from the sink this time, showering Ochaco, the amount of water is already threatening to flood the whole kitchen as she desperately and futilely tries to clog the exposed pipe with her hands.

“YOU IDIOT!!!”

“Please forgive me!!”

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Ochaco lets out an exhausted sigh, finally it’s all over. Well sort of all they did was clog up the exposed pipe and then shut the water off for good, plus the floor (and everything else) still needs to get mopped up and dried. But either way the worst is over.

“What’re you an idiot?!”

Okay, so maybe the worst has still yet to come.

Gran Torino is fuming mad, so much so that the water is evaporating off his skin.

“Look at what you did?! What were you thinking?!”

Ochaco slumps down as the berating continues. “I was just trying to help!”

“Help?! You nearly drowned me!!”

Ochaco clasps her hands together as she bows her head in defeat. “I’m sorry, I was just…trying to help…” That excuse is clearly not going to get her anywhere, but it’s all she can really say for herself. 

Gran Torino sighs, knowing full well that yelling isn't going to get them anywhere. “Always in such a hurry.”

With his cane in hand, Gran Torino stomps off towards his busted sink. “Looky here!” He holds up the sink hose and sways around the crushed handle. “In your haste to ‘help’ you crushed this hose and made everything worse.”

Ochaco tucks her head in like a turtle trying to hide away in its shell.

“That’s your issue girl, you go overboard!” He jabs his finger at the sink. “All you really needed to do was fill a cup with water not blast me with a hose!” He shakes his head in disapproval. “You don’t need an entire river to put out a little flame, that’s just overkill!” He jabs an accusing finger at her. “Do you get me?! You do more harm than good that way!”

Ochaco feels absolutely horrible, with her stomach in knots, and her head hung low. “I’m…really sorry, sir. I’ll…I’ll do better next time…” Her voice trails away as she thinks about what Gran Torino just said and then an out of place grin forms along with an excited gasp. “I’ve got it!” 

Gran Torino frowns as he eyes Ochaco like she’s grown a second head. “Um, yeah I sure hope so. I just explained it.”

“Gran Torino!” The thrilled Ochaco points to the sink. “The sink is me!”

Okay, Gran Torino, admittedly, may have hit her too hard on the head yesterday. “No, it’s not. Are you okay?”

“Yes, I am!” She’s so pumped that she doesn’t even react to his accusation. Nothing can ruin this moment, right now. “But I get it!

It’s like everything just clicked into place, and it was all thanks to Gran Torino even if it was indirectly explained. “When I use my Zero-Gravity Field, I’m really just releasing too much of my power all at once throughout my body. But I shouldn’t be doing that. One For All works best when I allow it to flow through my entire body, but the Zero-Gravity Field is way too intense for that. That’s why it gets so big and out of control!” Like with the water, she just allowed all of the water to rush out at once instead in a steady controlled stream. “I mean All Might could use 100% of One For All, but that doesn't mean he uses 100% of it all the time. Otherwise he could cause some major damage! He’d be doing more harm than good!”

She grins down at the very confused old man. “What I need to do is allow only a portion of One For All to flow through me freely while concentrating on containing how much of One For All I put into my Zero-Gravity Field at the same time!”

Without waiting she stands firm and clenches her fists. _‘Allow the percentage I can control to spread across my entire body freely.’_ Her entire body emits her pink aura as she gazes down at her hands, the source of her Zero-Gravity Quirk.

A Zero-Gravity Field pops out from within but unlike before it is significantly smaller but still encompasses most of the building.

Ochaco can feel the strain on her body as she struggles to keep the power contained and from overflowing outward. It’s even harder as everything around her begins to float into the air. _‘It’s too much!’_

Gran Torino remains calm as he slightly begins to float off the ground, having been swallowed up by the Zero-Gravity Field. His attention remains on the girl as she tries to remain rooted in the center of this phenomenon. “Your Zero-Gravity’s source is from your hands!” He calls out to her, gaining her attention. “Focus all that excess energy to your hands while keeping One For All flowing through you.”

Ochaco gasps. _‘Yes, Just let a small amount flow through my hands naturally, like water flowing through a faucet!’_

Utilizing all her knowledge and willpower, the Zero-Gravity Field actually shrinks down significantly, to the point that it only surrounds her making her float within the air with a sphere of swirling pink-hued energy.

Gran Torino smirks as his feet land back on the ground. _‘At a girl.’_ But she could still do better. “Is that it? Where’s that fighting spirit I saw during the Sports Festival? Is this really all you’re capable of?”

Ochaco smirks from within the large sphere, she knows a challenge when she hears one. And so with another breath, she focuses making sure to let One For All flow naturally while allowing only the smallest amount of excess power to be released into her hands. And just like that the swirling mass of what was a Zero-Gravity Field diminishes; becoming dual spheres of pink energy that swirl around each of her fists.

Ochaco, feeling the strain on her arms, releases her clenched fists as she does, she can feel the strain diminishing just a bit, it seems keeping her hands open will allow her power to move easier within the two pink spheres.

Gran Torino is blown away by the results. Sure he knew she could do it but even this was more than what he was expecting, and it is a sight to behold. “Tell me, kid, think you can hold onto those…spheres?”

Ochaco struggles to peer up at him. “I’m not sure.”

He grins and tosses his cane aside. “Wanna give it a try?”

Ochaco snickers. “Yeah, bring it on, old man.”

Gran Torino sneers as he pulls out a silver pocket watch. “We’ll begin with three minutes.” And with a press of his thumb he starts the clock.

“Three minutes? For what?” She’s still trying to keep her Quirks from going overboard; it’s much harder than it appears

Gran Torino takes a moment to stretch his legs. “That’s the amount of time you have to try to hit me with a smash.”

And so without waiting for her to fully understand the situation, he takes off into the air with his Jet Quirk and suddenly Ochaco finds herself in the exact same situation as the day before. With the surprisingly agile old man zipping from one end of the lounge area to another kicking off the walls and ricocheting around like a bullet.

Ochaco, while still holding the two spheres, tries to follow Gran Torino’s moments. She turns around and BAM a kick to the face breaks her concentration and the little spheres fade away as does the pink hue surrounding her body. _‘He’s so fast.’_

Even while moving at high speed, Gran Torino is able to keep his snarkiness up. “Pathetic! If you can’t even hold your own against an old man.” He whizzes right behind her head so close that with just one turn she’d headbutt him. “how will you protect those who’re in need?”

Ochaco hastily spins around but the moment her back is turned, Gran Torino zips around and slams a kick into the back of her head.

He’s moving far too fast especially in such a small space, but he’s moving about so quick and naturally it’s almost unfair! He’s bouncing off the shelves, literally! In a mere second he’s already kicked off from three separate surfaces: from the wall, to the ceiling lamp, and even to the TV.

All the while Ochaco can barely keep up as he delivers more strikes whenever her back is turned.

“Someone praised by the Symbol of Peace himself should be able to complete this challenge easily.” He strikes her from every direction, making sure to keep her off balance. “No sweat!”

The moment she regains her balance the pink-cheeked brunette clenches her fists in concentration. _‘One For A-’_ Bam another hit, he’s really not giving her the opportunity here.

Gran Torino flies in from three separate directions all in succession of each other: striking her back, her side, and then a sweeping kick to her legs are all that are needed to bring her down.

Ochaco groans as she slams onto the ground and glares up at the ricocheting hero. “Playing dirty, old man?”

“He, he.”

“Fine then.” As quickly as she can she resorts to have One For All activating just in her hand and when a swift swing of her glowing hand into the air, she generates a strong enough of whirlwind that whips through the entire room; throwing papers, books, and anything not nailed down into the air, including Gran Torino. _‘Now’s my chance!’_ Within a heartbeat Ochaco is up on her feet and allowing One For All to build up within her.

Gran Torino’s smile widens as he’s flung back. “Trying to buy yourself some time by throwing me off balance, huh? Good idea.”

It really was, since it gave her plenty of time for One For All to flow through her again. And with her new lesson still fresh in her mind she soon forms the pink spheres around her hands again.

With her Quirks at the ready, Ochaco leaps up to meet the hero head on in midair. _‘Here I come!’_

She throws her hand forward, the pink aura sphere encircling it as she tries to land a hit on Gran Torino.

But the old man, unsurprisingly, shifts to the side allowing her hand and the sphere to not even graze his aura. 

“Almost.” With a sneer, Gran Torino zigzags off the walls, until he’s right behind her, and with his Jet Quirk he blasts himself straight at her. _‘Predictable, try something new kid!’_

She does, after watching Gran Torino’s movements during these last two fights she knows where he’s going to aim for: her back. So, in the nick of time Ochaco leaps up just as Gran Torino was supposed to strike her, instead he finds himself peering up at a very determined hero student as she spins around in midair.

“Gran Torino!” Ochaco throws her hand forward and something…unexpected occurs. As she thrusts her hand forward the ball of energy swirling around her hand suddenly fires out from her hand, as if she threw it forward!

Both Ochaco and Gran Torino are taken by surprise as the sphere fires downward; the experienced hero quickly swerves out of the way allowing the ball to fly past. The ball rockets downward and the moment it connected with the ground *BOOM* it feels like Ochaco threw a Smash attack right into the floor as the ball explodes out, releasing all the pent-up power within it. The blast isn’t too devastating, but it leaves a decently sized crater in the floor, firing off debris into the air that floats there as Zero-Gravity takes hold of them.

The burst was strong enough to blast both Gran Torino and Ochaco away from each other. Gran Torino simply somersaults his way onto his feet without much issue, whereas Ochaco slams into the wall and collapses onto the ground.

Gran Torino pulls out his silver pocket watch and stops the clock. “Your time’s up.”

Ochaco groans as she props herself back up, and notices all the floating debris in the air. So she presses her hands together, releasing her Zero-Gravity and the debris comes falling back down to Earth making a lot of clatter and even more of a mess.

Ochaco groans as she gets up and off the floor. “Ow, that was way more difficult than I thought it would be.” She grips her strained fingers, massaging them and hoping to get some feeling back into them.

“Nice work.”

Ochaco stops rubbing her fingers as Gran Torino nods in approval.

“You managed to attack me while I had my guard down. And it appears you’ve gotten yourself a new form of attack, too.”

Ochaco gasps recalling the strange way she threw the ball of energy. “Yeah! I have no idea what that was!”

Gran Torino cups his chin in thought. “Hm. If you ask me, which you are. I think that sphere was a concentration of your Zero-Gravity with One For All. But rather than as a Zero-Gravity Field your concentration and focus allowed you to compact it into a single point, your hands, allowing those spheres to form, and as an added bonus can be used as some pretty handy projectiles.”

Ochaco needs a moment to take all that information in. Staring at her hands she can only wonder whether or not she was always capable of such an ability or was it all just a fluke. After all she had no idea, she could even use One For All in this way!

“Can you try it again?”

Ochaco smiles up, ready to go again. “Yes.” With a deep breath she summons forth One For All without much trouble, but now for the tricky part, summon up those sphere’s again. A moment passes in silence as she tries to allow the excess power to flow through her hands and then, blam, a miniature Zero-Gravity Field forms around her just like before. “Why isn’t it working?”

“I wouldn’t get hung up on it.” Gran Torino signals her to shut her power off. “You’ve already grown since yesterday, and this was just our first go at using One For All this way. It’s going to take some time before you fully master this technique.”

He turns away as Ochaco releases the Zero-Gravity Field. With his back turned Gran Torino wipes away a smudge of blood leaking out the light scratch on his cheek. When she had thrown that strange sphere a piece of flying rubble grazed him leaving behind a tiny scar.

_‘It’s been a long time since I’ve had to seriously dodge an attack.’_ He smiles back watching as the oblivious Ochaco is too busy throwing her hands forward as if the spheres would magically shoot out from them. ‘ _This kid might turn out to be a real monster.’_

He claps his hands. “All right, no time to rest. Let’s keep training”

Ochaco breaks away from her hand thrusts. “What’s next, sir?” Despite the strain, hunger, and lack of sleep she is ready to keep on going!

Gran Torino’s smile drops as his intense gaze pierces the girl’s very soul. “Something very important.”

Ochaco gulps unsure what he could possibly mean, does he have something diabolical in mind?

Gran Torino’s dopey-grin cuts away any and all tension. “We haven’t had any breakfast this morning.”

“Huh? Oh…yeah, my bad.” Ochaco looks over the room noticing the damage, she’ll probably have to clean all this up later too.

Gran Torino smiles up at her. “So, why don’t you go and heat up those pastries again.” He turns to the table but stops, frozen in place as he finds his kitchen table flipped on its side and the taiyaki on the floor: cold, wet, and…stepped on.

“THEY’RE ALL RUINED!!!”

“Wah!! I’m so sorry! I-I’ll go get some more!” Ochaco makes a mad dash for the doors, throwing them wide open and booking it before Gran Torino decides to take his frustration out on her.

But despite the lack of a meal and a possible punishment for when she returns, Ochaco can’t help but smile proud that she finally made some real progress.

_‘I’ve got so much more work to do, but…now I know it is possible.’_ As she jogs to the nearby convenience store, she stares down at her hands. _‘It’s so exciting if I can master these spheres then can I know I can live up to All Might’s legacy.’_

She picks up the pace wanting to get back to training, she gazes ahead into the bright sunny day as she wonders what the future will have in store for her and this possibly new technique.

_‘Huh. I wonder how Deku’s doing.’_

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Back on day one of the Internships, after Ochaco had exited the train, it didn’t take long for Izuku to reach his destination.

The wielder of the Omnitrix looks out ahead of him with fire in his heart, excitement in his eyes, and the wind to his back. All pushing him to step forward to start his Internship.

_‘I can’t wait to get started.’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know, I'm terrible! How could I leave you all hanging like that?! Answer: because I wanna, and I’m a bit of a troll :P
> 
> But not to worry you will all find out who Izuku is interning with next time on “Heroes Never Die; It’s Hero Time,” promise. But don’t bother asking who it is because I will not tell you. Why? Because I want to leave it as a surprise. Will it be worth it? …Maybe, but either way I’m staying with my decision. You can make guesses, but I will not confirm or deny anything.
> 
> That said the next chapter will be an original take so it will probably take me a bit longer to write up. I’m aiming to have it out in a week or two but as you know life happens and plans don’t always follow through. So, I want to thank you all for your patience and I hope to hear from you next chapter, thanks.
> 
> *So I should explain that in this Arc specifically I will be switching between protagonists. This chapter was obviously focused on Ochaco and the next one will definitely be focused just on Izuku with a little Class 1-A thrown in here and there. And the next chapter will remain on Izuku, but the one after that will go back to Ochaco. So, yeah, a bit of jumping around but I think it’ll all be worth it. I got some fun stuff planned that I’m sure you will all enjoy. And don’t worry everything will come together in the end, and even have some lasting effects.
> 
> *“Rugosa City” is a reference to “Star Wars: the Clone Wars” specifically from Season 1 Episode 1 “Ambush.” Rugosa is the moon where Yoda and his Clone Troopers fought off an entire army of Separatist Droids. Kudos to anyone who did get the reference the first time through.
> 
> And if you don’t know what I’m talking about…go watch “Star Wars: the Clone Wars” it’s great. You’ll love it.
> 
> *So for those that didn’t catch it but the “J.J. Bunny” scene was straight out of “JoJo Rabbit,” the movie by Taika Waititi. It’s a really good movie full of heart, comedy, and social commentary. I highly recommend it. Also, Kudos again to those that understood the reference.
> 
> One of my “editors” recommended the scene to me and I think it was a good choice.


	32. Into the Deep End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Izuku's internship begins!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, it’s time! You will all finally find out who Izuku is interning with! (See I do keep my promises).
> 
> THAT SAID. For full disclosure I didn’t pick Izuku’s internship off practical reasons. I picked his internship based on how fun and entertaining it would be for me to write Izuku with a certain pro hero who in my opinion does not get enough attention in fanfictions.
> 
> *Again the choice was not meant to be practical, instead the choice was out of a sense of fun for me to do. And I think it’ll be worth it considering that this ended up being 70 pages long!
> 
> *Heads up I will be introducing serval new characters and at times I will suggest that you google search said characters. This chapter is sort-of a cross over and I will explain more at the end.

The wielder of the Omnitrix looks out ahead of him with fire in his heart, excitement in his eyes, and the wind to his back. All pushing him to step forward to start his Internship.

_‘I can’t wait to get started.’_

With a skip in his step, Izuku Midoriya marches forward across the oceanside boardwalk. The concrete boardwalk runs alongside the ocean water with a barricade of dolos intercepting the incoming waves. A few seagulls glide about following him along as if he’s going to feed them other than that the boardwalk is empty as it stretches forward to his destination.

Nothing could go wrong; it’s a beautiful sunny day, the ocean’s nice and calm, and there’s no one in sight to disturb his peace. If anything it’s all a sign: a sign that this internship is going to be great!

After all it is off to a great start.

“I’LL MURDER YA!!!”

Goodbye, peaceful day and hello…death. 

Like an undersea monster a Great-White Shark bursts out of the sea, flying up and over the dolos before its…feet smash into the ground right in Izuku’s path; startling the boy so bad he falls backwards dropping his suitcase. 

Izuku cowers as the humanoid Great-White villain turns and glares down at its next meal, and in short, the shark is very disturbing to look at.

Imagine a muscular man wearing a shark for a body-suit with the head of a shark as a helmet sitting over his head, which is located as part of the shark’s mouth. Seriously, the most disturbing part of the villain’s features is that his eyes are a pair of black slits within the shark’s protruding red gums and rows of sharp serrated teeth right underneath. The villain has long finned arms with sharp-serrated claws at the end, his shark-like body is a dark navy-blue with a pale white underside, and he’s wearing black shorts with a shark teeth-patterned belt.

[ **AN:** Google Search: Oumagadoki Zoo “Fuka”]

All in all this guy just screams “killing machine.”

Izuku pales at the sight of all those sharp teeth, just one bite from those things would tear right through his arm.

The Shark sneers down at the quivering boy. “Ya look pretty tasty. I’d bet you’d make a fine snack.” He swings his lanky arm back. “RAHH!!” He swings down but Izuku’s fight or flight takes over forcing him to scramble away just before the serrated claws could cut his head off.

Izuku quickly scrambles to his feet and throws his backpack to the side, gripping the Omnitrix.

“Oh, no ya don’t, shrimp!” The Shark charges forward and slams his head right into the boy making him shout out in pain.

The Shark, with Izuku pinned in place against his head, charges and throws them both up and over the dolos.

The groaning greenette pushes himself away from the Shark’s head and kicks away just before they both plunge into the cold Pacific Ocean.

Izuku can only watch as bubbles and water rushes over his head, and the sensation of water in his lunges forces him to choke, losing the little air he had.

In a hurry not to drown Izuku slams down onto the Omnitrix and the blinding green light forces him out of sight.

“Ah…” Ripjaws sighs with relief, thank goodness for gills.

“Haha, look at that. I could go for some fish sticks.”

Spinning around Ripjaws spots the giant-shark man swimming in place giving him a several-rowed tooth grin.

Feeling more confident and not so out of place in the water Ripjaws growls back. “Who you callin fish-stick…fish-stick?” Okay, that wasn’t his best comeback, he can admit that.

The Shark’s grin somehow widens more as if his own mouth will tear through his own skin. “I like ya, ya’ll be fun to tear apart.”

Ripjaws glares right back, positioning his tail fin as to make a quick getaway. “No need at this rate your looks will kill me first.”

And just like that the Shark’s sneering comes to a swift end. “RAHH!!!” The pissed off shark-man torpedoes through the water making a beeline for the aquatic alien, his mouth open and ready to take a chunk of flesh off his prey.

With just as much agility, Ripjaws torpedoes upward, swerving around the charging shark allowing him to swim right by.

The Shark quickly circles around and charges again.

Not one for a frontal assault at the moment, Ripjaws quickly dives down and takes off with the dolos to his right and the open ocean to his left with a narrow sandbar below him littered with some trash and seaweed.

The Shark sneers. “I love a good chase.” And with that he kicks it into high gear, then out of nowhere he gains a sudden burst of speed, and pretty soon he is on Ripjaws’ tail.

Ripjaws gasps before desperately trying to speed up. _‘I’m going to need a bigger alien!’_

He spots a drowned semi-trailer on the ocean floor. Scrambling for cover he dives inside and out the other end, slamming the doors shut before taking off.

Shark crashes right through the heavy metal doors, bashing them to the side with his thick hided head. “Ha, ha, ha!” It did little to slow the behemoth down.

Ripjaws dives down allowing the Shark to zoom past his head, nearly taking it with him as he swipes at him. Ripjaws rushes away, following the sloping shallows into more open sea just as the Shark circles back around.

With some time to spare Ripjaws takes cover within a rock quarry, within the rocks are crevices and holes just big enough for the Piscciss Volann to slide right into, thankfully the cavern inside is wide enough for him to move around in.

_‘Okay, Izuku. Pull it together.’_ Leaning against the course rock, Ripjaws pants until he brings his breathing under control. _‘Did I lose him?’_

Gliding over to the nearest hole Ripjaws warily pokes his head out to have a quick scan of the area and possibly find out what happened to his attacker.

“RAHHHHH!!!” An animalistic roar echoes as the villain’s massive maw snaps in front of the unguarded Ripjaws, nearly biting his head clean off.

Ripjaws scrambles backwards, his heart racing, and his hand at his throat as if to make sure his head was still attached even as the Shark’s head thrashes trying to break his way into the den.

The thrashing Shark sneers at the cowering Ripjaws. “Come on shrimp. Let me have a taste. Ha ha.”

Ripjaws snarls but with his heart racing and having been shaken to his core he is no fighting shape right now.

Knowing he’s got his prey cornered, the Shark pulls his head out from the hole leaving Ripjaws alone within his cramped, empty, and dark space.

While trying to get his bearings, Ripjaws adjusts himself so he can peer out of a nearby crack in the rocks and he spots his enemy circling the rock quarry like the Great-White Shark that he is.

The Shark is smiling, enjoying his hunt immensely as he circles around and around just waiting for his prey to crack. “Take your time, shrimp. I’ve got all the time in the world.”

_‘And I don’t…’_ Ripjaws gulps before sinking further down making sure he’s hidden away and unable to be reached. _‘Alright what do I know: there’s a psychotic Shark Quirked cannibal that wants to bite my head off, for some reason, there’s no people around so no one knows I’m here, I don’t have any of my gear and they're too far away to rely on, and…I’ve probably only got six or so minutes left before I time out and then…’_ Ripjaws holds himself as the image of his human form being torn apart by a shark plays in his mind. _‘What I need is a plan.’_

With literally no time to waste, Ripjaws carefully gazes into the ocean blue figuring he might as well take in his surroundings. Maybe part of this rock quarry could get him close to shore, it can’t. Every time he sees the circling villain, he flinches thinking he may get a chunk of his flesh chewed off.

And so he keeps looking until he spots it, a chain leading from the ocean floor to a large buoy at the surface. Okay so there’s that but he needs something else, something a bit more useful. And so he scans the horizon using any crevice, crack, or hole to peer through.

_‘There!’_ There in the distance not too far away from the buoy is a sunken fishing boat!

It’s small, torn up, and has clearly been there for a while but it may just have what he needs.

Swimming over the nearest crack Ripjaws watches closely as the Shark ever so slowly swims just out of sight. _‘It’s now or never!’_

He darts out of the rock quarry, exposing himself, with only his speed and brains at his disposal.

“There ya are!” The Shark immediately chases after him, but he’s got to swim up and around the rock quarry. “Let’s draw some blood! Rahh!!” With a mighty roar he torpedoes through the water right after his speeding prey.

Ripjaws can’t afford to look back or to even taunt back, he has to stay focused on his task, his eyes scanning the fishing boat over and over for any sign of what he needs: but all he can see are a few yellow barrels, an empty harpoon gun, some weak looking rope, and that the fishing boat was apparently named the “Orca.”

But with his speed and his ever-analytical eyes, Ripjaws spots the very thing he needs to win, and the sight brings a jagged-toothed smile to his face. Even though he’s got a lunatic shark encroaching on him at a very fast rate.

With his mouth wide and ready Ripjaws chomps down and tears right through the chain holding the anchor down.

The Shark opens up his jaws nice and wide, readying to deliver a killing blow, but without losing momentum Ripjaws snags the broken anchor and swings it around with him as he adjusts himself and propels up towards the surface!

“What?!” The Shark quickly tries to adjust his trajectory, spinning around and spotting his prey high tailing up towards the surface. “I’m not done playing with ya yet!” And with his fins at his side he rockets up after him.

Ripjaws actually smirks at the sight of the Shark’s chasing. _‘Like a fish chasing a lure.’_ The smirk stays put even as the Shark creeps closer and closer so much so that Ripjaws’ tailfin can flick the monster’s nose.

With mighty bursts of speed both fish men jump out of the sea with the Shark's maw wide open to swallow the alien whole. “You’re chum!!”

“Not yet I’m not!” With as much courage as he can summon Ripjaws spins around and launches the anchor right towards the beast’s jaws.

The anchor hooks around the rows of serrated teeth and the sudden heavy weight pulls the Shark down giving Ripjaws plenty of room. He throws the end of the chain which wraps around the villain’s arms and torso, before Ripjaws manages to catch it in midair just as they hit the water. Taking advantage of the situation and the chain in hand Ripjaws swims back, tightening the chain around his foe, binding him in place.

“You little shit!” The Shark begins to thrash about and Ripjaws can feel the chains loosening under his grip. “I’ll murder ya!!”

Ripjaws snickers. “Good luck with that!” With the chain in his claws Ripjaws torpedoes upward, pulling the Shark along with him as they both breach the water’s surface.

Ripjaws grips the nearby buoy and uses it to swing his bound foe around in the air. The chain wraps around the large buoy reeling the shark man in with it. Ripjaws releases the chain and dives back into the water as the Shark’s heavy hide slams into it, his entire body chained up and locked in place thanks to his wrapped and twisted binds.

The Shark gasps finding himself immobilized. “No, no way.”

Ripjaws lifts his head out of the water. “Man I reeled in a whopper!”

“A whopper, huh?” For some reason the villain decides to give a maniacal grin at the assumed victor. “Haven’t you ever heard of the one that got away?”

“What?”

Ripjaws soon has his answer as the Shark’s building muscles thrash in place, his teeth grinding together, and his claws clenched tightly at his sides. “Sorry, shrimp. But I’m no one’s prey!!” With a screeching roar, the Shark breaks right out of his binds, the chains tear apart as the buoy breaks apart under the intense force of pressure, pipes, screws, and chains shower down as the giant beast bares his fangs and claws before leaping up and over towards his target.

He can already smell the blood in the water. “RAHHH!!!”

Ripjaws has no chance of escape, his guard was down, he’s exhausted, and the Shark’s moving far too fast. All he can do is stare as a pair of massive jaws greet him, the villain’s serrated claws at his sides, and a massive being crashing right for him.

“I’LL DEVOUR YA!!!”

“That’s enough.”

*SKREEEE!!!*

Pulses of screeching sound waves crash right into the two fish men throwing them of course from each other as their entire bodies scream in pain under the high frequency attack.

The breached Ripjaws screams, grabbing his head as the pulses continue. “Ah! What is that?!”

The Shark man is in a similar state. “It’s him!”

Soon the piercing soundwaves vanish, and a deep and authoritative voice greets their ears. “Fuka, you went too far, as usual.”

The Shark, or rather Fuka, grimaces and actually looks scared as he gazes up at their interloper. “But-”

“Enough. You know I can’t stand excuses.”

Fuka cowers, sinking his head further into the water.

“Now then.”

The ringing in Ripjaws finally gives away and after a good shake of his head he peers up at the newcomer, and by extension his savior. “G-Gang Orca?!”

Yup the national ranked tenth hero, Gang Orca, is here! Standing tall with his arms crossed atop his very expensive looking speed boat, his black sleek cape billowing behind him making him look even larger and more intimidating, especially to those below him.

Gang Orca is a tall, well-built man whose body has the features of a killer whale thanks to his mutant-type Quirk, Orcinus. His hero costume consists of a white suit with a high collar. The collar reaches all the way to his chin and it is decorated with diamond shapes that are made to look like teeth. This goes with a pink tie made to look like a tongue is coming out. His whole persona just screams gangster boss, and one that’s more than willing to do his own dirty work.

Gang Orca’s piercing red eyes tear into Ripjaws as if he’s figuring out how best to filet this fish.

Ripjaws’ maw tightens as the pro hero’s attention falls upon him, his instincts screaming for him not to move like he’s standing in the presence of a dangerous predator.

“Izuku Midoriya.” Gang Orca reaches out his black clawed hand. “Welcome, to my agency. I hope you’re ready.”

It takes the morphed boy a moment to form a response. “…For what?” 

He’s not sure but he’s pretty sure that the pro hero smirked at him. “To be thrown into the deep end.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“That was a test?!” shouts an astonished Izuku.

Gang Orca glares down at the boy. “Did I stutter?”

“N-no…”

“I can’t hear you!!” roars the pro hero.

“No, sir!”

“There we go.”

After pulling Ripjaws and Fuka out of the sea, they all rode back to shore, grabbed the boy’s belongings, and then followed the boardwalk down to a little dock just outside Gang Orca’s agency.

“I like to test all those that come to work under me.” Gang Orca continues as Izuku hops off the speed boat. “Gives me an idea how they react in unforeseen situations and under intense pressure.”

Izuku nervously points to the Shark. “And him…?”

Gang Orca gestures towards the Shark man. “This is one of my sidekicks, Fuka. I apologize for his…outburst in the end.” His menacing red gaze makes the shark man tremble. “Clearly someone needs to be disciplined.”

Fuka turns away, his jaws shut tight, and if he could sweat then he definitely would be.

Gang Orca turns his attention back on the U.A. student. “But you were never in any real danger though.” After all he’d step in if need be, and he did.

But part of Izuku isn’t so sure. _‘Is that…true?’_ His green eyes shift over towards the large shark man.

Fuka notices the kid’s prying eyes, and he doesn’t take too fondly of it. “Ya got a problem, shrimp?”

“N-no!”

Fuka snickers but immediately shuts his trap when Gang Orca’s eyes narrow at him.

The pro hero adjusts his tie and readdresses the boy. “Well whatever the case you show some real promise, but that’s to be expected. I wouldn’t have sent an offer if I didn’t think you could handle yourself.”

“T-thank you, sir!” Izuku bows. “I look forward to working with you!”

“Good, that’s just what I like to hear.” Gang Orca turns his head towards his sidekick. “Maybe you can learn something from him, Fuka.”

Fuka frowns. “Tch.”

“Well Midoriya, welcome to my agency.” Gang Orca raises his claw, gesturing to the very large building complex behind him. “Also known as the Ushimitsudoki Aquarium.”

Izuku’s eyes widen as he finally takes in the massive building before them.

He’s only ever heard of the Ushimitsudoki Aquarium never did he’d think he’d get a chance to be here considering how far from home it is, and how expensive it can be. And now it’s clear why that is. The Ushimitsudoki Aquarium is like a castle with a grand staircase leading up to its entrance lined with marble pillars, towers range from each corner of the property and a massive glass dome sits atop looking over this ocean kingdom. From what Izuku’s read the Ushimitsudoki Aquarium is one if not the best aquarium in the world, it houses more species of aquatic life than any other aquarium in the world, and plus it’s also utilized as Gang Orca’s own agency. Apparently, he took over years ago when the last curator was forced to leave his position. Izuku isn’t too sure on the details, but whatever the case this is the place he’ll be interning for the week.

Gang Orca and Fuka lead the boy up the stairs and inside their world class facility. And somehow it seems even bigger from the inside with massive tanks surrounding him from every side, corner, and even ceiling, it’s like this place was designed to make you feel like you were underwater. Every tank is filled with hundreds or thousands of fish species. They all range from the colorful and graceful, to the ugly and alien, from the cute to the scary, and from every environment on Earth; any aquatic animal you can think of is here.

“It’s quite the collection isn’t it?” Gang Orca sounds proud as he observes the boy’s reaction.

“I’ll say.” Izuku continues to awe at all the exhibits trying to take in as much as he can from each one. “But where are all the visitors?”

“We don’t open for another hour. Didn’t want the general public to be in a panic when a shark villain attacks a student.” The pro jabs a clawed finger at his own sidekick who doesn’t appreciate the insinuation.

Izuku nods in understanding. “Fair point.”

And so the three continue through the aquarium with Izuku trailing behind as he continues to observe the displays, his eyes hoping from one thing to another as he strolls past a narrow stretch of the aquarium lined with a large wall of glass between him and the saltwater.

As he strolls past, he fails to see a pair of black eyes trailing his movements. “Keke ke.”

Izuku freezes in place, his senses telling him that a disturbing presence is nearby. So with a lot of trepidation, he shakily turns in place and finds a rather disturbing sight.

A human face with a deranged toothy grin is pressed against the opposite side of the glass. “Keke ke. You seem fishy.” Her grin turns dark and threatening. “I don’t like fishy people.”

“Wah!!” Izuku leaps away from the glass mainly because that smile is seriously giving him the creeps.

As he leaps away, he gets a better look at this newcomer.

They’re…a mermaid? She seems to be in her early twenties, with a slim figure, black eyes, wide grin, and pink hair that floats about in the water like a sea anemone. The upper half of her body is human but her lower half of a fish with a long slender tailfin like that of a tuna. Speaking of, she’s wearing a tuna skull-like helmet with a spine running behind her, and the bony fins hang off the bottom of the helmet like long earrings. She’s also wearing a black halter top with matching arm bands around her forearms that have a row of sharp fish-spines poking out from them. Finally, a wide silver belt is wrapped around her waist covering the area where her human-half meets her fish-half.

[ **AN:** Google Search: Oumagadoki Zoo “Tekka Maki”]

The mermaid’s grin widens her sharp teeth on full display like she’s found a little guppy to tear into. “We don’t like fishy people creeping around.”

Izuku shakes his head in denial. “I’m not fishy!”

“Yes, you are.” Her mad grin never fades, and she presses her face against the glass even more, it creaks and bends as if she’ll break through it if given the chance. “No one’s supposed to be here. And that makes you fishy.”

“Enough.” Gang Orca retraces his steps, even with his hands in his pockets he still holds an air of danger around him. “I see you met another of my sidekicks. This is Tekka Maki, she handles much of this facility’s security.”

“Oh, is that so.” Izuku shyly smiles at the mermaid. “It’s nice to meet you, then…”

Her dark grin remains unchanging as her black eyes stare right at him, making him very uncomfortable that she isn’t reacting or responding.

Gang Orca places his massive hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Tekka Maki, this is Izuku Midoriya. He's the one interning with us for the week.”

She continues to stare at him, her hair floating about in the water like a sea anemone, and her toothy grin unflinching. “Oh! I forgot, keke ke!” With a shove her face pops off the glass screen.

“Forgot?” There’s an underlying threat in Gang Orca’s voice as the mermaid somersaults in the tank. “I’ve been giving each of you reminders for days.”

“Keke ke! I can’t remember important things like that.”

Gang Orca’s claws tighten around the very concerned Izuku’s shoulder, but his predatory glare doesn’t seem to have any effect on the bubbly yet creepy Tekka Maki.

Izuku sweat drops. _‘And she said I was fishy…’_

Without warning Tekka Maki gasps her eyes lighting up just before she slams back into the glass, pressing her face against it and once again making Izuku jump. “Wait, so who won?!”

“Um…?”

“Your test! Did you kick Fuka’s tailfin? I’m assuming you did.”

Fuka doesn't appreciate her assumption. “Whaddaya say, merbitch?!”

She turns away from Izuku, her dark grin returning as she glares at the approaching shark man. “I bet it was super humiliating, to be beaten by such a fishy brat.”

“He didn’t beat me!” Fuka slams his claws against the glass, thankfully it doesn't break, but it makes enough of a piercing screeching that it makes Tekka Maki flinch back. “I actually won our fight!!”

Gang Orca unceremoniously drops the truth. “He had you bound and tied up.”

Fuka gasps at the betrayal.

“Keha, haha, keke!!”

“Stop laughing!!” Fuka slams his head against the glass. “I’ll rip ya to shred is ya don’t shut it!”

“Make me!” Tekka Maki pulls her eye lid down and sticks her tongue out before taking off further into the tank and out of sight.

“I will!!” roars Fuka before running off too.

Both Izuku and Gang Orca watch on in silence as they both take off for who knows where.

The greenette nervously smiles up at the pro hero. “They seem like a…fun bunch.”

Gang Orca looks down at him and then back up, silently considering his description. “Sure.”

Izuku’s pretty sure he only said that to be polite.

“Follow me.” Gang Orca turns and begins marching away.

With one last look towards the tanks, Izuku quickly jogs after him. They march in silence even as they enter and wait for the elevator that takes them several stories down. Izuku can only nervously look up at the hero but the hero doesn’t acknowledge him clearly wanting to get to their destination first before they speak.

Fortunately for Izuku it's not a long elevator ride as the doors slide open revealing a large circular room.

The room is dark, cold, and smells of sea water like a dark trench only illuminated by dim lights. The large circular room is encircled by a narrow moat, above the moat are grates with streams of water flowing through them. At the center of the room is a large wooden table. Atop the table there are stacks of papers, a few cups, and for some reason a pair of anchors with chains sit atop of it. Maybe they’re there for decoration, or maybe for…negotiations.

But it appears they are not alone there’s someone already seated at the table going through forms and reports.

Gang Orca marches into the meeting room, and his sidekick immediately takes notice of his presence. “Leave us.”

“Aye, sir.”

The sidekick rises, grabbing his forms before heading out.

This sidekick, like the others, has very similar characteristics of an aquatic animal, specifically as a Japanese spider crab.

Overall he has a normal human’s body shape but his head is the carapace of a crab with a pair of long-armored legs protruding out his shoulder blades, at the ends of the legs are thin sharp claws, whereas his own hands look more like a crab’s body with thin legs in place of his fingers. He’s a thin man, with a steely ever-present glare. His uniform would get a certified pass by Iida because of how clean, pressed, and professional it is. His top reminds Izuku of a bellhop’s uniform that’s white in color, and navy-blue colored lined with golden fabric, and gold-colored epaulette on his shoulders. His uniform’s cuffs are the same aesthetic of dark blue with gold-colored lining whereas his boots are a solid baby-blue.

[ **AN:** Google Search: Oumagadoki Zoo “Dholak”]

Izuku isn’t a hundred percent sure but he’s pretty sure the crab man was eyeing him as he passed them by. But his eyes were nothing but dark seemingly empty slits. If anything he may have been trying to intimidate the young lad. And it worked.

Gang Orca takes a seat at the head of the table in the biggest and most expensive black-leather chair there is, overlooking the entire meeting room and making Izuku feel like he’s in the presence of a real mob boss. “Tell me.”

Izuku straightens as he stands across the table not wanting to upset the hero in any way.

“What is it you want to get out of this internship?”

“Sir?”

Gang Orca hates repeating himself. “Don’t make me ask twice.”

Izuku frowns in thought. _‘What I want to get out of this…?’_ Well in a way it's the reason he chose to come here in the first place. “I… have all these transformations but each one is different with their own weaknesses, abilities, and even biology.” He eyes the Omnitrix knowing full well that there’s even more mysteries yet to come. And with each new surprise, or alien, he needs to be able to utilize each and every one of them without fail, especially if he gets one, he is unfamiliar with. “I want to be sure I can utilize each and every one of them to the fullest. But I’m not sure how to go about that.” Sure he can practice his fighting skills, but he needs more than that. There’s got to be something he’s missing. “I did my research before picking my internship. You and your many sidekicks have such unique Quirks, and with such vast knowledge of so many…foreign creatures I thought this would be the best place to help me.” Plus with a disposition for fighting and training underwater, Izuku can get some practice by maneuvering in a place that can simulate a lack of gravity. After all astronauts train in water before they actually go up to space, so why shouldn’t he do the same?

Gang Orca leans forward, considering the boy’s reasoning. “I see, I appreciate your honesty, and might I add it’s good to see you’ve got a good head on your shoulders, most people these days have a hard time admitting their faults. Often or not they fail to see how their best advantage could also be their weakest point. That said, I think there’s more we can offer you here.”

Izuku raises an eyebrow, he can only wonder what Gang Orca’s referring to.

“Your test revealed a lot to me.” Gang Orca places a clawed finger against the side of his head as he leans to the side. “You’re quick, strong, and most importantly smart all good qualities to have in a hero.”

Izuku puffs out his chest, his pride swelling up to hear such compliments from a pro hero.

“However, at the level you are now there’s a good chance a villain can still gain the upper hand over you.”

His heart drops as his mind recalls what had occurred less than an hour ago. He can still smell Fuka’s breath as the shark man lunged at him with his jaws wide, in those few seconds he was able to count the rows of serrated teeth, each one wanting to pierce his flesh.

Gang Orca continues. “I believe you can be quicker, stronger and smarter.” 

That immediately makes Izuku’s spirit rise.

“To be a hero you cannot just rely on your strength or Quirk alone. One must use all of their tools at their disposal.” Gang Orca leans forward eyeing the boy with such intensity one would think he was trying to kill the boy with a mere look. “Like a beast of the sea one must use all their senses, skills, knowledge, and abilities to the fullest if they wish to survive. The accumulation of all these things will determine whether your someone’s prey or the predator.”

Izuku repeats the words just under his breath. “Predator…or prey.”

“While you are here there will be no hand holding, no coddling, and certainly no heart to heart bullcrap.” Gang Orca points a black claw at the greenette. “You will take every order without question, you will be punctual, and we expect you to do everything at a hundred percent.” Now here comes the gut punch. “Anything less, and I will terminate your internship.”

The instant he said it, Izuku knows he’s telling the truth. He means it one hundred percent, guaranteed.

“You may have come in second in the Sports Festival, but that means squat here. If you saw yourself as the big fish back at school, then forget it, that time is over. That was a pond compared to what awaits you. You’ve been thrown into an ocean full of predators and you better be ready to fight your way to the top of the food chain.” Gang Orca rises out of his seat, towering over the boy making him feel like a minnow in the presence of a killer whale. “As of this moment, you are nothing but a shrimp. A lowly spec that’s only purpose is to be chewed up and crapped out by the strong.” Essentially, he is at the bottom of the pecking order. “If you don’t like it then show me what you really are.”

Izuku, defiantly, glares right back trying to match the hero’s intensity. “I will!”

“Good, because you start now.”

“Yes, sir!”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

_‘This is not what I had in mind.’_ Izuku grumbles to himself as he plops the wet mop onto the ground and begins scrubbing.

“Ya call that mopin’?! I sure hope ya don’ wipe yar ass like that!”

Izuku slouches over, trying his best to remain respectful and polite. _‘What a day: first I get attacked by a shark, threatened by a mermaid, and now…I’m being bossed around by a walrus!’_

Yes, after Gang Orca’s declaration he tossed Izuku aside, literally, to work under one of his sidekicks, Kaizou. The boy didn’t even have the chance to change into his costume instead remaining in his school uniform and only allowed to remove the blazer so as to not ruin it.

Kaizou is in charge of the aquarium’s entertainment branch and so after acquiring a new hand he got Izuku to work by mopping up one of their many stages for shows and educational features.

He’s a giant of a man and yeah, he’s essentially a bipedal walrus with brown leathery skin. Huge white tusks, and giant bushy mustache of whiskers. All he’s wearing is a giant pair of back pressed-pants, giant shoes, and a mask with goggle-like eye holes above his nose.

[ **AN:** Google Search: Oumagadoki Zoo “Kaizou”]

“Circles! Ya gotta mop in a circle!” Kaizou swings his flipper-like arm around; it would be funny if he wasn’t being reprimanded.

“Don’t worry, I’ll get it.”

“Ya better! We don’t need no shrimp ruining the show!”

Izuku sighs in defeat. “Got it, sir.”

And he gets right back to moping as Kaizou glares down at him inspecting his work.

Unbeknownst to them standing just behind the entrance to the stage area, Gang Orca’s crustacean-like sidekick watches on observing Izuku’s miserable form.

And the sight is oh so amusing to him. “Gishigishi.”

The oblivious and unsatisfied Izuku lets out an exasperated sigh as he continues to mop away. _‘I wonder how everyone else is doing…’_

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Far away, near the center of Tokyo there’s a prestigious building that’s white in color with large glass walls. And within its walls a top ranked hero evaluates their newest member.

“To be perfectly frank, I don’t like you very much.”

“Huh?” Katsuki Bakugou scowls, the last thing he came here for was to be ridiculed.

The pro hero turns to face the young man and Bakugou is able to get a good look at him.

He is a tall, slim man with an unnaturally long and flexible neck. He has rather long blonde hair which he wears combed drastically to the left, covering his left eye. His hero costume consists of a pair of jeans, a denim waistcoat with two large breast pockets, and a denim dress shirt with a very high collar which covers his face up to just below his nose. He wears two belts, one around his collar and one around his waist, and short dark brown boots with thick gray shafts and soles.

“I know full well why you chose my agency.” The top ranked hero, Best Jeanist, eyes Bakugou, examining his reaction. “Because I’m one of the top five most popular heroes.” Specifically, he’s ranked as Number 4 under All Might, Endeavor, and Hawks respectively. 

The fully costumed Bakugou scowls. “Hey, look, you’re the one who made an offer for me.”

“Yes.” Best Jeanist is exasperated as he slicks his front bang to the side. “Recently, all my recruits have been perfect little angels,” he flicks a finger at Bakugou. “so you certainly stood out. I watched the way you fought at the Sports Festival.” And he took a particular interest in how much destructive power this child holds with his Explosion Quirk alone. And the display was rather distasteful. “You have a good handle on your powerful Quirk, and a decent grasp of its application as well. You’re an outstanding talent. I’d say you’re already good enough to take on as a sidekick.” But the praise stops there. “However, you do have a fatal flaw. You believe you’re the best, and you display that belief without regard for how it reflects on you or your image. You have a ferocious nature.”

Bakugou’s teeth grind together in anger, anger because the prick is right. Everything he said was right no matter how much he wants to deny it all. But what’s really grinding his gears is that this know-it-all prick had him pegged before they could even meet.

“Don’t tell me you brought me here just to give me a lecture!” He stomps forward ready to get in the jackasses’ face. “Ah-” Before he can even take another step, he finds his arms tied up and bound together, even his legs are pinned against each other. Within a few moments he knows he’s been immobilized. By what? String of all things.

“I have to correct people like you. It’s part of my duty to society.”

Bakugou glares at the strings, unable to comprehend how something so thin and flimsy is keeping him from moving.

“Heroes and villains are cut from the same cloth.”

The mad blonde glares up at the source of the threads, Best Jeanist.

“So your job here is to watch me.” The sleeves of the hero’s costume have been thinned away as the string tightens around the boy. “I’ll show you what makes someone a hero.” That’s a promise.

The very confused and very pissed up Bakugou growls, his arms struggling to break free. “What in the hell are you doing?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I’m educating you on becoming an exemplary pro.” replies Best Jeanist ever so smoothly like it’s obvious. “That includes being aware of the way you speak, your appearance, controlling your emotions, your morals.” Basically he wants to correct everything about the U.A. student.

And said U.A. student does not like that, not one bit.

“There are countless things you need to learn, but in the brief period of one week, I will stitch these things into the fabrics of your being.”

Bakugou’s red gaze boars into the hero’s head; he knows this hero means every word and he’s not going to give this prick the privilege of changing who he is, not after all that bullcrap.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“This sucks.” groans an exhausted Izuku.

His knees are sore after only a few minutes of scrubbing the bathroom floor. Apparently Kaizou thought it’d be necessary for him to use a brush and get on his hands and knees to scrub the floor rather than using a mop. Something about making sure Izuku won’t miss a speck of dirt on the floor. Thankfully he’s scrubbing the employee bathroom meant for the sidekicks rather than the public restroom, but it’s still far from glamorous.

Either way it’s been hours since his arrival and Izuku’s done nothing but clean and be worked to the bone by Gang Orca’s sidekicks all across the Ushimitsudoki Aquarium. He’s been tossed around by one sidekick to another, from Fuka to Kaizou and even to Tekka Maki; each one putting him through one ordeal after another.

In truth he thought he’d be doing more hero-related work with Gang Orca and be treated as a student, rather he's being treated like any old intern; the only thing missing is that they haven’t sent him off to make a coffee run. Actually a coffee run would be so much better than what he's been through so far.

##########(Flashback)#########

First, Fuka hauled him down to the loading dock at the rear of the property. There he had him hauling heavy cargo off into different parts of the aquarium.

“Come on ya’re moving so slow!!” shouts the very frustrating-to-work-with Fuka. “A fucking slug can move faster than ya!! Pick up the pace!!”

Four Arms is desperately trying to keep his cool but it’s becoming increasingly difficult; he’s got one giant crate up in the front being carried by one pair of arms while also carrying two little crates in his two other arms.

Four Arms pouts mumbling to himself as he stomps forward, trying not to collapse under all the weight. “You could help, you know.”

“WHADDYA SAY!?!”

“Nothing!”

\-----------------------------------------------------------------

“Give it some more juice!!” shouts Kaizou.

“I’m trying.” grumbles a frustrated Feedback, his tendrils latched into a pair of spotlights.

He’s trying to keep them running while some of the technicians run to go and repair a generator. So for now Feedback’s got to stand here and keep the lights going while a show performs down below.

Apparently, these spotlights need a lot more electricity than he first thought and as such he can’t move or even peer down at the show below. He thinks there’s some sort of performance with a seal but they’re a little too far up for him to have a proper look. 

“Give it some more juice!!”

Feedback reels back as more electricity surges through his tendrils.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------

“A little twist here. A little twist there.” Grey Matter wiggles his little grey hand inside the broken spinning filter, bits of sand break free from within floating into the filthy water.

Grey Matter fans away the sand as it floats up to his face, he doesn’t need that stuff getting into his gills. This filter system is already filthy enough as it is. But why is Grey Matter inside a filtration system?

From where? From inside the actual filter itself. Apparently, it got jammed up from the inside and it just so happened that Grey Matter happens to be the perfect size to squeeze inside and fix it for them, he can also breath underwater so that’s a plus.

“There we go!” He pulls his hand away just as the filter begins to spin again, the last of the debris breaking away. _‘Hang on…’_ Grey Matter eyes the increasingly spinning filter, he can feel the water ever so slightly flowing towards the speeding contraption. _‘Ironically…I didn’t think this through.’_

And before he knows it, he gets swept away in the sudden current of water. He fights against it with all he’s got but it’s no use.

“Wahh!!” Grey Matter gets pulled right into the filter, spinning around along with the filter before being shot up the pipe leading into the tank.

Grey Matter gets spat out into the exhibit, fresh clean water filling his gills and a sigh of relief graces his lips now that he’s out of danger. “Phew.”

It’s such a relief that’s over, that thing was so filthy it’s good to be out. “Huh?”

Wait, where is he anyway. He’s inside one of the freshwater tanks but which one was it?

Spinning around Grey Matter turns deathly pale when he realizes which tank, he’s in; the piranha exhibit.

“Ahhh!! Help!!”

Tekka Maki sits atop the open top of the tank, her creepy grin widening as she watches Grey Matter desperately trying to evade the swarm of flesh-eating fish. “Keke ke.”

\-----------------------------------------------------------------

Heatblast would be sweating if he was physically able to. He’s deep in concentration holding his hand firmly with a single finger out as he carefully welds two pipes together.

_‘This…is harder than it looks.’_ He’s really trying to keep this compressed flame from going too out of control; he's sure that if he caused a fire then Gang Orca would deal with him himself, and he doesn’t need that. 

And so he keeps at it, trying to focus on the task at hand.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------

Fuka, Kaizou, and Tekka Maki are all seated and going over piles of paperwork.

A rush of wind and the doors flinging open alerting them to XLR8 who zips right into the underground meeting room.

The speedster pulls out a little notepad and begins reading off the orders. “Roasted Turkey and Avocado BLT on asiago cheese bread?”

“Keke ke. That’s mine!” shouts a grinning Tekka Maki, swinging back in her seat with her hand outstretched behind her.

In a blink of an eye XLR8 drops a bag right into her open palm before zooming back to the entrance and reading off the next order. “New England Clam Chowder Soup?”

Fuka doesn’t even look up, he just holds his hand out offhandedly. “Here.”

XLR8 is nothing but a blur as he drops a bag of food into his giant clawed hand.

“Ancient Grain, Arugula, and chicken salad?”

Kaizou lifts his head and waves his flipper. “Mine, obviously!”

XLR8 speeds over and unceremoniously drops the bag right onto the table.

“Phew.” XLR8 wipes his forehead after such a long run.

They sent him to pick their orders from a restaurant that was over fifty miles away. But he’s back with about two minutes to spare on his time limit too no less.

Fuka browses his bag but stops and peers up at the U.A student. “Where’s my soda, my Diet Dr Kelp?”

XLR8 pales as a horrible sensation seeps in

“I forgot it!!”

\-----------------------------------------------------------------

A squad of Dittos, each decked out in miniature scuba gear, are busying themselves by scrubbing away at the massive glass screen from within the tank itself. That task doesn’t seem too complicated, if it weren’t for the inhabitants of said tank.

While most of the Dittos are busy cleaning away, they only have to deal with the occasional curious fish swimming by. However, one Ditto decided to take a ride on a graceful Manta Ray through the large open tank.

At least he’s having fun, because another trio of Dittos are definitely not having a lick of fun. Instead three of them seem to have gotten into a wrestling match with a very angry and territorial Giant Octopus, and they’re not winning.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------

Big Chill’s chest inflates as he takes a deep inhale and then he exhales, releasing a gentle yet large wind of cool freezing air.

Much of the tundra-like exhibit drastically cools down, snow even forming across the ground and parts of the pool water freezes. A chorus of penguin calls cheer in response, the cute flightless birds were extremely uncomfortable thanks to the cooling system breaking earlier that day.

Big Chill takes a moment to appreciate his handy work, as he does one of the smaller penguins waddles up and cuddles against his cool leg thanking him for his efforts.

“Well,” Big Chill leans down and gives the little bird a gentle pat on the head. “At least someone appreciates me.”

\-----------------------------------------------------------------

Izuku grins, wiping the sweat from his forehead as he examines the newly mopped aquarium hallway.

It’s a mess, sure it’s mopped up but there’s puddles of water everywhere, he used too much water and apparently too much soap!

“What do I do?” He grumbles pushing back his disheveled hair.

His eyes light up as an obvious solution pops into his mind; followed by his hand on the Omnitrix and him disappearing in a flash of green.

“Terraspin.”

The Geochelone Aerio hops up, his limbs forming into fans. With his spinning limbs Terraspin glides through the hallway, generating a strong enough wind to wipe away the excess water.

Terraspin comes to a stop as he reaches the end of the once wet hall, his stump like feet plopping onto the ground before his feet slip right from under him, it appears he missed a spot.

The turtle-like alien ends up falling onto his back, wobbling in place as he tithers side to side. “Dang it.”

Terraspin throws his arms forward trying to sway himself to his feet; after a few attempts he knows he won’t be getting up any time soon.

Terraspin sighs, accepting his fate, as a curious sea turtle swims by the nearby glass wall.

Terraspin peers over as the sea turtle eyes him curiously. The morphed Izuku plops his fin against the glass, parallel to the sea turtle’s beak. “You understand my pain, don’t you?”

########(End Flashback)#######

“Finally finished!” Izuku cheers as he practically skips out of the employee bathroom, dropping the brush and bucket into the cleaning supply cart.

“Y-y you must b-b be the new g-g guy.” states a gurgly voice.

“Yes, indeed!” responds a gallant yet disciplined voice. “Be sure to behave yourself, Sir Devilfish.”

“I w-w will, Ikkaku.”

Izuku spins around to see two figures approaching from down the hall both of them are wearing the same white uniforms to that crab guy from earlier. And like all the other sidekicks they too resemble an aquatic-animal counterpart.

The first guy, Izuku assuming is Devilfish, is an octopus of all things. Well nearly his whole body is human except for his head which happens to be the body of a common octopus that’s grey in color and only has about two tentacles available. He’s a slender man who walks with a permanent slouch like he’s constantly sneaking around corners and spying on others, his fingers are long and slim, curling together like he’s cooking up some kind of scheme.

[ **AN:** Google Search: Oumagadoki Zoo “Devilfish”]

The second sidekick, Ikkaku, walks with a purpose, the human-bodied man stands with his head held high; his head so happens to be that of a narwhal’s head with a broken tusk. Or so it appears, the rest of his long tusk is strapped to his back like a spear being carried by a respectable warrior. He’s wearing the same white, blue, and gold uniform as Devilfish and the crab, but with orange gloves around his hands.

[ **AN:** Google Search: Oumagadoki Zoo “Ikkaku”]

The narwhal headed man raises his gloved hand in greeting. “Hello, there young man.” He makes a big show of bowing. “My name is Ikkaku!”

“Oh, uh, hi!” responds Izuku not expecting such a pleasant greeting. “I’m Izuku Midoriya.”

Ikkaku springs up. “It’s a pleasure to meet you! Please seek me out if you need any assistance!”

“T-thanks…” Izuku shyly accepts the offer. _‘This guy…sort-of reminds me of Iida.’_ He’s got that same disciplined and strict mannerisms.

Ikkaku gestures to his fellow sidekick. “And this fine fellow is Sir Devilfish.”

Devilfish’s tentacle-like fingers wring together as he gurgles out a hello. “H-h hey, j-j just call m-m me Devilfish.”

“Um, hey…” Izuku gives a curt nod, he’s really having a hard time making out any emotion on the octopus’ face but like with Tekka Maki there’s an air of creepiness around him.

“Tell us, young man!” Ikkaku jabs his hand towards Izuku. “Why are you covered in suds?”

“What?” Izuku grabs his messy hair and a bit of suds drip down between his fingers and arm; when did he get soap in his hair? Well anyway. “Oh, I, uh, was cleaning.” He gestures towards the employee restroom.

Ikkaku nods his narwhal-head in understanding. “Oh my, but do tell, why do you look so exhausted?”

“W-well, all the others have been working me ragged since I got here. Haha…” Izuku laughs nervously, praying that these two won’t do the same.

“Ah, I see.” Ikkaku turns to Devilfish, both share an understanding look like they can relate to the boy’s predicament. 

“N-n not surprising.” adds Devilfish.

Izuku blinks, what does he mean by _not surprising_? “What was that?”

“Never you mind that.” Ikkaku smiles radiates that of an adult addressing a small child. “Tell you what, I think you’ve more than earned a break by now. Why not take a rest and explore a bit of our world-class aquarium?”

Devilfish steps behind his partner, eyeing Izuku like he’s someone to be suspicious of. “O-o or you c-c can hang out in the b-b backstage areas.”

Izuku steps back from the pair, for some reason he just feels like that Devilfish guy is going to pull something shady. “Uh, is that okay?”

Ikkaku is quick to respond. “Of course it is!”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Thank goodness.” breathes Izuku as he plops himself onto the ground, his legs dangling off the edge of the concrete dock.

After getting permission to take a break via Ikkaku, Izuku set off for a quiet and peaceful place to rest. The loading dock area appeared to be empty and with the calming breeze of the ocean he figured it was the perfect place to hide out for a bit.

Sure he thought about exploring more of the aquarium, but a lot of guests have arrived filling the place up to near capacity. And after being so high in the ranking for the Sports Festival there’s no doubt that if he went inside, he’d be swarmed by fans.

So here he is, hiding out in the solidarity of the loading dock.

Izuku takes a moment to examine the place, it’s big with only the portion nearest the aquarium having a roof over it; the rest is out in the sunlight, outstretched into the ocean shore.

The loading dock consists of four separate loading ports all leading into the ocean, strewn across the area are large metal crates, plastic barrels, chains and ropes, tools, and machinery. There’s only one boat present in the entire place and it’s Gang Orca’s super expensive speedboat.

A juvenile grin graces Izuku’s lips. “This is great.” He sounds perfectly at peace glad to finally be having a break. _‘But what is this place’s deal?’_

He hasn’t even seen Gang Orca around all day, sure he’s high up on the rankings so he gets called away on all sorts of business all across the country, but Izuku was really hoping he could at least tag along. But he’s been pawned off to the other sidekicks who are getting a real kick out of putting him through some humiliating tasks. If this keeps up…he won’t have any real progress; all his classmates will outpace him at this rate.

But what can he do? There’s got to be something.

“Hmph. Lazing about on the job, typical of a welp such as yourself.”

Izuku doesn’t recognize that voice, but the scrutinization sure does sting.

A uniformed figure stomps out from the shadows, their hands in their pockets as they tower over the boy. “And the boss had such high hopes for you.”

Izuku spins around to address the new arrival. “It’s you.”

It’s that lanky crab guy he saw when he first arrived. “The names, Dholak.” Dholak spits. “Don’t forget it you little shit.”

_‘What is this guy’s deal?’_ Izuku smiles trying to remain polite. “I…I won’t.”

“Hmph.” Dholak leans his head back, glaring at Izuku through the dark empty slits he calls eyes.

_‘Maybe I should just leave.’_ Izuku, unhappily, gets up from his spot and begins to walk away from the hostile crab.

A thin armored leg, pierces into his path cracking the cement just before the U.A. student’s feet.

Said student is scared stiff, his eyes locked onto the spear-like appendage that was only a few inches off from stabbing his own legs.

Even so he chokes back a frightened yelp. “Hey, um, d-do you mind moving your…” His eyes lock onto the thin sharp claw at the end of the long-thin appendage. “leg?”

“Yeah, I do mind.”

“Oh…” Something’s wrong, very wrong, yet it’s somewhat familiar.

For Izuku this feels like… old times. It feels as if Bakugou himself is glaring down at him, wanting to hurt him and beat him into the ground. Izuku’s being targeted and Dholak is not going to just let him walk away.

Not one to go straight to fisticups Izuku remains calm knowing that he has to at least try to defuse the situation. “Well in that case-”

Dholak doesn’t even give him the chance to calm the situation. “I bet you think you’re top shit after the Sports Festival, playing with your kiddie friends and thinking you’re number one.”

_‘That’s…not at all how I think.’_ Izuku internally grumbles to himself, he then puts on the best I’m-no-threat smile he can muster. “Well actually I didn’t come in number one, I was in second.”

An irk mark appears on Dholak’s forehead. “Are you calling me stupid?” His voice is dangerously low.

Clearly Izuku’s comment had the worst effect possible and he’s well aware of it, he needs to fix this, now! “I meant no offense! I’m sure you're very intelligent.” Izuku begins bowing back and forth, apologizing for whatever it was that offended the crabby sidekick. “I’m sorry for overstepping! I didn’t mean to offend!”

Dholak’s extended leg retracts, folding up above his head as to be ready to strike again. “First you call me stupid. And now you’re pitying me!”

“No!” Izuku is getting more and more desperate, this guy really is just looking for a fight. “I swear, I’m not!” Seriously he’s begging for mercy. “I’m only here to learn! And to work hard while doing it!”

“Work…hard.”

Uh, oh.

If Dholak’s anger was a quiet flame before then it’s a raging inferno now, even if he keeps his voice at a moderately hushed tone. “You worked hard? Gishigishi, don’t make me laugh.” His piercing gaze stares right into the boy’s very soul. “You haven’t been working hard at all.”

Okay, now that stung. “Excuse me?”

“I’ve been observing you.”

Izuku’s blood goes cold. “What?” Just how much of a creep is this guy?!

Dholak raises his crab-bodied hand and stretches a thin finger at the boy. “The others may have been working you around the clock, but you have yet to really work for your place here.”

Izuku frowns, not sure what this guy could mean.

“If you're not willing to work for the right to be here.” His dual pincers begin to windup. “Then you’re not worth our time.” His eyes widen as a brilliant idea pops into his mind. “You know what kid. I think I’ll just get rid of you.”

_‘Get rid…of me?!’_ Izuku instinctively reaches for the Omnitrix, finding comfort that he can defend himself if he has to. _‘He can’t do that…can he?’_

Dholak strikes, launching his extended lance-like limb right toward Izuku’s head.

“Woah!” Izuku falls back as the lance attack zooms over his face. _‘That was close…!’_ And terrifying, those legs of his have a far greater reach than he first thought.

“Don’t you get it?”

Izuku props himself off the ground as Dholak retracts his extended pincer.

“You’re not walking away from this.” Dholak adjusts his collar as his pincers click together. “Not unless you beat me.”

Izuku pushes himself onto his feet. He doesn't fully understand the situation, and maybe it’s too late for reasoning, but he just has to be sure if this is the right course of action. “Is this a test?”

Dholak throws his pincers forward, his long legs clashing together in front of him like a pair of swords. “No.”

Okay, then. At least Izuku knows that this is the only way out.

Dholak glare intensifies. “By the end of this fight. I’ll have you crying for mercy.”

Izuku grips the Omnitrix, activating the dial face, he’ll show this guy that he is here to work hard, no matter what he says.

And so with no other options available, Izuku slams down on the alien device. “Lodestar!” The Biosovortian howls as he readies himself for a fight. “Okay crab cakes, if you want a fight.” He raises his own pincer towards his challenger. “Then you got one.”

“Gahh!!” Dholak strikes, launching his spear-like leg forward.

Lodestar spins away evading the attack.

Dholak throws his other claw forward but Lodestar quickly magnifies a tin sheet to intercept the attack. Unfortunately, the thin metal sheet does nothing to stop the oncoming attack, breaking through the metal sheet like paper before slamming right into Lodestar’s chest.

Lodestar is thrown back, groaning in pain, as he’s thrown against the aquarium wall.

Dholak retracts his extended claw as he charges forward, his claws poised to strike. “Prepare for a world of pain!”

Acting fast, Lodestar magnifies a nearby chain and flings it forward just as Dholak springs a spearing claw forward. The flying chain wraps around Dholak’s outstretched crab-leg, Lodestar then magnifies the end of the chain, tightening it around the appendage. With a firm grip on his foe Lodestar, using his magnetic beam, swings the chain around and flings Dholak into a wooden crate smashing it to pieces.

Lodestar releases his hold on the chain. “Had enough?”

“You bastard.” Dholak rises out from the broken boards like a zombie out for revenge. “You’re going to regret that.”

Dholak throws his claws to the side and swings them forward into nearby stacks of crates, barrels, and other supplies throwing them all forward at the U.A. student.

Lodestar thrusts his arms forward releasing a magnetic pulse, but it does very little only affecting the screws of the crates, and a few other smaller metal objects but the rest of the projectiles just keep on flying toward him.

“Seriously?” Lodestar easily bats away the projectiles, the only real threat are the empty plastic barrels but those are just nuisances if anything else.

As Lodestar swats away the last barrel something thin and red in color fires straight for his head, the alien instinctually flinches and just in time too as Dholak’s extends claw grazes his cheek and impales itself into the cement wall.

Lodestar gasps, sweating profusely from how close that strike is, his head is only a hair away from the sharp appendage; it was that close. _‘He…he used the debris as a cover to launch another attack.’_

“You’re not taking this seriously.”

The very wary Lodestar’s eyes trail down the extended claw towards its source who’s readying his opposite claw and giving him one of the darkest glares he’s ever been on the receiving end of.

“I told you, you’re not walking away from this.” Dholak continues not moving his lance-like limb from its place. “Not unless you fight back. Understand?”

He does.

Lodestar’s lips straighten as he pries himself away from his spot, marching away from the extended lance as it reacts again. “Fine then.”

Lodestar swings his arms and releases a massive magnetic field that swallows up everything that enters its radius: pipes, chains, screws and nails, crab cages, and anything else that’s made of metal. “Think I’m taking this seriously now, crab cakes?!”

Dholak, admittedly, looks a bit nervous as all those magnetic items swirl around Lodestar’s form.

Swinging his arms up and over his head, Lodestar throws the swarm of metal at the sidekick. The metal projectiles shower down on the crab, but Dholak is far more agile than Lodestar had predicted.

Dholak weaves his lanky body between the projectiles, using his elongated longs to swat and parry anything that gets too close.

As more projectiles come flying, Dholak uses his elongated legs to springboard himself up into the air, high above the projectiles.

Lodestar gasps as his foe twirls up in the air, curling his lance-like claws around his body. “Crab Screwdriver!!” Dholak begins to spin like a giant drill as he races down towards Lodestar.

With that much speed built up, Lodestar has barely any time to dodge. Throwing his own body to the side as the drilling attack impales the ground, breaking the cement on impact and causing enough of an impact to throw Lodestar down.

Lodestar wastes no time to spring himself back onto his feet as Dholak prepares his next attack. “Rahhh!!” Lodestar roars at the top of his longs as he aims a magnetic pulse right at a pair of anchors sitting nearby.

The chained anchors rise and fly forward crashing to Dholak, forcing him back and he uses his legs and claws to block the strikes. The anchors fly up and begin to dive bomb the crab man, who parries each one away but Lodestar, not one to give up, doesn’t relent. He swings his arms back and forth, side to side, manipulating his magnetic beams to repeatedly launch the anchors back at his target.

Dholak continues to parry, and swerving out of the way of the anchors, so Lodestar decides to change things up.

An anchor dives in from above and Dholak steps out of the way as the heavy metaled object smashes onto the ground, rooting it in place.

Dholak eyes the anchor just before the second anchor smashes into the ground behind him. ‘What’s this brat up to?’

He soon has his answer as the chains attached to the anchors rise and dance around him.

“What?!”

The chains spin and wrap themselves around Dholak, pinning his pincers, and body in place.

Lodestar smirks at his handy work. “Sorry, but you can’t get rid of me so easily.”

Dholak growls. “Evidently not.” He struggles against this bond trying to wiggle around to gain some sort of leverage. “But you're still not off the hook.” One of his claws manage to get around one of the chain links.

His sharp powerful claw presses down on the chain, the chain link cracks and then snaps away under the crushing pressure. “You welp! I’ll tear your arms from your body and serve them to Fuka!” With one chain loose it’s only a simple matter for Dholak to break free from his bonds entirely.

“Is that so?” Lodestar remains defiant as a massive metal trailer floats above his head.

While Dholak was breaking himself free, Lodestar got to work at acquiring his latest weapon.

“Take this!” Lodestar throws his arms forward and the massive trailer goes flying right for the crab man.

Dholak does something rather unexpected. He doesn’t flee, or even try to dodge, instead he runs…straight towards the flying trailer.

Dholak leaps forward, clapping his crab-legs together and thrusting them forward like a massive lance. And like a lance the piercing pincers stab themselves right through the massive projectile. Dholak spins his body around as his pincers pierce through the trailer making a hole big enough for his lanky body to slip right through with no issue. His pincers break through the other side, before swinging apart and making a huge gash in the side of the trailer allowing Dholak to leap out like a beast breaking from its cage.

Lodestar gasps, his jaw dropping as Dholak lunges at him and the trailer crashes into the ocean.

“Special Move: Pincer Assault!!” Dholak’s crab-legs thrust forward in rapid succession, striking the alien multiple times within a single second.

Even though he’s only using two crab-legs, for Lodestar it feels like he’s being impaled by a hundred spears all at once. Each one striking him with such force he can’t even react to defend himself, throwing him into a daze.

Dholak swings one of his lance-like appendages back and then swings it forward. The limb crashes into Lodestar throwing the young alien towards the opposite end of the loading dock.

Lodestar’s head bounces off the ground, aching and groaning with a sharp pain as he struggles to get up. “That…really hurt.”

His whole body is wobbling as pieces of his magnetic body form back together. Even though his body can repair itself doesn’t mean he can’t feel pain, and it sure does hurt, a lot.

“Giving up?”

Lodestar grips his side, as he glares up at the calm and practically unscathed Dholak. “No way…”

“Very well.” Dholak twirls around his lance-like pincers rising and preparing themselves to deliver another Pincer Assault. 

Lodestar turns and aims his magnetic pull towards the largest mass of metal nearby: Gang Orca’s very own speedboat. The speedboat rises out of the water like something out of a fairy tale, floating up into the air and over Lodestar’s own head, water dripping from its frame and splashing down around him, casting a foreboding shadow over the alien.

The two foes glare and size each other up, waiting for the other to make the first move, the tension building all the while, each of them on their toes for the inevitable clash between warriors.

Dholak loses patience and goes in for the kill, moving with incredible speed as he races forward. “Pincer Assault!”

Lodestar howls as he launches the speed boat forward and it comes flying down towards Dholak who throws his own pincers forward to meet the attack.

“Narwhal’s Horn Dance!!”

Seemingly from thin air, or more accurately from the ocean, Ikkaku leaps in the way of both attack and moves with such astounding speed as he grips his tusk of a spear, swinging it and thrusting it around at the oncoming attacks.

Somehow Ikkaku is able to move his spear around with such grace and speed that he not only intercepts and blocks Dholak’s Pincer Assault but with a few well aimed slashes he slices up the speedboat allowing it to crumble and break apart and shower around him. Ikkaku doesn’t so much as blink to the falling debris, he just stands firmly in place blocking each strike with a stern look on his face.

“That’s quite enough you two.” Ikkaku aims his tusk-spear at Dholak.

Lodestar, glad to see a friendly face, stands down but he keeps his gaze on Dholak in case he tries to pull anything fishy.

Dholak however is more concerned with the interruption. “What’s the big idea?! You’re interrupting my match!” Dholak’s pincers click together threateningly. “Why are you even here?”

“I t-t told h-h him.”

Lodestar looks around but he doesn’t see the source of that gurgly voice. Dholak and Ikkaku however both look up towards the top of the wall. Lodestar follows their gaze and sure enough, Devilfish, is clinging to the wall like a spider using his suction cups to remain in place.

_‘Was he there the whole time?’_

Dholak assumes the same thing as Lodestar, but he turns his glare back on the narwhal headed sidekick. “Move out of my way, you bastard.”

Ikkaku smiles definitely. “Oh my, I’m afraid I cannot do that.”

“And why not?” Dholak points an accusing finger at his fellow hero. “You know the rules, I’m not overstepping my place here.”

Ikkaku nods. “Although that may be correct, you must understand that this young man is unaware of how our agency works and thus I find that he is at a great disadvantage.”

Dholak clicks his tongue. “So, what? Life ain’t fair, so why should I? If he doesn’t know how the world works, then I can’t be blamed for his naiveness.”

Ikkaku humphs. “You bring up some fair points, however, I see it differently.” His gaze hardens and with a swish of his tusk-spear he directs it at his coworker. “Besides I think you’ve made your point already. Don’t you?”

Dholak hates this, he really does, his eyes shift from Lodestar back to Ikkaku, considering how to go about his next move. He could fight them both but…even he knows when to draw the line.

“Fine, have it your way.” His legs fold together and rest at his sides.

Ikkaku smiles with approval. “I thank you good, sir.”

Dholak throws his head defiantly to the side. “You and I both know that I’m not good.”

Lodestar finally relaxes, letting out a huge sigh of relief. “Thank you, Mr. Ikkaku.”

Ikkaku smiles at the lad. “It was my pleasure, Sir Midoriya.” He sheaths his tusk-spear onto his back.

Lodestar eyes Dholak as if he’s going to try and attack him again. “Um, Mr. Ikkaku can you tell me what…that was all about?” What rules were they talking about?

Ikkaku instantly understands the question. “I’d be more than glad to answer your questions. However, let's get you patched up first. Shall we?”

“Um, sure.”

Ikkaku happily leads Lodestar towards the exit as Devilfish slides down from his perch.

Dholak’s piercing gaze never leaves Lodestar as Ikkaku leads him away and into the aquarium.

Devilfish caustically approaches his fellow sidekick. “W-W was that r-r really necessary?”

“Yes. It was.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“There we are!” Ikkaku backs away from the hospital bed. “Feeling better, are we?”

Izuku examines all the bandages and wrapping on his body, thankfully Lodestar’s regeneration ability is top notch, but it wasn’t enough to cover all the scratches, bruises, and punctures.

“Yeah, much better.” Izuku smiles up appreciating

Currently both Izuku and Ikkaku are in the aquarium’s infirmary. It’s a narrow room with a lot of dividing currents between each bed. Strewn across the walls are cabinets full of medical supplies.

“Keke ke, Dholak really gave you a good thrashing. Keke ke.”

“Wah?!” Izuku screams nearly falling off the hospital bed in surprise.

“Ah, Lady Maki.” Ikkaku smiles up at Tekka Maki who had sneaked into the infirmary when they weren’t looking. “What brings you here?”

Tekka Maki grins creepily from atop the nearest hospital bed. “Oh, nothing I just heard that this fishy creep got his ass kicked.”

Izuku sulks into his seat. “I won’t say I got my butt kicked…” 

Tekka Maki smirks letting Izuku know that she doesn’t see it his way.

So knowing he won’t get anywhere, Izuku finally addresses the reason he’s even in the infirmary. “So, why did he want to attack me like that?”

Both Ikkaku and Tekka Maki peer at the boy curiously.

“I mean, Dholak really seemed to have it out for me. Why is that?”

Ikkaku shakes his head. “There’s no telling what goes through that man’s mind. But I do know one thing about him.”

“And that is?”

“He’s far too impatient.”

“Impatient?” Izuku blinks, tiling his head to the side. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“Well you see.” Ikkaku grips his chin, deep in thought about how to best explain this. “Dholak has some high aspirations. He wishes to climb the ranking here as quickly as he can, and he’ll challenge anyone who threatens his goal.”

“But why target me?! I’m just an intern.”

“Even so you are an intern from U.A., an elite school for the brightest future heroes.”

“True…” Even Izuku can’t deny the elitism there is when one attends U.A.’s Hero Course. “So, Dholak sees me as a potential threat to his…ranking especially if I decided to stick around after I graduate.”

“Precisely!”

“Huh? But what does fighting me have to do with this ranking thing you’re talking about.”

“Ah, well you see it has to do with-”

“It’s because of the system!!” Tekka Maki unceremoniously cuts in, interrupting Ikkaku’s explanation. 

Ikkaku peers around her shoulder looking very dejected. “You interrupted me…”

Izuku leans away unsure about the creepy mermaid. “System?”

“Yeah!” Tekka Maki grins wildly more than happy to explain. “You see there’s a sort of ranking system here and it’s crazy.”

“Crazy? Crazy how?”

“It’s just crazy!” She shouts this out like it’s the most obvious thing ever. “Here!” She holds up a scroll of paper with drawings of various sea animals on it, like that of a food chain. 

Izuku eyes the partially opened scroll curiously. _‘She just so happened to have that on her?’_ “Think of this place as a food chain, alright.” Tekka Maki points to the top image first, which just so happens to be a picture of a killer whale. “On the top there’s the orca.” The greatest predator of the sea. “Then there’s a walrus, a crab, a narwhal, great-white shark, a beautiful tuna!” Her eyes gleam as she gestures to herself. “and a…fishy octopus.” 

Izuku quickly realizes that the images are a parallel to Gang Orca and the standing of his sidekicks.

“Then there’s regular fish.”

Izuku lights up. “Oh, that’s me.”

“Nope.” Tekka Maki extends the scroll showing even more links in this food chain. “There’s plankton, there’s single cellomites.”

“And then there’s me…?”

“I’m getting there.”

Uh, oh.

“There’s coral, there’s rocks.” Her wicked grin graces her lips. “There’s human feces, and then there’s you.”

And there he is, at the very bottom there’s a poorly drawn version of Izuku. The only way to tell that it’s him is that the drawing has freckles and is colored completely in green. Honestly, if she said a five-year-old drew it then he’d believe her. 

_‘That’s…messed up.’_ The frowning and very insulted Izuku turns to Ikkaku for a real explanation. “That’s not right is it?”

Ikkaku shrugs his shoulder and gives Izuku a rather sheepish smile. “In a way it is.”

That was not the answer Izuku was looking for if his stunned face is anything to go by.

Ikkaku continues. “For you see this food chain represents the sort of hierarchy of our facility.”

“Hierarchy?”

“Yes, the higher you are up this food chain the more respect, responsibility, and authority you wield.”

Okay, this is starting to make some sense.

“Really?”

“Yeah!” Tekka Maki butts right in getting right up into the teen’s face. “But there’s only one way to go up the rankings.”

And just like that everything clicks into place for Izuku. “And that’s…to fight?”

“Yup! Keke ke!”

Izuku turns back to Ikkaku. “But why?”

“Simple, think back to the food chain.” Ikkaku raises up Tekka Maki’s chart. “Sir Orca strives for strength, cunning, and ability out of each of his underlings. So, in order to foster our skills he’s developed this system that drives us to challenge ourselves and each other. And we can challenge anyone, anywhere, at any time.”

_‘Oh, okay.’_ Basically it’s like a never-ending tournament. You can lose as much as you can win as long as you beat someone of higher rank, and the higher the rank the more benefits you gain.

“And because of my potential Dholak thought it best to assert his place now rather than later.”

“Exactly!”

“Woah!” Tekka Maki awes. “You’re like really smart for someone so fishy.”

Something else crosses Izuku’s mind, something rather important about his whole internship. “Wait, so is this why Gang Orca isn’t personally overseeing me?”

Both sidekicks respond simultaneously. “Exactly!/Yup!”

Ikkaku explains further. “Why should the top predator of the sea have to interact with the lowest of the low of the food chain? When the orca is more than capable of taking on any of the strongest beasts the sea has to offer.”

Make sense, orcas hunt literally anything: seals, sharks, dolphins, and other whales! They don’t bother with…with “shrimp.” No wonder Gang Orca called him shrimp; it was his way of telling Izuku where he stands.

So, in a way Dholak was actually somewhat right about Izuku, too. He said that the greenette wasn’t working hard for his place here and that’s true. He hasn’t done anything to prove that he can compete with the others, literally. All he’s done since arriving was do what the others ordered him to do.

Seeing the disgruntled expression on the boy’s face, Ikkaku figures now is a time to intervene. “It’s already getting pretty late. Why not get some rest for the remainder of the day.”

“Huh?!” Oh, no they’re pitying him! “I don’t need to rest!”

“Yes you do.” chastises Ikkaku. “You’ve been attacked twice today and worked to the bone. So, the best thing to do now is rest up and be ready to work even harder tomorrow.”

“Um, okay I guess…” Izuku slumps down in his seat, he would rather be useful or learn something from all this but what can he really say? “Are you sure it’s okay.”

“Yes!”

“Besides,” Tekka Maki chirps in. “we got to attend a sucky meeting right now anyway so no one will bother you.” Her wicked grin returns as a dark thought crosses her mind. “Of course there’s always the option of doing the night shift.”

A shiver runs down Izuku’s spine just thinking about working in a dark, empty aquarium with prone to violence sidekicks walking around does not sound like a fun idea.

“I think I’ll just…go to bed.”

“Excellent!” Ikkaku gives a big thumbs up. “Hang in there Sir Midoriya, tomorrow will be a better day.”

“I sure hope so…”

“Keke ke.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Izuku sighs as he plops down on his temporary bed, but the thin mattress provides little comfort after such a grueling day of hard work.

The rest of the guest room is no better, it’s small, cramped, and cold with only enough room for a bed and for Izuku to have his stuff sit nearby.

Izuku slumps down on the thin sheets and mattress, feeling rather unsatisfied about how his first day as an intern went. He doesn’t feel like he’s made any real progress; afterall, all he’s done was be bossed around by the rest of the sidekicks. He needs to get stronger, improve his powers, and so much more but he can’t do that if he’s cleaning and helping with maintenance! Heck, he hasn’t even received any guidance from Gang Orca himself, the one he’s supposed to be interning with.

Ikkaku’s words pop back into his mind: “ _Why should the top predator of the sea have to interact with the lowest of the low of the food chain? When the orca is more than capable of taking on any of the strongest beasts the sea has to offer._ ”

Izuku plops his head down on the pillow. ‘ _It…sort of make sense. I’m just a shrimp and by definition I’m not worth Gang Orca’s time._ ’ That sort-of makes sense. _‘But what can I do to change that, hm?’_

As Izuku ponders about what to do he recalls his conversation of Ikkaku about this place’s strange ranking system: “ _Sir Orca strives for strength, cunning, and ability out of each of his underlings. So, in order to foster our skills he’s developed this system that drives us to challenge ourselves and each other. And we can challenge anyone, anywhere, at any time._ ”

Izuku stares up at the ceiling considering those words. “Challenge anyone, anywhere, and any time…” Suffice to say that is an interesting system they got here and by winning in those challenges one can gain respect, responsibility, and authority.

“Respect…” Izuku mulls over that word like it has some greater meaning.

_‘Wait!’_ And like that a lightbulb goes off in his head as he jumps right off the bed in a fit of excitement. _‘If I have such a low ranking then all I need to do is raise it up!’_

His smile falls away as another problem occurs. _‘But…that means I got to fight professional heroes, even if they are sidekicks, they have far more experience than me so I’m at a major disadvantage. So challenging them one at a time would take too long, even if I can defeat them by the time, I do my internship might be over.’_

Now this is a predicament plus if he did defeat any of the sidekicks, they can always challenge him too and push him down further in the rankings.

What Izuku needs is a way to climb the ranking quickly, to gain Gang Orca’s respect and tutelage…

_‘Wait…I can challenge anyone, at anytime, anywhere. I don’t have to go in a specific order, do I?’_ A sly grin slowly forms on Izuku’s face as a brilliant, and arguably stupid, idea forms in his head.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Gang Orca is seated at the head of the table looking down at his sidekicks as they go over mountains of paperwork: both for hero work and the aquarium. Kaizou is going over his own notes while Ikkaku pays close attention while taking the minutes of the meeting, Fuka looks absolutely bored out of his mind as does Tekka Maki who looks like she would rather be anywhere but here. As for Devilfish, well it’s hard to tell with his expressionless face.

Dholak is standing at the opposite end of the large carved table reading off several requests for their agency’s assistance across the country.

Dholak scans the list of cities that have requested their presence. “There’s been a few requests namely two: Geonosis City and Ho-”

“I am here!” Izuku bursts through the doors like a cowboy looking for a duel.

Everyone, but Gang Orca, reacts snapping their attention up at the boy.

Dholak quickly spins around, his pincers clicking together in annoyance. “What the hell are you doing here?!”

Izuku inhales, calming his nerves knowing he has to be brave right now. “I heard there was a meeting tonight.”

Dholak’s glare hardens. “And who told you about that?” His voice is dangerously low as his pincers prepare themselves to strike.

Meanwhile, Tekka Maki shifts her gaze away, whistling softly and acting like she didn’t hear a thing just now.

Izuku marches forward, trying his best not to shake under Dholak’s steely gaze. “That’s not important. What is important is that I have business here, too.”

“What kind of business?”

Izuku peers past Dholak to the real hero of this agency, Gang Orca.

The pro hero remains rooted in his massive leather chair, leaning to the side with his hand propped up acting like Izuku isn’t even in the room. But whether the case Izuku knows for a fact that he’s listening.

And so Izuku takes a deep breath before explaining himself. “This place runs like a food chain, right?”

Fuka scoffs. “You bet it does.”

Izuku nods. “So if I understand it, I’m at the bottom of it, right?”

Tekka Maki snickers. “Keke ke. That’s right.”

Izuku’s green gaze locks onto Dholak’s. “And the only way to climb up the food chain is the fight for it, correct?”

Dholak scowls, not liking this child’s tune. “Correct.” His pincers slowly extend out towards the boy until a pincer is clicking near each of his ears. “So, what? You want a rematch?”

Izuku keeps his gaze forward, not reacting to the sharp pincers hangout near his face. “No.” Izuku leans his head to the side so he can take a look at his real target. “I’m challenging him.” And he points right to his intended opponent.

It must have been a really bold, and stupid move, because each of the sidekicks gasp in horror even Dholak looks a bit horrified, taken back by the sudden astonishment.

Izuku stands tall, not regretting his decision. “What do you say?” He glares right up at the head of the table. “Do you accept my challenge, Gang Orca.”

Gang Orca remains unmoving, uncaring, like a statue unaware of what’s around him. Perhaps it’s his way of saying that the little shrimp isn’t worth his time.

“Are you a dumbass?!” Dholak screams in outrage. “No! You are a dumbass! Who in the hell do you think you are?! You don’t stand a fucking chance against the boss!”

Before Izuku can defend his answer Ikkaku shoots up from his seat. “Sir Midoriya, although your bravery is commendable, I must highly recommend that you stand down.”

“With all due respect, sir.” Izuku’s gaze never leaves Gang Orca. “I will not.”

Dholak growls. “Why you little shit.”

Tekka Maki snickers. “Keke ke. I’m liking this kid more and more.”

Devilfish isn’t so sure. “H-H he’s got a d-d death w-w wish.”

Fuka grins. “Good, shows he’s got a backbone.”

Dholak still isn’t getting it. “But why? Why challenge him?!”

Izuku never peels his jaded eyes away from his target. “I need to get stronger, as quickly as I can. And if that means I have to take on the most dangerous predator in the sea then I will.” Besides if he goes pro then this may be an everyday occurrence. “Heroes have to fight dangerous villains all the time, some even stronger than they are, if I can’t accept that possibility now than I shouldn’t even be here.” His fists clench at his sides, driving him to fight on. “So what do you say Gang Orca? Do you accept my challenge?” He aims his fist towards the pro hero. “I will fight you, to be on top of this food chain!”

Dholak had far enough of this bullshit. “YOU SHUT YOUR TRAP YOU LITTLE-”

“I accept.”

An immediate hush rushes through the underground meeting room, like if someone just paused a movie without any warning. Every single one of them slowly and hesitantly gaze up towards the head of the table. Where Gang Orca has actually straightened out in his seat, his head held high as too look down on them all with his piercing red gaze.

Dholak looks from the boy to the pro. “B-but s-sir he’s just-”

“A child? Yes. But a child who is willing to put it all on the line.” Even though Gang Orca is speaking rather calmly, there’s just this air of danger emanating off of him. “Midoriya, I accept your challenge.”

Izuku nods.

“However, this is not the place for it.”

Izuku blinks, he was kind of planning to fight here and now.

“There is a far better stage for us to duel.” Gang Orca rises from his seat. “Just remember this boy.” His red eyes shine with bloodlust even through the dark damp chamber. “You’ve brought this upon yourself.”

“I’m well aware of that, sir.” Izuku’s instincts are screaming for him to run away and live, but he bites back holding his ground. “But I’ve been told that I can be rather reckless.”

Izuku isn’t sure but he could have sworn that he saw Gang Orca smile, if just for a split second.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

A few minutes later Izuku finds himself standing in the middle of a massive auditorium under the starry night sky glimmering through the massive glass dome high up over their heads. Izuku examines the rest of the auditorium, they are surrounded by massive bleachers in this dome shaped auditorium. But Izuku himself is standing on a floating platform in the middle of this massive place, the rest of his surrounding being a massively deep pool of sea water. There are a few more floating platforms scattered in the water, but they are way too far away for Izuku just to jump to.

Apparently, this auditorium is where the aquarium put on their more exciting and bigger performances. But it being so late the only audience members are Gang Orca’s sidekicks, who aren’t going to miss out on this show. After all it’s rather exciting to see a killer whale out on a hunt.

Speaking of, Gang Orca stands across from Izuku on another floating platform not too far away from his own.

Izuku nervously smiles at his foe. “Is…is this the part where you ask me if I want to back out?”

“No.” Gang Orca’s red gaze shines with deadly intent. “There will be no backing out from this.” He raises up his clawed hand, adjusting the cuff of his sleeve. “I fully intend on devouring you.”

_‘He…doesn’t mean that, literally does he?’_ Izuku shakes his head trying to ward off the nervousness and fear seeping in, he can’t back down if he fails, he won’t get anything out of this internship. 

“Go on then.”

“Eh?” Izuku blinks.

Gang Orca gestures at Izuku’s watch. “Go on, I will allow you the chance to transform before we begin. In fact, as to give you a fighting chance I’ll allow you to strike me three times before I am allowed to retaliate.”

Izuku frowns as he grips the Omnitrix. “Do you really think that’s necessary?”

“Yes.” Gang Orca tenses up, his muscular build bulging as he takes a firm stance. “You are nothing but a shrimp after all. It’s not like you’ll actually hurt me.” He flexes his claws as his black cape billows behind him. “Go on then, I’m waiting.”

Izuku frowns, he knows when he’s being insulted and it sure does sting, but he’ll show them what he’s got. And with that he disappears from sight as his entire body is enveloped by green energy.

“Water Hazard!”

Izuku examines his alien form. “Been a while since I used this one.”

Gang Orca cups his chin. “Ha, a shrimp like transformation for a shrimp. Talk about fitting.”

Water Hazard’s eyes narrow as he aims his hands backwards and leans his upper body forward. “This shrimp packs more of a punch than you realize.”

Streams of water burst out of Water hazard’s palm, blasting straight into the water behind him. The pressurized jets of water roar before exploding with power propelling Water Hazard forward into the air. Water Hazard begins to spin generating a whirlpool like jetstream behind him making him spin faster and faster like a flying torpedo.

“DEEP-SIX TORPEDO!!!”

As the name suggests, Water Hazard spins through the air like a torpedo fired right out of a battleship, a spiraling mass of water propels him forward, crashing and thrashing the water below as he aims for his target.

Said target remains rooted to his spot, not even flinching as the raging torpedo races towards him, and inevitably crashes into with such force that one would think a real torpedo may have gone off inside the aquarium. Water showers down as waves crash and rip through the massive pool.

“You call that a special move?”

Gang Orca is totally fine, unscathed, and rooted to his spot. Even his business attire and cape are without a single tear.

As for Water Hazard, he is currently down on his knees, that attack having done quite a bit of recoil damage to himself. “How did you…?”

Gang Orca glares down at the boy. “I said I wouldn’t retaliate, I never said I wouldn’t defend myself.”

Water Hazard’s eyes narrow as he retraces the attack in his mind. _‘That’s it!’_ He gazes up at Gang Orca with awe and fear as he realizes how it is, he survived that attack.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Watching from the bleachers, Fuka turns to his fellow sidekicks. “What the hell is he talking about?”

“Orcinus.” responds Dholak.

Fuka didn’t quite catch that. “What?”

“The bosses Quirk, dumbass.” spits Dholak. “Just before impact he released hypersonic waves to intercept the strike.”

Tekka Maki frowns. “I don’t get it.”

Dholak sighs, exhaustedly. “Basically he made a sonic shield to block the attack.”

Both Fuka and Tekka Maki awe. “Oh!”

“Idiots…”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Water Hazard has come to the same realization and now he’s at more of a disadvantage. Unfortunately, that special move of his really is a double-edge sword.

“What’s the matter?” Gang Orca towers over the shrimp. “Realizing how useless your efforts are?”

Alright, time to kick this up a notch.

“Rahh!!” Water Hazard dunks one hand into the water as he aims the other right at Gang Orca. “Try this on for size.” Water rushes into Water Hazard’s dunked hand, vacuuming up into his body.

“FIRE FLOW!!!”It’s like a volcano of water just erupted from Water Hazard’s raised palm as tons of pressurized water explodes forth. 

Water Hazard’s new special move strikes Gang Orca head on. The pro generates another sonic shield but even that’s not enough to cancel out the tsunami of water rocketing towards him.

The hydroblast slams into Gang Orca and even with a sonic shield. The blast crashes into him at a continuous rate slowly pushing him back towards the edge of the floating platform.

Gang Orca has his arms raised, blocking the water but the pressure is too much and it breaks through his defense allowing the water to crash and burst out when it collides with his frame.

Seeing his opening Water Hazard cuts off the water and charges right for Gang Orca as water rains down all around them.

“Ahhh!!” He throws his fist forward and it slams into Gang Orca just as the rain ends and a harsh silence follows as Water Hazard holds his pose.

His fist shakily pushes against the side of the unfazed Gang Orca’s face, unmoving and not affecting him whatsoever.

“What the hell was that?” Gang Orca snarls even as Water Hazard’s fist grinds against the side of his face.

Water Hazard’s eyes widened in fear he had honestly thought he would have packed more a punch. But it looks like all he did piss off his opponent, specifically he pissed off a killer whale.

“That was three attempts.” The calm yet subtle bloodlust in Gang Orca’s voice is palpable. “Talk about pathetic I thought you would have more in you. Guess U.A.’s not educating you properly.” The killing intent radiates off the pro hero as he ever so slowly reveals his fangs, glaring into Water Hazard’s very soul. “I’ll teach you what a real attack looks like.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Tekka Maki grins creepily. “Keke ke. He’s in for it now.”

Devilfish crowns as he slouches in his seat. “P-p poor k-k kid.”

“He’s chum.” adds Fuka.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

The rage-filled Gang Orca grabs Water Hazard by the head and before the boy can react, Gang Orca slams the alien into the platform, cracking it and making a decently sized dent. “Regretting your decision yet?”

Water Hazard grabs at Gang Orca’s hand, struggling to break free from the deathgrip, and chokes out an answer. “I’m…considering it-Gah!”

The death grip on his head tightens as he’s lifted up only to be smashed right back into the ground, cracking it even further, and then again, and again, and again. Water Hazard’s shell echoes every time he’s slammed into the platform, groaning in pain as Gang Orca’s grip never weakness around him. Gang Orca lifts him up one more time and roars as he throws him down again, the impact smashes through the floating platform causing it to implode and break away plunging both fighters into the water.

Gang Orca’s grip loosens as they’re plunged into the cold saltwater. Taking advantage of the situation, Water Hazard aims his palms right for Gang Orca and at such a close range he unleashes dual water streams. The blasts push Gang Orca away giving Water Hazard some much needed breathing room.

Or so he would think, because peering up Water Hazard is surprised to find Gang Orca missing. He’s gone?

As he scans the massive pool for his foe, said foe slams into him from behind plunging him deeper down into the depth.

Water Hazard is spun downward, struggling to regain his balance. But just as he gains it back a black massive blur strikes him again, and again, and again from different directions, throwing him around the water like a ragdoll.

Somehow between each strike Water Hazard manages to get a good look at his attacker, Gang Orca. Despite his large build, business like suit, cape, and lack of fins the pro hero is swimming about the massive pool like he’s flying through the air moving with deathly grace as he torpedoes through the water.

Water Hazard takes aim, but Gang Orca gains a sudden burst of speed as he charges forward and slams his body into Water Hazard, slashing him as he goes by.

The assault continues as such with Water Hazard getting thrown around while trying his best to at least weaken and defend himself from each blow.

_‘I can’t endure this forever.’_

Bam another hit!

_‘Grrr, I need to halt his moments.’_

Bam another hit!

_‘But what can I do?’_ Water Hazard’s gaze follows Gang Orca as he circles around and charges in again, slamming into his body once again.

But even as he’s thrown to the side, his mind holds on to the image of Gang Orca circling around. _‘Maybe…’_

As the pro hero circles away to make another run, Water Hazard quickly gets to work. He thrusts his hands out but instead of generating jets of water, water begins to swirl towards his palms.

Gang Orca begins to turn, about to strike again.

Whether it’s fear or bravery, Water Hazard isn’t sure but whatever it is, it gives him the boost he needs, and the swirling water suddenly explodes with energy.

Gang Orca’s torpedoes forward, his mouth shooting open, displaying his fangs, but he never gets a chance to aquante his fangs with Water Hazard’s flesh as a massive whirlpool booms into existence.

“TSUNAMI VORTEX!!!”

Gang Orca is completely swallowed up by the raging whirlpool generated by the U.A. student’s own sheer will and strength. And it shows as he gets whipped and assaulted him from all sides, trapping him in place.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“He got him!” cheers Tekka Maki. “He really got him!”

“Way to go lad!” cheers Ikkaku.

Dholak isn’t so sure. “You may want to hold your applause.”

The other sidekicks settle down, knowing full well that this fight is close to finished.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Water Hazard would be grinning if he had lips as he concentrates on keeping the whirlpool going. _‘I’ve got this.’_

*SKREEEE!!!*

A piercing screech emanates from the center of the vortex, clashing into Water Hazard.

“Ahhh!!” Water Hazard screams as the piercing frequency waves break through his armor and attack his nerves from within and bring an end to his whirlpool. _‘That was…’_

“My echolocation.” As the waves and currents wash away Gang Orca floats in the water, his cape making him look even bigger and more intimidating as it waves behind him. “I can generate sound waves to attack my enemy’s nervous systems, paralyzing them in the process.” His claws shimmer in under the moonlight. “And allow me to devour them at my leisure.”

And it might as well be true as Water Hazard struggles to even move a finger, his entire body feeling rigid and stiff like he’s been petrified.

With his prey immobilized Gang orca rockets forward, snapping his jaws wide open, and while at full speed he chomps down onto the alien’s side dragging along into the depths.

Gang Orca thrashes his head, speeding through the water, disorienting his victim.

Water Hazard screams and cries as he’s thrashed about, trying desperately to break free of the massive jaws. But there is little hope of escape, the jaws are shut tight and if he didn’t have such an elite exoskeleton, then the killer whale definitely would have ripped out several chunks of flesh by now.

The thrashing continues and Izuku is glad he skipped out on dinner because he’d definitely would have spit it back up by now. But even with his body begging for mercy and his stomach churning, Izuku’s own mind remains sharp as ever, remaining calm as he examines everything about his situation: his paralysis, his opponent, and how they are speeding about in this massive pool.

_‘Come…on…’_ He tries with all his might to move anything: his fingers, his feet, anything at all. _‘Dammit, there’s got to be something I can do!’_

Gang Orca makes a sharp turn away from the tank wall, in his thrashing he almost didn’t see it. And Water Hazard did not fail to notice the folly.

He tries to will his body to move, still nothing, but he can feel something else. His body may be immobilized but that doesn’t mean his powers are completely unusable.

And so with literally no other options, Water Hazard actually manages to unleash a pair of water jetstreams. And they have the exact result Water Hazard was looking for.

The jetstreams make his arms flail about like an unhandled waterhose, firing and whipping at all directions, and as a plus throwing Gang Orca off course.

Gang Orca’s jaws loosen, not enough to escape, but a bit as he struggles to regain his balance only for a water blast to aim in a different direction and throw him off course once again.

This goes on for some time, to the point that the sidekicks are debating whether to jump in after witnessing all the water blasts gushing out from the surface above.

As his arms whip about, Water Hazard notices that his arms are regaining some sense of movement again, he can control them. _‘Guess all the motion jolted them back to normal.’_

So acting on instinct alone, Water Hazard aims his hands down and fires off blasts of water that take him and the off-balanced hero rocketing towards the surface.

“Rahhhh!!” Water Hazard screams in defiance as both he and his opponent breach the surface, flying up into the air as he continues the water blasts.

The sidekicks gasps and rise from their seats as they watch these two beasts fly higher into the air, well past their heads.

Gang Orca’s eyes widen with genuine surprise as Water Hazard glares down at him. Water Hazard cuts off the propulsion, bringing his hands together and over his head before slamming them down on the hero’s own head. The strike hits hard, hard enough that it breaks the killer whale’s hold.

Water Hazard pushes himself away as they slowly begin to fall back downward.

“I’m going to finish this!!” He throws his hands back, spinning in place, as torrential water streams spiral out behind him propelling him up towards his opponent. “DEEP-SIX TORPEDO!!!” 

Gang Orca hastily produces a sonic wave in hopes of shielding himself from the special move. His piercing screech certainly has an effect, but it can’t do anything about the momentum his opponent’s already built up, nor can he brace himself while in midair.

He truly is a fish out of water.

And so the Deep-Six Torpedo explodes out as the spiraling Water Hazard smashes into his falling form. Water explodes out, raining down on the entire auditorium, pool, and sidekicks who are all in awestruck of the display of power before them.

Two heavy objects crash down onto the same floating platform, kicking up the water around them in massive waves before settling down.

The sidekicks all stand, watching, with bated breaths unclear about the outcome but wanting to know how it turned out.

Water Hazard is breathing way too heavily, kneeling on the cracked platform, completely drained and in incredible pain. _‘That’s it…I did it…I actually did it!’_ He didn’t think he actually could, but he actually did. He came out on top!

“I gotta admit, that was a nice show, shrimp.”

Water Hazard’s blood goes ice cold as the waves finally settle down. He has the horror of witnessing Gang Orca standing before him. His suit is tattered and scratched sure, even his cape has a tear in it, but even so the pro hero himself looks fine and unaffected. If anything he looks even deadlier than before.

_‘No…’_ No way, his attacks, his hard work was all for nothing.

And to add salt to the wound, Water Hazard disappears behind a veil of red light and a weak and dejected Izuku Midoriya takes his place.

Knowing his opponent doesn’t have any fight in him left, Gang Orca stomps forward dragging out Izuku’s inevitable demise until he’s towering over the boy like a leviathan that’s risen from the depths of the Earth.

Izuku shakily gazes up at the monster, accepting his fate.

Said devil of the deep lowers his gaze down at the inferior being, his head held high as to look down on him. “For putting up such a valiant effort, I shall spare you. But only if you concede to defeat.”

The huffing Izuku lowers his gaze as for a brief moment Gang Orca actually thinks he’s going to accept. But he couldn’t be further from the truth. As Izuku shakily pushes himself off the ground and onto his wobbling feet.

It takes him a few seconds to get his balance, but even so he tries his best to stand tall in front of this monster, glaring up at him with a spark of fire in his jaded eyes.

Gang Orca understands. “Very well then.” And so he slowly raises his sharp talons into the air to deliver the finishing blow.

Izuku winces shutting his eyes tight as he awaits for the inevitable maiming.

However rather than a blood gouging, a massive pat on the head is what greets Izuku instead. “Eh?” Izuku blinks up as Gang Orca continues to pat his fluffy hair.

“Well done, Midoriya.” praises Gang Orca. “You exceed all expectations.”

Izuku’s brain is momentarily fried with only one word able to register out from him. “Eh?!”

Gang Orca removes his hand. “Don’t you get it yet?”

Izuku manages to shake his head. 

“I wanted you to show me your worth and your spirit.” responds Gang Orca. “And it clearly worked.”

Again. “EH!?!” Izuku screams out in confusion. “What do you mean?!”

“I mean I wanted to see just how far you’d go for the sake of progress.”

Izuku calms down, finding that answer to be reasonable. “But, but what about all the errands and chores?!”

Gang Orca actually does have an answer. “All on purpose per your needs.”

“My needs?”

“Yes, remember what you said when you first arrived?”

Specifically, how Izuku wanted to learn how to utilize each and every one of his transformations to their fullest. And this instantly recalls in Izuku’s mind.

Seeing his knowing expression Gang Orca continues. “I had my sidekicks oversee those tasks in order to give you the chance to train your various powers.” But to be sure Gang Orca continues. “Unloading the crates increased your four-armed form’s stamina, powering the lights increased your capacity to store even more electricity, avoiding the piranhas gave you a better sense of evasion, welding helped you learn how to focus your flames, running errands improved your multitasking and attention to detail, as did cleaning the tank as well as helped with your team coordination.”

Izuku thinks on it and after mulling it over he has to admit that Gang Orca was right.

“I even had Dholak oversee your progress and wait for the best opportunity to illuminate you on our system here.”

“Wait…” Izuku snaps, shouting at the top of his lunges. “You mean you ordered him to pick a fight with me?!”

“Yup, I sure did.” The pro hero sounds a little too proud about that fact.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Ikkaku eyes his coworker. “Pray tell, is that true Sir Dholak.”

Dholak nods. “It is. But I’d be lying if I didn’t say it wasn’t personal.”

The other sidekicks frown at him, except Tekka Maki who’s too busy laughing at Izuku’s dumbfounded expression.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“We needed to give you a push, to make you fight for the right to be here.” Gang Orca places his hand on Izuku’s shoulder looking at him right in the eye, not with malice but with respect. “And you certainly more than showed us that.”

Izuku can’t believe it. He, he really impressed them, didn't he? And looking back on it, he can agree that all those chores were not in fact a waste of time but a means to an end. A means to get stronger.

“T-Thank you sir!”

“Please, don’t call me sir.” Gang Orca waves his hand. “You’re working under me now kid, so call be boss.”

Izuku blinks. “Working under you?”

“Yeah, starting tomorrow you and I will be doing some real hero work.”

Izuku’s entire face lights up like a kid waking up on Christmas. “Are you for real?!”

“Yes, I am real. Hahaha!!”

The sidekicks all groan at the obvious dad joke, but Izuku is still too excited to even react to it.

mine now so call me what’s appropriate.

Gang Orca smiles down at the boy. “So, tell me. Are you ready to see what it really means to be a hero?”

Izuku smiles up with a fire in his heart. “You bet, boss.”

“Good.”

…

Izuku suddenly becomes shy as he remembers something else. “Oh, yeah, I sort-of…broke your…speedboat.”

“Oh, that happens more often than you think. Who knew allowing your sidekicks to fight anywhere at any time could cause so much property damage?”

Izuku…isn’t sure how to respond to that. 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Meanwhile in the dead of the night, a tall slim figure stalks his way through the dense woodland. Silently gliding from tree to tree like a ghost in the wind.

Eventually the figure jumps down to the ground, without so much as a twig snapping under their feet. No one is in sight, only the moon plays witness as the figure steps out from the shadows.

The hunter is tall and slim, wearing high-tech purple armor across his entire body. He has purple pads covering his central joints, a belt, and four central lines on his helmet to provide outlines for his face.

The hunter roaches down, stalking forward deeper into the woods until he comes across a shabby looking outhouse.

The bounty hunter is definitely smirking from behind his helmet as he eyes the outhouse, the entrance to Japan’s Plumber base, with high interest. “Tysa ndetu eadr srreeda.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you have it, Izuku’s internship has officially begun. Now I’m sure a lot of you have questions, probably the same ones so I we’re going to do something different. Below I will ask myself the questions you all probably have for me and then I’ll answer said questions. Okay, here we go:
> 
> 1\. Why did you have Izuku intern under Gang Orca?
> 
> Answer: Simple, I really like Gang Orca. He’s got a cool design, a cool gimmick, and orcas are my favorite animal. So, yeah, I knew from the moment I began to plan out this story as a whole that I wanted Izuku to intern with Gang Orca. Plus having him as the internship won’t interfere with later arcs (i.e. Overhaul Arc).
> 
> In truth if I had to choose an internship for Izuku that made practical sense I probably would have gone with Hawks, but pairing Izuku with Gang Orca seemed more fun for me to write, which it was.
> 
> 2\. Who were those sidekicks? Are they OCs?
> 
> Answer: Those sidekicks are not, in fact, OCs. They are from the manga series “Oumagadoki Zoo” a series created by the author of MHA himself, Kouhei Horikoshi.
> 
> I really liked that series and wanted to reference it somehow. Especially because Gang Orca was actually a villain from that series along with the rest of the “sidekicks.” And I was reading his manga before I began writing, so when I made the overall outline for this fanfic, this manga was still in my mind and so I wanted to include it. So basically this chapter was sort-of a crossover between two of Horikoshi’s own works.
> 
> Fun Fact: Uwambi is also from this series, and a lot of other characters from Oumagadoki Zoo were beta versions of MHA characters we all know and love today: Hawks, Bakugou, Tamaki, Shigaraki, Overhaul, and others.
> 
> Check it out if you can, but warning the series never finished due to low sales, but it did lead to use having MHA so “when one door closes another one opens.”
> 
> 3\. Why wasn’t a new alien introduce?
> 
> Answer: I did think about introducing a new alien in this chapter: Brainstorm, AmpFibian, Jetray, etc. (They will be included later) But I thought against it because it would have been shoehorned in and I have a set of important rules for how, when, and where to introduce aliens and doing it then could have broken said rules.
> 
> Besides I already promised you guys one new alien already and they will be introduced next time. So get excited!
> 
> Also I wanted to use this chapter to give Izuku’s aliens some more needed attention and screen time, especially those that didn’t get a chance to show off during the Sports Festival: Ripjaws, Lodestar, and Water Hazard.
> 
> 4\. What does Water Hazard’s special move “Fire Flow” mean?
> 
> Answer: “Fire Flow” is a bit of jargon used in firefighting meaning “the amount of water being pumped onto a fire.” So it made sense and it sounded cool.
> 
> 5\. What’s going to happen next?
> 
> Answer: Next time Izuku goes out on patrol with Gang Orca where the hero will show Izuku how to be a hero. And after that, in the following chapter, we’ll jump back to Ochaco one last time before the big event. (2 more chapters and then he’ll have Stain).
> 
> Anyway I hope that these clarified a lot for you and if not please feel free to leave a review and ask away for any more clarifications. I really hope you enjoyed this chapter and if not I’m sure the next one will be more your style. Thanks for reading.
> 
> *Warning next chapter may take more than a week to be written.


	33. Pest Control

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gang Orca takes Izuku out to Geonosis City where they've been requested to take care of their local pest problem.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for such a late update, this chapter ended up being way longer than it ever needed to be and I was really tired these last two weeks but hey here it is and I hope it’s okay. I tried my best and I can for sure say at least one scene is really good so enjoy.
> 
> Also as promised a new alien will be introduced here today.

A slick jet-black Rolls-Royce Phantom speeds down the highway, moving swiftly with its engine humming a deep tone as it drives past traffic. The windows are tinted black making it impossible to even peek at the outlines of those inside. There’s also an air of intimidation surrounding the ominous vehicle like a black phantom walking about in the day. Those driving around are smart to clear out of its way, allowing the vehicle through not daring to get in its way, it’s all they can do other than wonder what kind of dangerous and deadly force the phantom car could be carrying.

_‘This is going to be so GREAT!!!’_ Izuku Midoriya internally cheers as he peers out the window of the Rolls-Royce Phantom.

They’ve been driving for a few hours now and the whole while Izuku’s been antsy waiting for them to finally get out and do some real hero work. But so far, the only real interesting thing to occur was trying to figure out how Gang Orca is able to sit in a car so small without any issues.

The only other interesting part was enduring Dholak’s impatient and reckless driving, unsurprisingly the crabby sidekick is very prone to road rage.

Izuku leans back away from the window, he turns to the neighboring seat to see Gang Orca filing through a few police reports.

Figuring it wasn’t a good idea to disturb the pro hero, Izuku takes a moment to adjust his newly repaired hero costume. It’s the first time he’s gotten to wear it since the U.S.J. and apparently the support department took it upon themselves to make a few adjustments.

His costume isn’t quite the same shade of green as before, it’s darker which gives it a more combat-ready appearance. The knee pads have been extended to his legs and reach up to his thighs, and his new gloves are tinted beige and are decorated with blue stripes. His respirator is now metal, diamond-shaped, and has eight holes. There is one thing missing from it all though, the All Might inspired hood is missing but Izuku is rather thankful they took it out, it never really felt right to him…

But what about the accessories?

Izuku leans down and pops open his silver suitcase where two items lay inside. The first item is something Izuku’s been dying to try out in the field, Tetrax’s or rather his own hoverboard.

Izuku pulls out the shrunken hoverboard, it being nothing but a thin rectangular disk with just a push of a button it’ll expand open.

Izuku tucks it into a special made hook on the side of his belt, figuring that if he’s going out on patrol then he might just need it.

After tucking it away Izuku spots the second item. He bends down to grab it but before his hand could even enter the suitcase the speeding car lurches, smacking his head against the driver’s seat as the car comes to a screeching halt. The whiplash makes Izuku hit the back of his head on his headrest and the suitcase shuts closed as it’s thrown around.

Dholak turns to address the passengers. “We’ve arrived.”

Gang Orca turns to the boy. “You ready, shrimp?”

Izuku nods. “Yes…boss.” He’s still got to get used to saying that. 

With nothing else to say Gang Orca grabs an unopened water bottle from the cupholder, the brand is called Raquaius and it just so happens to have Gang Orca himself as the poster boy for said brand.

With the water bottle in hand Gang Orca steps out from his car and a wave of heat floods the car instantly making Izuku wish he grabbed his own water bottle before they left.

Dholak steps out followed by Izuku who has to shield his eyes from the blazing sun.

Gang Orca dumps a bit of water on his skin, it evaporates almost instantly under the intense heat as he addresses the young student. “Welcome, shrimp, to Geonosis City.”

Geonosis City is an industrial city with buildings all ranging from all sorts of sizes, each looking old and withered from being under the intense heat of the sun 24/7. Mixed in between the office builds and apartment complexes there are acres and acres of factories all pumping out byproducts of burning through resources.

Izuku is already burning up, sweating up a storm under all this dry heat. “Why’s it so hot?”

Dholak clicks his tongue in annoyance. “Ever heard of Urban Heat Island?”

Izuku shakes his head. “Um, no.”

“An Urban Heat Island occurs because of all the urban structures absorbing the heat of the sun. Combined with the fact you have all these factories releasing all sorts of Green House Gasses into the air that prevent the heat from leaving the system. Essentially the city is overheating itself.” Dholak tries to fan himself with his crab-bodied hand. “And that’s why it’s so freaking hot here.” 

Izuku shrugs. “Huh, I guess I learned something today.”

“That’s not all you’ll learn.” adds Gang Orca. “You need experience, real experience, and that is why we are here.” And with a swish of his cape Gang Orca waves his hand towards the Geonosis City police station.

The police station looks as withered and dry as all the other buildings within the city. Izuku can only hope that there’s air conditioning inside.

And much to Izuku’s relief the police station does in fact have AC, and it feels absolutely amazing as they enter through the dual glass doors.

“Aw you’ve all made it!” A lean man with a head of a ginger tabby cat greets the three as they enter.

Gang Orca nods in greeting. “Hello, Officer Sansa.”

Officer Sansa smiles in greeting. “Welcome to Geonosis City, Gang Orca, I hope the heat isn’t too much for you.”

“Don’t you worry about me, there are more pressing matters at hand.”

“Right.” Officer Sansa finally takes note of the young U.A. student. “Oh, you must be an intern from U.A.” He offers his hand in greeting. “I’m Officer Sansa.”

“Oh!” Izuku grips the man’s hand. “I-I’m Izuku Midoriya.” 

Unnoticed by any of the others but for a moment there Gang Orca looks rather disappointed with Izuku’s reply.

Officer Sansa’s eyes widen. “Oh, I know you! You were in the Sports Festival!” He grins sheepishly. “Wow, you’re so plain looking. Your transformations are so much more memorable.”

Izuku smiles sheepishly. “Um, thank you…?”

Dholak snickers into his hand, making Izuku slump down in embarrassment. 

Officer Sansa smiles, he probably shouldn’t have been so blunt but no harm nor foul. “Alright if you would please follow me so I can begin the briefing.”

And with that Officer Sansa directs them to a secluded waiting room where pictures, diagrams, and news clips are pinned to a board.

There’s a single table sitting in front of the board. So, Gang Orca takes a seat and Dholak is quick to take the seat next to him forcing Izuku to sit across from them.

Officer Sansa however takes a stand before the board with a report in hand. “Alright the situation is this: there’s an unknown villain, we need you and your agency to identify, locate, and capture the villain before he can do anymore harm.”

Izuku blinks, that can’t be all there is to it. “Is…that really it?”

“Quiet, shrimp.” clicks Dholak. “That was just the premise.” Dholak gestures for the officer to continue.

Officer Sansa nods before continuing. “Right, this villain has been terrorizing the city for the past week. They’ve caused mass panics, attacked citizens, and serious property damage. Also, we have no info on them: no records, no motive, no ID on them or their Quirk, hell we don’t even have a facial composite.”

Gang Orca eyes the board of evidence. “Really? Why is that?”

“That’s a fair question, sir.” Officer Sansa takes a breath before explaining. “We think it has to do with the villain’s Quirk. They can attack from far away in a discrete location without physically being at the scene itself.”

Dholak nods. “I get it. Can’t have a picture of a criminal if the criminal isn’t even there.”

Officer Sansa nods. “Exactly.”

Izuku frowns wondering just how this villain could attack people without being there. He wants to ask more but…it’s not really his place to do that. He’s just an intern, after all.

Officer Sansa continues. “The villain’s been attacking almost on a daily basis. We need you three to locate the villain, stop their attacks, and bring them in before they can do anymore harm.”

Izuku, in a moment of arrogance, speaks out. “Wait, what about the local pro heroes? Why haven’t any of them captured the villain yet?”

A harsh silence falls over the room as all three adults eye the boy, wondering how to address his naivety.

“Did…did I say something wrong?”

It’s Officer Sansa who replies. “Um, no, it’s just you have to understand that-”

“This city has a severe lack of heroes.” Gang Orca cuts in, dry and to the point.

Izuku is more than a little surprised. “What?! But why?” The whole country of Japan is overflowing with heroes, how could there still be cities that don’t have at least one or maybe ten agencies in it?!

As if sensing the kid’s questions, Dholak throws in his own two cents. “It’s all the show kid.”

“What…?”

“The show, the glory, the news casts, the FAME!!!” Dholak screams out in frustration after Izuku wasn’t getting it with his first few examples. “It’s all about fame! A hero’s success depends on their fame and popularity. So, a rundown city with only factories to sustain it is not exactly a hopping place for a pro hero to thrive in.”

Izuku’s eyes slowly widen as it all dawns on him. “So…because of the lack of screen time and villain attacks…heroes don’t come here.” 

Dholak nods, tapping a finger against this head. “Now you’re getting it kid.”

Even though that’s the reality, it doesn't mean Izuku has to like it. He just figured that every city had an abundance of heroes, but then again, he’s only lived in Musutafu all his life and there’s tons of agencies there. Guess he was just ignorant to places such as this. But now that he is aware…he’s not sure how he feels about it. It just feels…wrong knowing that places such as these are ignored and forgotten because of the hero system…

“But we’re here now.” Gang Orca’s deep authoritative voice cuts into Izuku’s contemplation. “And we’re going to bring an end to this villain’s crimes.”

Izuku nods. There’ll be more time to think about the flaws of the hero system later, right now this needs his attention.

Officer Sansa has the floor once again. “Me and my fellow officers have done our best to quell the damage and attacks, but our…normal weapons don’t have much of an effect on this villain. All we can do is crowd control in order to minimize the chaos.”

Gang Orca eyes the board, eyeing the news clippings. “And by what means is this scumbag attacking the city with?”

Officer Sansa, with full seriousness, looks the hero dead in the eye before responding. “Bugs.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“This place is a dump.” And that’s saying something when you’re a rat-like alien.

Argit continues his way through the very condemned building with its creaking floorboards, rotting walls, trash, and foul smells coming from who knows where. But then again Argit’s been in far worse places than this, plus he’s got himself a job to do and as long as he’s getting paid then he’ll go anywhere. Although, he keeps seeing something scurry out of the corner of his eyes making him jump every now and again.

Argit makes it to the end of the dimly light hall, the only light source being the harsh sunlight slipping between the boarded windows. “Yo, delivery for one creepy bastard!”

There’s no reply, not a sound echoes from behind the rotting door.

“Come on, man.” Argit slams his fist against the door. “Open up or I’ll sell this off to the next creep!” He holds up a small metal canister.

The canister is no bigger than a tin can with a small glass window showcasing the green liquid inside.

Argit continues to pound on the door even as the rotting wood breaks away. “Fine!” He swirls away from the door. “I don’t need your stinking money anyway.”

As he begins to stomp away the door finally creeks open.

Argit blinks before smirk grows on his face. “Well, I can always use a little more cash.”

The rat slowly enters the dark damp room that’s somehow even trashier and smellier than the rest of the building. Seriously, the place smells like rotting onion. He warily steps inside and there, sitting just out of the duty light of the boarded window is his customer.

Argit holds up the canister. “You got my money?”

The slouched over figure reaches into his pockets, making Argit’s quills stand up, but they don’t pull out a weapon but instead it’s a roll of cash. And like a man tossing away a cigarette he tosses at Argit’s feet.

Argit’s face lights up as he practically pounces at the roll of money, tossing the canister over to this client.

The client snatches the canister out of the air before it can slam against the wall behind them. They grip the canister tightly, examining the strange liquid inside, admiring its potential.

Argit quickly shuffles through the cash, making sure it’s the agreed amount. “My, my, my I didn’t think you’d be able to pay up.”

The client finally speaks up, his voice sounds dry and wispy. “We have no use for money.”

Argit frowns at the odd grammar but doesn’t call it out. “Yeah, well I do.” He pockets the money. “Is there…anything else I can do for ya?”

“There is…nothing you can do for us.”

“Us?”

Instead of a reply, chirps and the sound of thousands of raindrops beat against the walls like an army is marching about from within.

The client stands up, the canister held out in front of him like it’s a great treasure. “We would suggest that you scram.” The chirping and the patterning of what sounds like rain increases as a harsh buzzing begins to echo throughout the entire building making Argit’s quills stand on end. “Things are about to get…lively.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

*REEEEEEE!!!*

By now every single citizen of Geonosis City are well acquainted with these particular sirens and they certainly don’t need to be told twice about what it means.

Because every citizen begins to go into full out panic mode as they all rush for cover. Cars race down the streets as people swarm into nearby buildings, all seeking shelter as a dark looming shadow begins to wash over the city.

Police sirens blare alongside the screaming citizens as police cars and firetrucks line the streets.

But all of the screaming, crashing, and panics are all washed out by the same ominous and increasingly louder hum.

*Bzzzzzzzzzz!!!*

A massive black humming cloud swerves and hovers over the city almost as if it’s alive! And it might as well be just by how it circles around buildings causing the inhabitants to all dive for cover.

Officer Sansa is down below on the streets armed with nothing but a riot gear and shield.

“Quickly, get everyone indoors and out of the way!”

“Yes, sir!” His fellow officers rush to reply as they all rush to get the citizens to shelter.

As Officer Sansa continues to direct the others something…tiny plops down on his hand. Like a curious cat he peers down to find a little locust using his hand as a perch.

With fear in his eyes he fearfully whips his hand flinging the insect away.

*BZZZZZZZZZ!!!*

As if that simple gesture was the trigger, the cloud of flying insects descend to the city streets.

People are even more in a panic as they desperately swat and fend off the swarming insects from wasps, locusts, crickets, and anything else that’s creepy and crawly. The police deploy fire out smoke bombs, flares, and riot shields to fend off the bugs while still directing people to safety.

Even with their efforts panic and chaos ensues: cars crash, screams and sirens ring out, and they’re all drowned out by the millions of beating wings of the swarm.

Atop a nearby rooftop of a three-story building the members of the aquarium agency are doing nothing but observing the chaos from their perch.

And it’s killing Izuku that they’re not doing a thing to help. “Shouldn’t we do something?!”

“No.” Why does Gang Orca have to sound so cold? “We must wait.”

“But boss, the people-”

“The police will handle them.” Even as Gang Orca speaks, he doesn’t remove his eyes away from the chaos down the block. “Our job isn't damage control but to stop this villain.”

“Then shouldn’t we be down there?!”

“No, we’re right where we need to be.”

“Huh?”

“Dammit, shrimp.” Dholak let’s out an exasperated sigh. “You see that... swarm?”

Izuku nods. “Um, yeah.”

“That swarm had to come from somewhere, so we’re going to let it run its course and then follow it back to the source.”

Izuku blinks. “So, we’re going to follow them back to their hive.”

“And straight to the queen…or king.” Dholak adds with a shrug.

“But…why can’t we help in the meantime?”

Gang Orca is the one to explain. “We have no idea if or how this villain is coordinating this attack. They could very well be monitoring the entire scene, and if we go in there, we’ll be alerting them of our presence.”

Dholak chimes in. “Basically we’re trying to keep an element of surprise.”

Izuku frowns as the screaming, sirens, and buzzing tear through the air.

As if sensing his discomfort Gang Orca tries to address the boy’s conflict. “We aren’t ignoring their pleas, instead we are trying to provide a long-term solution.” His red eyes shine right at Izuku’s jaded pupils. “Today we are exterminators, we don’t treat bee stings, instead we kill the entire swarm.”

Izuku gets the idea for sure and it makes perfect sense, but…it still feels so wrong to watch people in need and being told not to help. But they’re right, he has to keep his cool for now. Guess sometimes being a hero means picking your battles and if this does go as planned, they can save this city in one fell swoop.

*Bzzzzzzzzzz!!!*

The massive cloud of insects begins to dissipate as the bugs rise up and off the streets. Most of the insects fly off on their own but a significant portion remain as a buzzing stream of insects. The smaller swarm glides between the tall buildings, flying over the wake of their chaos of injured citizens, damaged property, and overwhelmed policemen and women.

Gang Orca’s red eyes lock onto the streaming swarm. “And so the hunt begins.”

Gang Orca nonchalantly drops down off the side of the building landing right onto his own Rolls-Royce Phantom’s roof with a loud clang. Dholak uses his extended legs to repel his way down like a giant spider before climbing into the driver’s seat.

Izuku slides down the fire escape and quickly makes his way for the passenger door but Gang Orca stops him with a single look.

“Find your own way there.”

Izuku blinks unsure if he heard him correctly. “What?”

“This may be real hero work, but you are still an intern, thus you are under my training. As part of your training, it is up to you to procure a means of travel.” Gang Orca leans down and taps the roof of the car as Dholak revs up the engine. “Try to keep up, shrimp.” The car lurches forward as Gang Orca remains perched atop of it.

Izuku can watch son as the jet-black vehicle races away and out of sight after the streaming swarm. “Own means, huh?”

It takes him a few moments to ponder before his head snaps down to the side of his utility belt.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Gang Orca remains cemented to the roof of the speeding car, his black cape billowing behind him. His body remains unmoving even as the car drifts around bends and turns, keeping pace with the swirling mass of insects flying just above the buildings.

He keeps his eyes trailed on the swarm, unflinching, ensuring that he will not waste this opportunity.

But something…odd approaches just out of the corner of his eye. Briefly peering over Gang Orca finds a rather surprising sight indeed.

Izuku is flying!

Specifically the boy is riding atop a hoverboard, flying through the air as if he’s snowboarding down a snowy mountain.

Izuku’s hair whips in the wind as he quickly catches up to the speeding car, grinning like a kid on a rollercoaster. As he passes by, he gives the hero a friendly smirk.

Gang Orca smirks right back as Izuku speeds away, tossing the driver a cocky look.

Izuku spins and wheels around in the air, swooping just above the hood of the speeding car.

Dholak tsks in annoyance. “Show off.” He slams his foot down on the gas just to keep up with the brat.

And so they race off, following along the trailing swarm, staying below the building tops to avoid disturbing the insects.

After traveling towards the opposite side of the city, the swarm dissipates as the insects descend down onto a block of apartment complexes.

Izuku and the others soon arrive, Izuku hovering in place as Dholak and Gang Orca exit the vehicle.

There are three large apartment complexes sitting in a large U, each standing at eight floors high with three sections that hold five apartments each. The entire block is outlined by barbed-wire fencing while each building is boarded up and crumbling away, littered with trash and graffiti.

The hoverboard lowered down to be at shoulder level with Gang Orca. “This is…homey.”

Dholak’s shoulder slump. “It’s too early for puns.” The crab man turns to the pro hero. “What are you thinking, boss?”

Gang Orca scans the large abandoned buildings for any sign of life, but even with a possible swarm inside there isn’t a hint of movement. “Stand back you two.”

Dholak doesn’t need to be told twice, giving Izuku a warning glare to move back too. Izuku nods and he hovers back a bit giving Gang Orca a clear radius.

Gang Orca widens his stance, lowering his head, and then with a deep breath a piercing hum pulses out from his head. The soundwaves resonate across the entire block, traveling through the many apartments.

Izuku peers over at Dholak. “What’s he doing?”

“He’s an orca.” Dholak says it like it's so obvious.

“I know that.”

“Yeah, and orcas use echolocation.”

“Oh, I get it!” Izuku’s shine with delight. “He’s using his Quirk like a sonar, trying to locate the villain!”

“Exactly.”

The pulsing waves fade away and Gang Orca straightens his stance. “It’s no good.”

Izuku hops down from his hoverboard, deactivating it and stowing it away. “What’s no good? Did you find the villain?”

“No.” Gang Orca turns to address the others. “There’s some sort of…interference.”

Dholak raises his eyebrow. “Interference?”

“I’m not sure, but…something is intercepting my echolocation.”

“Hm, that’s not good.”

Izuku eyes the buildings nervously. “So, what do we do?”

Gang Orca’s red eyes land on the boy. “We split up.”

Izuku’s eyes light up with excitement, basically he’s going to have a chance to handle the situation on his own, to handle official hero work on his own!

“Hang on.” Gang Orca interrupts his moment. “There’s something important we need to address.”

“What is it?”

Gang Orca marches towards the boy, towering over him with his head held high and his red gaze peering down at him, making him feel even smaller than he is. “What’s your knowledge on Quirk laws?”

That’s an odd question, but Izuku goes ahead and answers anyway. “Quirk laws are in place to regulate people and how they use their Quirks whether that be hero work, jobs, and service.”

Gang Orca nods in approval. “Well said. So you understand when I say this: by law you are not allowed to use your Quirk in public.”

Izuku’s mind goes blank for a second. “Eh?”

Gang Orca’s eyes narrow. “You do not have permission to use your Quirk without my say so.”

“What?!”

Dholak snickers as Gang Orca explains further. “Allow me to clarify. You may use your Quirk to help locate the villain, but you do not have **my** permission to attack the villain.” His deathly glare pierces into Izuku’s very soul. “Do not throw away your chances of becoming a pro by getting overexcited. Do I make myself clear?”

Izuku freezes in place, his instincts telling him that the underlying threat is real. “Y-Yes, boss!!”

“Good.” Gang Orca spins around his cape whipping as he does. “Alright each of us will take a building, if you locate the villain then notify the rest of us so we can apprehend them together.” He peers back at his underlings. “You two got that?”

Both Izuku and Dholak reply in unison. “We got it boss!”

“Good, then let’s go.” And with a swish of his cape Gang Orca marches forward, straight for the middle building.

Dholak gives Izuku a mocking smirk before he takes off for the building to the right of the U.

And so Izuku turns towards the third and final building, scanning the eight floors and many apartments for any signs of life.

“So, this villain has a thing for bugs huh?” Izuku activates the Omnitrix location of the right alien before transforming. “Then they’ll appreciate Big Chill!”

The Necrofriggian stands tall as his wings unfurl from his body, and with a mighty flap of his wings he glides off for the large condemned apartment complex, silently phasing through the boarded-up windows like a ghost.

Big Chill can only think of one way to describe this place, as a dump. He’s never seen a place as filthy as this, heck, even Dagoba Beach could be considered clean compared to this place. It’s so dark and clustered, with trash and broken buildings parts crumbling away. And what the heck is that smell, is that festering garbage or a rotting corpse? No, if anything it smells like a bag of rotting onions. Know what it doesn’t matter because Big Chill would rather not find out.

And so using his flying and phasing capabilities Big Chill proceeds to scour the entire building combing through each and every apartment for the villain. After combing through the bottom three floors Big Chill would actually settle for finding a single bug. Seriously, he saw the swarm enter the place but there isn’t a single bug to be seen. Where are they? How could so many bugs just up and disappear? Maybe the villain can transform into bugs? It’s not the most farfetched thing he’s seen.

And so the search goes on, Big Chill phases from one dank and smelly apartment to another, gliding up all the way to the eighth floor but he’s still got nothing to show for it.

_‘Maybe they’re in a different building.’_ At this point that might as well be the case.

*Kreeee.*

Big Chill stops in midair, slowly peering back around to find a lone rotting door at the end of the hall. His wings curl back around his body as he silently touches down on the filthy floor. He remains silently rooted in place, waiting for any other signs of movement but after a few moments there is none.

So Big Chill turns to walk away, before peering at the door one more time. _‘Well, I better check.’_ Last thing he needs is to give the boss a reason to chew him out.

Big Chill moves slowly like a phantom stalking its next victim, moving gingerly and silently, the windows fogging over as he passes on by. After a few more silent strides he reaches the door, reaching for the handle first before remembering that he can phase. So, with a silent breath Big Chill becomes intangible, his form outlined by a blue aura as he warily pokes his head through the door. He shields his eyes as he phases through and when he opens them, he finds…another empty apartment.

Big Chill phases the rest of his body through the door and then solidifying himself, examining the contents of the apartment.

The apartment is one large room with boarded up windows that cast a dark shadow, it’s littered with trash, some broken kitchen appliances, and a mossy mattress at the far end of the room.

“Ew.” Big Chill’s nose would be scrunching up if he had one. “What is that smell?” It smells like…foul onions or something. 

He walks in further examining the large one room apartment even though the place is littered with trash some of the wrapping and bags look new and the mattress has clearly been in use, and there in the dust and grime covered floor there’s a few human-sized footprints with long thin-toes like that of a rodent’s.

“Well it looks like no one’s here now.” With a shrug Big Chill nonchalantly spins around and makes his way for the exit. “Guess I’ll just join up with the others.”

SMASH!!! A giant mass of buzzing insects crash right through the thin crumbling wall like a tidal wave. Everything practically moves in slow motion for Big Chill as the swarm descends upon him.

“Ahhh!!”

The swarm crashes into the mothman, knocking him down as the swarm disperses again. A great deal of insects cling to nearby surfaces crawling around, chirping in defiance at the intruder. The insects come in a large variety from crickets, wasps, flies, and even roaches.

“We don’t like unwanted visitors.” That voice, it sounds scratchy and sickly like someone’s running a fever and refusing to drink any water.

Big Chill groans as he sits up. _‘We?’_ He peers up at the gaping hole in the wall.

A scowling man stalks out from the hole and he is in urgent need of a doctor and a psychiatrist. The man’s skin is a sickly-bluish grey, he’s got a long greasy goatee and unkempt black hair, his fingernails are overgrown and black with grime, and his teeth are so crooked that they might as well be fangs. He’s wearing a black hoodie under a thick leather jacket, and a pair of torn grey pants. But gross of all there are several cockroaches crawling along his body, and he is not disturbed by them at all even as they crawl across his face.

_‘I think I found the queen…or rather the king.’_

The bug man growls. “You don’t belong here, hero.”

“Hero?” Big Chill’s disgust fades away. “You…really think I’m a hero?”

The man wasn’t expecting such a chipper response. “Um, yes.”

And like that Big Chill’s entire demeanor lights up. “Oh. My. Gosh. I was just called a hero!” Okay sure it was from a crazy hobo in a condemned dump, but it still counts.

The man snarls in annoyance. “You’re bugging us.”

Big Chill smirks as he lifts himself off the ground. “Bugging? Nice. I appreciate someone with a sense of humor such as yourself.”

“You mock us?”

Big Chill shakes his head. “No, no. Far from it.” His wings flutter in place as they remain wrapped around his form. “But I’m afraid I need to ask you to come with me.” Hopefully this guy will see reason and not bother putting up a fight.

The man clearly doesn’t want to comply. “You humans, you want us gone!”

“Okay buddy what’s with the use of “us” and “we,” you're the only other person here.”

“No, we are many.”

Big Chill raises an eyebrow but then something scuttles across his foot. Peering down Big Chill is disgusted to see a horde of creepy crawls all scuttling across the ground around them there are ants, centipedes, beetles, spiders, and worst of all roaches.

“And we hate humans.”

Big Chill gulps. _‘Okay, that confirms it.’_ He slowly reaches for his phone. _‘I better contact the boss.’_

*Bzzzz!*

Without warning a small swarm of wasps break away from within the broken fridge. They swoop in and with their piercing stingers, they force Big Chill to drop his phone before they snag it and fly it away.

“My phone!” Big Chill reaches for it, but it seems all the walls burst to life as thousands of flying insects burst out from within the crumbling foundation to swarm around Big Chill like an indoor tornado.

Big Chill backs away from the circling wasps, flies, and roaches.

“You humans destroy everything.”

Is he suggesting that he isn’t human? Maybe but…Big Chill can’t be sure. 

“You kill us without reason.”

Big Chill’s eyes narrow, he doesn’t like how this guy’s talking. 

“We will not stand for it anymore!”

And the circling insects instantly charges in, swarming the moth man from all sides giving him no chance of escape.

“Hahaha!” The bug man laughs as the insects continue to swarm and maim the intruder with any luck there won’t even be a single spec left of the hero.

A sudden chill fills the room and many of the swarming insects begin to freeze in place, literally as their tiny bodies become frozen in ice, clattering to the ground like tiny fragile shards.

The man steps back in shock as a phased out Big Chill steps out from the spiraling swarm, insects that are unfortunate to be in his path freeze like the others, while the alien himself remains unharmed. “Oops, was that your big moment?”

The villain scowls. “How?”

“Oh, I guess I should introduce myself.” The Necrofriggian gestures to himself. “This is Big Chill; I can will my body to become intangible and generate freezing cold temperatures.” A legion of wasps with stingers at the ready zip right through Big Chill’s frame, freezing in place and breaking apart as they fall to the floor. “Pretty cool, huh?”

The villain snarls, his hands shaking with anger as he watches his brethren die off by the swarms.

Big Chill needs to keep this guy talking to give himself a chance to get reinforcements or to at least find his phone. “Now this is the part where you introduce yourself.”

The villain scowls but for some reason goes ahead and introduces himself. “Clancy.”

“See, that wasn’t so hard.” Big Chill smiles, but under that mask he continues to survey the room for any sign of his phone, with it nowhere in sight there’s only one other option. “Now that’s out of the way, I'm afraid I need to take my leave. Important hero work to do.” Like get Gang Orca over here as soon as possible. “So, I’ll just buzz off.”

Clancy scowls. “You’re not walking out of here.”

“Um, yeah, I am.”

“No, you’re not.”

The swarm of insects reform around Big Chill, circling him from all sides.

“Uh, this again. Don’t you learn anything.”

Clancy actually smirks. “Yes, we do.”

A few insects fly right past Big Chill’s face giving him a good look at them. “Cicadas?”

*BZZZZZZZZZ!!!!*

The millions of cicadas all cry out their ear-piercing calls, beating their wings and chirping at such high decibels that Big Chill actually screams out in shock and agony, grabbing his head in a fit of pain.

*BZZZZZZZZZ!!!!*

It feels like he’s in the middle of rock concert, with hundreds of speakers, and thousands of screaming people in the form of millions of insects. It’s so bad it actually breaks his concentration and Big Chill becomes solid keeling over as he holds his pounding head.

And just like that the other insects leap into action, pouncing on the alien’s prone form, pushing him down with their massive collective to hold him in place with their tiny crawling legs, chewing mandibles, and probing stingers, all the while the cicadas continue their assault of frequencies.

As Big Chill reels in pain his mind is continuing to analyze the situation. _‘These things…must have…interfered!’_ Specifically if all these cicadas and other bugs were hiding in the walls then they must have been interfering with Gang Orca’ echolocation earlier!

Now is not the time to analyze however, as Clancy stands over the hero’s prone form, a crooked tooth smile on his face as he sneers down at the helpless intern. “Now it’s you who will be stepped on.”

Big Chill winces under all the strain of the ear-piercing soundwaves, but even so he still managed to hear Clancy. “Stepped on… Ha! I get it.”

Clancy clearly doesn’t appreciate Big Chill’s cockiness. “We think it’s time to try this out.” Clancy holds up a canister that’s no bigger than a tin can with a small glass side displaying an eerie green liquid inside.

Big Chill doesn’t like the look of it, not at all. “What…is…that?”

Clancy smirks as he kneels down as he uncorks the canister. “It’s a special toxin meant to deal with the likes of you.”

_‘Me?’_ Big Chill’s eyes widen in silent horror. _‘Does…does he mean aliens? No, maybe, oh, man I don’t know.’_

Clancy holds the canister right above Big Chill’s head. “Goodbye, hero. It hasn’t been a pleasure. Ha ha ha!”

And with a tilt of his hand the green liquid pours out right onto Big Chill’s head, the alien coughs and winces as the liquid gets into his eyes and mouth.

“Ha ha ha!” Clancy laughs like there’s no tomorrow, like he knows victory is at hand.

The insects back away from the wheezing alien and even the cicadas end their ear-splitting concert as Big Chill desperately tries to rub out the stinging substance.

“Ha ha ha!” A wicked grin is plastered on Clancy’s face as he glares down at the pained hero. “How's it feel?! You humans are so quick to turn your pesticides and chemicals on us now we’ll return the favor! Ha ha ha!” Clancy’s crooked grin widens as the insects begin to swarm around the room as if driven by his own madness. “This is it! This toxin will bring us salvation!”

“Sheesh, talk about over dramatic.”

Clancy’s grin falls and the insects go silent as he finally notices the calm and not dead Big Chill standing before him. “How…?”

Big Chill’s eyes narrow. “You’re going to need to be more specific.”

“How are you still alive?”

“Um, why wouldn’t I be?”

Clancy’s harden and furious scowl returns. “That damn rat!!” He slams the canister down, smashing it apart and the last of the liquid spills out onto the floorboards. “He lied to us! This toxin should have exterminated you and any other humans!”

_‘Oh, I get it now.’_ Big Chill is actually kind of relieved to hear that this guy actually believes Big Chill’s a human with an extreme mutation type Quirk. He probably should have realized that sooner.

But right now there are more important matters at hand. “Why would you want something that can kill a human being?”

Clancy frowns in frustration. “Don’t you understand yet? You humans kill us, torture us, and destroy everything important to us.” The swarm buzz to life behind Clancy’s standing form. “We can no longer take it. We will have what’s rightfully ours, no matter the cost.” The insects begin to slowly enshroud their king. “And so we will exterminate all humans. Starting with YOU!!!”

The swarm launches forward, charging straight for the alien.

Big Chill uses his intangibility to allow the first wave to pass right through. However the entire hive retaliates with the cicadas returning in full force with their deafening screeches, forcing Big Chill to break his concentration. A smaller swarm dives down at the hero but Big Chill quickly jumps away, using a wing to bat the swarm away.

‘This isn’t good.’ Big Chill ducks down to avoid a hundred stings to the head. _‘I need to alert the others!’_ He fades out, allowing a group of wasps and cicadas to phase through his chest. _‘But he’s sure not making it easy.’_

Clancy snarls as more of his hive fail to land a strike on their foe. “Get him, dammit!”

Big Chill leaps up and over a swarm, using the busted fridge as a springboard. “Don’t get antsy with them.” Big Chill gestures to the circling swarm. “You gotta bee more positive.”

Clancy snarls. “You’re infuriating.”

Big Chill smirks. “I know.”

“Rahhh!!” Clancy roars out in fury as the entire swarm charges headfirst as a massive wave.

This is what Big Chill was waiting for. “Freeze!”

With a huge exhale Big Chill releases a freezing wind that collides right into the charging swarm. Instantly each and every insect becomes frozen in a casing of ice, each one collapsing down to the ground like frozen rain drops. Big Chill doesn’t end his attack there though. He keeps at it until the entire room becomes a meat locker, a thin layer of ice encases everything, tiny piles of snow form in the corners and insects unfortunate to be in the facinity die and freeze under the sudden drop in temperature.

Big Chill finally ends his attack, catching his breath as he examines the now frozen and less smelly room. The floor is now littered with frozen insects, the mattress is stiff as a board, and the fridge is a giant ice cube and Clancy is nowhere to be seen. He might have escaped through the gaping hole in the wall while Big Chill was distracted. But Big Chill does find something, his phone. There in the corner and surrounded by frozen wasps is his cell phone!

Big Chill strolls over and snatches up his phone glad to see that it still has enough battery left in it for a phone call.

Before he can open the phone the Omnitrix finally gives out, ten minutes have been reached, and Izuku takes Big Chill’s place among the frozen trash and bugs.

“Brrrr, so c-c-cold.” Izuku grips his arms shivering in place as he shoots Gang Orca and Dholak a quick text that the villain’s in the building somewhere.

Izuku tucks his phone away. ‘Alright, I may not have my powers, but I should try to find him.’ Izuku turns towards the gaping hole in the wall. ‘He could be anywhere by now, so I better hur-’

Like a charging zombie, Clancy smashes through the thin frozen wall perpendicular to the gaping hole.

“We’ll. Kill. You.” Clancy slams into the boy, throwing him down to the ground.

Izuku kicks him away, spinning his body up and off the ground with his fists up.

Clancy however hesitates, a look of surprise adorning his face. “You're just a kid?!”

Izuku raises his fists. “Um, yeah I am.”

“Rahhh! No!! We won’t let a mere larva ruin our plans!”

_‘We?’_ Izuku’s nose scrunches up as a strange odor begins to fill the freezing apartment.

*Bzzzzzzz!*

Izuku’s eyes fill with dread as a newly formed swarm of insects creep their way into the frozen room from outside, they squeeze through the cracks, biting through parts of the walls, using any hole or crevasse to enter.

The insects gather around Clancy, veiling around his form like a disturbing and living cloak. “We’ll devour you bone and all!!” It’s like the insects propel him forward, as Clancy charges forward with newfound agility.

He slams into Izuku, knocking the boy down. Clancy grabs for Izuku’s neck, but Izuku grabs the man’s wrists pushing them away. But there’s very little he can do but flail and wince as the insects veiled around Clancy begin to swallow him up as one big mass.

While still trying to keep the villain at bay, Izuku shuts his eyes tightly as he continues to flail under the swarming insects. He can feel all their tiny legs crawling on his suit and skin, they nip and bite at his explodes flesh, their wings and chirps buzz in his ears, and he can feel them getting tangled up in his own hair!

With Izuku desperately trying to not crumble under the swarm, Clancy manages to get a hand around the boy’s neck, squeezing it tight between his fingers while using his other hand to pin Izuku’s left arm down.

Izuku can feel the air being squeezed out of him, making him choke and gasp, but he quickly shuts his mouth as insects probe and prod at his agape mouth. All the while, Clancy howls with a deranged laughter knowing soon he will be rid of this annoying pest.

Whether out of fear or instinct, Izuku desperately reaches for the Omnitrix. Knowing full well that five minutes have not passed, he can still pray that the little alien device will pull off some sort of miracle.

Clancy’s deranged laughter continues to ring out from within the swarming mass of insects, swallowing them both up whole as Izuku’s vision begins to fade.

Suddenly, the frozen door of the apartment is blasted open as both Gang Orca and Dholak charge in.

A dim flash of green light draws their eyes down on the swarming pile of bugs.

Gang Orca immediately takes action, firing out an ear-piercing soundwave that breaks the swarm apart like a high-powered fan blowing away rice.

The swarm is peeled away just enough for Clancy’s body to become visible among the panicking insects.

With a clear view, Dholak springs into action, throwing his two lance-like legs forward like spears that strike Clancy’s sides, knocking away and dispersing the swarm even further.

The groaning Clancy snarls up at the heroes as Dholak’s legs retract. While holding his side, Clancy runs off leaping and crashing through the boarded-up window, the swarm follows him out, swooping down and swallowing him up like a cloud before carrying their king off to safety.

“We gotta go after him!” Dholak is about to charge forward to leap after the villain but there’s something else in the apartment with them.

The last of the swarm disappears and flies off after their leader, but that’s not the odd part. The odd part is what the insects were swarming.

Dholak backs off, not liking the look of this thing, his nose scrunching up. “Yuck! What’s the awful smell?!”

“Careful, Dholak.” Gang Orca stands at the ready. “It appears there’s still one more bug to squash.”

Dholak and Gang Orca ready themselves as a giant insect rises off the frozen ground and trash. A putrid stench is just radiating off the foul disgusting creature. It’s four pedunculated-eyes wiggle around, its long thin wings lightly shake in the breaching sunlight, a massive spade-shaped stinger is poised at the end of its body, and its four insectoid-legs impale the floorboards as its hands massage its own throat.

The large insect groans, relieved to be breathing again. “Huh, that was horrible.” It’s four pedunculated-eyes swivel and spot the two heroes. “Hey thanks for the save. I really ow- AH!!”

Dholak’s lance-like pincers fire out nearly impaling the giant smelly bug. “Die, insect!!”

“Wahhh!!!” The bug falls to its side shaking and cowering under the lances. “What are you doing?! This isn’t the time for another test battle!”

Dholak snarls, leering down at the prone mutant. “Where’s your partner going?”

“Partner?”

The lance-like pincers rise above the bug’s head, threateningly. “I said where’s your-”

Gang Orca calmly interjects. “Dholak, enough.”

“But boss-”

“He’s with us.”

“Huh?”

Dholak peers at the insect and his eyes widen as he spots the symbol of the Omnitrix displayed on the creature’s form.

Said creature shakily stands back up, looking rather annoyed with Dholak. “Of course I’m with you what makes you think otherwise?”

Both Gang Orca and Dholak share a questioning look before they gesture down at his body.

The transformed Izuku peers down wondering what they could be pointing at. He looks down but all he sees are a pair of thin insect-like legs, but nothing’s really out of place… “Waaaaaa!!” It finally hits the transformed Izuku, he raises his hands only to find that he has three fingers, and for some reason he can see four of everything, oh god he’s got four eyes now! And wings?! Okay, that’s actually pretty cool. “Who the heck is this?!” And how did he not notice the voice change?! His voice sounds so wheezy and high pitched, like a bug’s.

Gang Orca folds his arms together annoyed with the kid’s antics. “Midoriya, what is this? Why weren’t we made aware of this form?”

The morphed Izuku shakes his head as he continues to pat himself down as to familiarize himself with this new transformation. “I didn’t know I had this form; it must be new. What the heck is this guy anyway?”

Dholak sniffs and the crabman’s face miracuaslly turns green. “Guh, geeze kid learn to bathe every now and then, you smell like a dumpster fire.”

“What?!” The bug gives his underarm a quick sniff, and immediately gags. “Bleh! Oh god! I stink!”

Dholak backs away pinching his nose. “Seriously. Are you like a stinkbug or something?”

The bug shakes his head. “No! Well, I guess I am a…Stinkfly.” Stinkfly grins his wings fluttering behind him as if the form agrees with the new codename. 

Dholak gags backing away and pressing his body against the wall. “Oh, god, bleh, it’s like a sewage tank exploded in a junkyard.”

“It’s not that bad!!”

“Nevermind that.” Gang Orca marches over towards the busted window and looks out and is disappointed to see that thanks to their folly they allowed the villain to escape. “We need to regroup with Officer Sansa and compare notes.”

Both Dholak and Stinkfly stand at attention. “Right!”

Much to Stinkfly’s surprise, Gang Orca steps right off the window’s ledge. The pro hero couldn’t be calmer, however, jabbing his sharp claws into the side of the building allowing him to slide right down leaving a trialing gouge as he descends down.

Dholak leaps out, using his extended legs to spring outward.

Stinkfly watches as they both make it safely down, Gang Orca lands down on the cracked cement and Dholak lands nearby breaking his own decent with his extended crab-legs.

Stinkfly eyes the building for a way to scale down but then a pair of his eyes turn backwards and eye his new-insect wings. Stinkfly smiles, he might just enjoy this new form more than he thought he would. And so he leaps out but immediately free falls for a few seconds until his wings gain enough speed to lift his frame.

“Woah, okay, easy Izuku you got this.” And so Stinkfly makes his descent down, occasionally jolting off to the side or falling briefly, his flight path shaky as he struggles to get used to the new appendages.

Meanwhile, Gang Orca and Dholak exit the condemned area arriving back at the main street where a crowd of bystanders have gathered. They saw the swarm of insects fleeing the scene and they wanted to see if the heroes managed to solve their pest problem.

The police soon arrive, with Officer Sansa wasting no time to jump out of his car and approach the heroes. “Where’s the villain?”

Gang Orca adjusts his tie as he addresses the officer. “He escaped.”

“He what?! How could he?”

“He was slipperier than we had anticipated.”

Before Officer Sansa could ask anymore, Stinkfly finally arrives making a not so grand entrance. His wings beat fast as he tries to slow his descent but he’s coming in too fast.

Stinkfly’s legs trip over the ground forcing him to fall over and skid across the sidewalk. “Phttffff!”

Dholak snickers into his hand. “Wow, that sure stunk.”

Stinkfly glares up at the crab as he picks himself off the ground. “Ha ha…”

As he rises up the crowd gasp in fear at the sight of him. “It’s a giant BUG!!”

“Wahhhh!!!”

“It’s the villain!!”

“Monster!”

“It smells awful!”

“Wait.” Stinkfly scans around and notices how they’re all staring and pointing at him. “I’m not the villain.”

“Eeek, get away from me!” A high school girl screams, grimacing away from the creature.

“But I’m a hero.” Stinkfly tries to approach her, his hands up as if to say he’s not dangerous, but the girl freaks out and runs away.

“Run!”

Officer Sansa quickly takes control of the situation before a panic ensues. “Everyone please calm down; this is not the bug villain!” Officer Sansa turns and eyes the bug warily. “You’re not, right?”

Stinkfly hastily shakes his head. “No, sir! It’s me Midoriya.” He points at the Omnitrix hoping it's enough to prove his identity.

Dholak goes ahead and chimes in with a snicker. “Yeah, he had a bit of a face lift.”

Stinkfly growls up at Dholak’s jab, but the moment he looks remotely mean the citizens gasp and step back in fear.

Officer Sansa addresses the crowd. “Everyone please relax, these heroes are here to help I can assure you of that.”

They don’t look convinced instead they peer at Stinkfly with fear, disgust, and trepidation although none of them air their concerns. Instead they begin to disperse, quickly, not wanting to hang around to find out if the bug is friendly or not.

Stinkfly somberly backs away, his shoulders slumping with his eyes dropping down and a sad frown on his face.

Gang Orca eyes the somber alien, no hint of sympathy lies in the hero’s eyes, but he has the look of one who’s experienced much in their time. “It’s a cruel reality, isn’t it?”

Stinkfly keeps his eyes down not bothering to peer up at the hero. “What is?”

“Being judged for one’s appearance.”

Stinkfly’s eyes rise up, drawing their attention on Gang Orca. “People will often see what they want to see due to their limited perspectives. But only through our actions can they truly come to understand who we are.”

Stinkfly remains silent as the pro hero’s words linger in his mind. _‘But how can I show them who I am if they don’t give me a chance?’_

Gang Orca gestures towards the car. “Come on, let’s head back to the station.” And stomps off for the Rolls-Royce Phantom.

Stinkfly follows but one of Dholak’s lance-like pincers blocks his path.

“No way!” Dholak jumps into the driver seat, holding his nose and holding his breath. “You can fly back, no way I’m letting your stink ruin leather. It’ll linger there for years.”

Stinkfly doesn't bother arguing he’s already depressed enough as it is.

Figuring it’s safe now, Dholak drives off with Gang Orca in the back.

Stinkfly’s wings flap in rapid succession and after a few moments he generates enough force to lift himself off the ground. He flies up into the air, but it’s still a bit shaky so much so he bumps into a light post, and his flight path goes a bit too off course but even, so he manages to keep his eyes trained on Gang Orca’s black car.

And so Stinkfly follows them back to the police station, but at the same time he uses 2 of his pedunculated-eyes to fully examine this newest alien transformation. _‘Just what is this guy?’_ His eyes scan the wings on his back, his thin-sharp legs, and the large stinger at his rear-end. _‘And what can he do? Hmmmm, I better contact Thirteen maybe they’ll have some answers.’_ And so Stinkfly goes ahead and grabs his phone and takes a selfie of all things.

But in typical Izuku Midoriya fashion he looks terrified in the photo, Stinkfly’s smile looks nervous and scared, his eyes wiggled around too much and made them look like waving noodles, and he got a really bad angle.

Even so it should be enough for Thirteen or One-One to identify, and so Stinkfly goes ahead and sends the message to Plumber base. 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

A tall slim figure adorning a high-tech purple armor squeezes their way through the tightly compacted vent. It’s taken some time for the bounty hunter to find an alternate way into Japan’s Plumber Base, and almost as much time to navigate the twisting turning vents. Prowling about like some sort of imposter out to kill.

The bounty hunter army crawls their way through as he thinks back to why they’re here in the first place.

##########(Flashback)#########

The bounty hunter peers up at the hospitalized commander. “Oyu oklo kiel tsih.” 

“I’m well aware of my…pathetic state, SixSix.” The commander leers down at the lowly bounty hunter from within his recovery pod. “But trust me I’m still not one to be trifled with.”

SixSix shrugs nonchalantly. “Veerhtaw, oll’yu eb eehtr lnuit het touahr yssa os.”

“Hm.” The commander's eyes narrow, deciding to continue with his address. “Here are the details of your mission.”

“Xtiionrm?”

“Yes. However, the Plumbers are jamming my ship’s radars, making it impossible to track the Omnitrix’s whereabouts.”

That has become highly evident after witnessing the juvenile earthling participate in the so-called Sports Festival. Clearly the Plumbers have come up with some means of jamming his ship’s radars making it difficult to pinpoint the Omnitrix’s signal.

“You must sneak into Plumber Base and insert this device into their system.”

A humanoid drone approaches SixSix and hands over a small high tech flashdrive-like device.

“That device is preprogrammed to hack into their systems, it’ll detect the jamming signal and hack into its own system.”

SixSix pockets the device away. “N’wto het srpbmlue ceitno?”

The commander responds. “No, the Plumbers will not detect the virus; it won’t alter their systems or programs instead it will add its own program allowing my systems to detect the Omnitrix’s frequency once again.” Basically this virus will piggyback off the Plumber’s own jamming system to give the commander backdoor access to his own radar again without altering anything to the systems that would stand out to the Plumbers.

“You should take this as well.”

Another drone walks forward and inserts a similar high-tech flashdrive into SixSix’s advanced suit. The flashdrive glows orange for a moment before turning completely black signaling that a download has been completed.

The commander explains as the drone removes the device. “I’ve added a program into your suit’s systems linking it with my ships.”

SixSix gives the commander a questioning look, silently asking why.

“After you’ve successfully infiltrated Plumber base and comprise their systems not only will I be able to track down the Omnitrix, but so will you.”

One can only assume that SixSix is smiling from underneath his helmet. “Ssndou eikl unf.”

########(End Flashback)#######

SixSix kicks open the vent and slides out stretching out into the octagon shaped hallway of the Plumber base. He appears to be on the higher level of the base, which means he’s closer to the main operations and monitoring room. And so with light but quick steps SixSix sticks close to the wall as he heads off.

He passes by a few doors within the long-wide hallway, but he slows down considerably as he approaches an automatic door with its door left ajar.

SixSix carefully peers inside and he’s in for an odd surprise.

A round white robot is inside, having split apart to form as two separate droids. One droid is holding up a poor-drawing of a blue moth-like alien while the other half of the droid works a camcorder. It kinda looks like they’re making some sort of cheap documentary.

^This cool looking alien is a Necrofriggian or better known as…Big Chill.^

^ _That’s such a dumb name…_ ^

With the droids distracted SixSix hugs the opposite end of the hall and quietly walks on by without the robots ever noticing his presence.

SixSix continues his way up and eventually he arrives at a much bigger portal as he gets closer, he notices a glass within the metal doors. So he peaks in and sees the one and only Thirteen sitting there at a large wooden family table within a large room.

The table rests on a large octagonal shaped beige rug and with the soft illuminating lights it gives off a nice homey atmosphere. To their immediate right, there is a circular area that appears to be a cozy lounge area with chairs and couches, and a kitchen to boot.

Encasing the entire room, there appear to be small windows that go around the perimeter of the walls, but all there is to see is pure darkness.

A wire with a flat end extends out from his helmet and lays itself against the metal doors listening in on the Plumber.

Thirteen leans forward clicking away on their laptop. “Hm, almost done.”

They’ve been editing through all the Sports Festival clips ever since the students took off for their internships. With any luck Thirteen might be able to finish up by tonight.

The wire reels back into SixSix’s helmet and the bounty hunter leans a little closer towards the door. The Plumber’s distracted it’d be oh so easy to sneak up on the pro hero while they’re busy with their task.

But he’ll risk exposing himself and alerting others of his own presence. But this large room will lead him to the main operations room, he needs to get past the Plumber otherwise he can kiss this mission and possibly his life goodbye.

Scanning the hallway SixSix spots another vent and so with a quick jab and pull of his claws he pries the vent open and slips inside, with any luck this will get him to where he needs to go.

Meanwhile, Thirteen continues to click and edit away at the photoage dragging a clip of XLR8 fighting off Tokoyami’s Dark Shadow onto the film.

*Bing!*

“Hm?” Thirteen’s eyes shift over towards their phone. “Oh, it’s Midoriya. I wonder if his internship’s going alright.” With a simple swipe Izuku’s message and photo pop onto the screen. “Oh, my! A Lepidopterran that’s definitely an odd one.”

Thirteen goes ahead and types up a response hoping to explain what they can for now figuring they could give the U.A. student a proper call later on.

Back with the bounty hunter, SixSix slowly and quietly pries open the last vent, poking his head out into the Surveillance and Monitoring System room.

It’s a large white room that’s laid out much like a cockpit of a spaceship. There are about four workstations each with their own monitors. The entire front of the curving wall is a pitch-black screen that stretches across the entire length of the space. At the base of the monitor is an oval-shaped console with a circular port at the top of it, the port looks to be big enough to fit a soccer ball inside.

SixSix slides his way over to the main console, he types away and a port opens up within the machine itself.

SixSix pulls out the alien flashdrive and holds it above the port. “Aghitrl olpt cvdeei hree ew og.”

And so he plugs the flashdrive in and it immediately gets to work glowing a bright orange and the monitors all glitch out for a brief second as the virus scans the systems and programs for the possible jamming signal. It must have found it because the orange glow fades away and the little device turns black in color.

As the flashdrive goes dark SixSix scans the room not finding anything of significance happening, guess that means it worked.

SixSix goes ahead and pockets the device not wanting to leave evidence of his presence. He makes his way back towards the vent and slips inside making sure to close it back up behind him before heading back the way he came.

After a few minutes of crawling around SixSix arrives back at the entrance of the large living area where Thirteen is working. Slipping out of the vent SixSix closes it back up, again not wanting to leave a trace of his presence. Even if the virus is undetectable, he is not, and he best be sure to remain unseen while he’s in enemy territory. But then again there’s only a few beings here if he's caught, he might as well retire as a bounty hunter.

The metal portal opens up revealing the oblivious Thirteen on the other side.

Neither the bounty hunter nor pro hero move as they both stare at each other in midstep. They just stare at each other unsure about what’s actually going on, neither expecting to see the other at this moment.

Thirteen blinks staring off at the sus looking SixSix who blinks right back…

And like that everything explodes in a burst of urgency.

“Ied sro pdte!” SixSix throws his fists forward and out from the top of his wrists a pair of lasers fire out.

Thirteen’s body immediately reacts on its own, diving to the side and taking cover to the side of the open portal. _‘What the hell is SixSix doing here?!’_ They’ve heard of this bounty hunter before he’s got quite the nasty reputation.

Thirteen peeks out but quickly jumps back as another round of laserbolts fire out from the bounty hunter’s wrist blasters. _‘Shit, this isn’t good.’_

Looking up Thirteen spots the alarm switch up on the side of the wall and without a second thought they slam their hand down on the switch.

*INTRUDER ALERT!!! INTRUDER ALERT!!!*

The entire base’s lights turn red as the alarms blare throughout the facility.

SixSix glares at red lights, he then reaches down towards the side of his lower abdomen where a special pod opens up and drops a grenade right into his claws.

And with a mechanical snicker he tosses the grenade forward.

Thirteen’s eyes widen in horror as the grenade bounces across the threshold. Not waiting to see it explode Thirteen activates Blackhole and the grenade gets sucked up before it can even detonate.

So, with the grenade neutralized and the rain of lasers done with Thirteen springs into action, leaping through the portal but instead of facing SixSix the bounty hunter is fleeing the scene!

“Get back here!” Thirteen runs after the bounty hunter through the hallway.

^What’s going on!^

^ _We’re under attack obviously…_ ^ 

A fully attached One-One hops out from his temporary recording room and just in time to see SixSix leap up and over his head before taking off in a full sprint towards the cargo bay.

^Oh my, a new friend!^ cheers Glad-One.

^ _Uh, I hate meeting new people…_ ^ whines Sad-One. 

Thirteen runs on by. “Not a friend! They’re a foe!” And whoosh Thirteen sprints off.

Glad-One gasps. ^Oh, my we have to do something!^

^ _Do we have to…?_ ^

It doesn’t matter because One-One hops after the pursuing hero.

SixSix soon sprints across the cat-walk hanging above the large cargo bay as he approaches the middle he skids to a stop, turns and fires his wrist blasters at his pursuer.

Thirteen, who hasn’t even made it onto the catwalk yet, takes cover behind the small wall of a railing.

As laser bolts continue to batter at Thirteen’s barricade One-One juvenilely rolls up. ^Oh, my this is quite the predicament.^

^ _We should all just give up now…_ ^

Thirteen shakes their head in denial. “We’re not giving up!”

^ _Then what’s your plan oh great one… ?_ ^

Thirteen frowns. “I…don’t know.”

The glad side of One-One lights up. ^Oh, I have an idea!^

Thirteen doesn’t even get a chance to ask what when One-One suddenly jumps out from their hiding spot and rolls across the catwalk like a bowling ball as lasers fly over his small frame.

SixSix doesn’t notice the speeding little guy until it’s too late.

One-One’s spinning body bounces up and hits SixSix right in the face. SixSix stumps back and his helmet’s vision fades in and out, that hit has messed up some of his helmet’s inner wiring.

One-One lands back on the catwalk and cheers. ^Ha ha! I am here!^

^ _Uh, duh…_ ^ grumbles Sad-One.

Thirteen, after a moment of disbelief at the results, jumps out and charges, running across the catwalks. They’re running with all they got, hoping to get to SixSix before he can recover.

But it’s too late. SixSix regains his vision just in time to see the Plumber charging right for him. He’s been made aware of this Plumber’s so-called power and knows that at this close of a range he might as well be space dust.

But he’s one of the galaxy’s most feared bounty hunters, he’s evaded Plumbers for years, hell he’s even collected the bounty of a few Plumbers over the years he can handle this one. And he knows exactly how.

Several wires burst out from the pods on SixSix’s back like thin-metal tentacles all with cylindrical blasters at the end of them. The wired-tentacles all aim down at the catwalk itself and begin to glow red.

Thirteen’s eyes widen and they skid to a stop predicting the intruder’s intentions.

SixSix glances back at the Plumber and smirks, his left shoulder-pod opens up and a small grey arm pops out and that wave goodbye to the pro hero. “Ese ay ctne lafl.”

And so a shower of laser bolts rip right through the catwalk sending all three of them into a free fall. Thirteen quickly grabs the railing, swinging with their half of the catwalk.

One-One unfortunately continues to fall down the cargo bay where he crash lands onto a pile of crates. But he should be fine, he was designed to be near indestructible.

As for SixSix, well, as he was falling his jetpack roared to life and flung him upwards. His wired-tentacles aim up and fire into the ceiling of Plumber Base. The rain of lasers are enough to break through the ceiling and the bounty hunter disappears into the gaping hole.

Thirteen can only watch, dangling from the fallen catwalk, as dirt falls from the gaping hole and for a moment a brief beam of sunlight breaks through until the hole SixSix blasted into fortition collapses in on itself ceiling the temporary tunnel.

Thirteen glares up at the now sealed hole. “That…couldn’t have been good.” 

And so they take a moment to hang in their defeat, before swinging around and using the railing as a ladder to climb up and dangling the catwalk. As Thirteen climbs their way up, their phone in their pocket lights up.

The screen reads that the call is coming from Ochaco Uraraka and she apparently has sent a photo to the U.A. teacher. The photo is of an ancient looking amulet with strange carvings.

But whatever it is it can wait because right now Thirteen needs to find out why SixSix was there to begin with. And hopefully they were able to stop them before it was too late.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Meanwhile, back at the Geonosis City Police Headquarters, Officer Sansa finishes up taking the last few reports from the heroes and police officers.

After collecting everyone’s statements, reports, and combing through the apartment complexes for evidence the heroes and police pooled their collective knowledge together to gather up the following information.

Thanks to Izuku they now got the villain’s name, a composite sketch, and an idea about his Quirk. Unfortunately, the Quirk Registry doesn’t have anything on a possible foreigner named Clancy; it’s possible it was just an alias. As for his Quirk they can definitely deduce that Clancy is manipulating insects and bugs to his will, the specifics on how are unclear as of now.

Izuku of course also brought up the odd canister of toxins that Clancy had. And the police got right to work, scanning the room for possible toxins but unfortunately the combination of grime, dust, and Big Chill’s melting ice all but prevented the detectives from properly identifying any type of toxins. And it seems Clancy took the canister with him when he fled. Meaning they have no evidence or means of tracking down any possible leads on where the villains were able to procure such a poison.

But most importantly they also know that this villain definitely has it out for “humans” even though he is a human himself. So they quickly chalk him up to being rather…unstable which makes him even more of a threat.

Officer Sansa drops his notes down on the table having finally finished explaining everything. down his note “Alright, that’s everything.”

Officer Sansa briefly scans his notes before peering up at Gang Orca, Dholak, and a thankfully not-smelly Izuku although everyone is still giving him a wide berth just in case.

Izuku melts back into his seat still somewhat crestfallen about how that crowd reacted to his presence.

Dholak goes ahead and asks what they’re all thinking. “Now what?”

Officer Sansa sighs exhaustively. “That…I don’t know.” He turns to the only pro hero present. “Thoughts?”

“Hm.” Gang Orca cups his hands together, leaning forward in his seat that’s far too small for his frame. “We may have gained some knowledge about this…Clancy but we’ve lost our own element of surprise.”

Izuku eyes the hero waiting for an explanation. “What do you mean?” 

“The villain is now aware of heroes within the city, and we’re pretty recognizable so it’d be easy to research my Quirk and Dholak’s.” Gang Orca then gestures towards the greenette. “Not to mention you were in the Sports Festival so he may try to exploit our own weaknesses by studying up.”

Izuku gulps, worried because Gang Orca really does have a point. There just might be a chance this Clancy guy can now prepare himself to take them on, even right now Izuku could come up with several different ways Clancy could defeat them.

“But we still have an advantage.” adds Gang Orca as if to relieve Izuku’s worries. “Our presence may just be enough to cause this villain to slip up.”

“Huh?”

Officer Sansa interjects. “Allow me to explain, a hero’s very presence can deter many wannabe crooks and villains. Take All Might for example.”

Izuku’s eyes widen as the explanation dawns on him, keeping his attention on the officer.

“Ever since All Might’s been on the scene the crime rates all across Japan have plummets to new record lows. All because of his immense power and overwhelming presence.”

Gang Orca chips in. “As such the presence of pro heroes within an area is often enough to make any villain go into hiding or even give up on their plans.”

Izuku lights up, if this is true then the villain may just give it all up! “That’s good right?”

Gang orca shakes his head. “Normally it would be, but I don’t think this villain operates the same way. Considering he’s been assaulting the city in broad daylight.”

Izuku melts down in his seat feeling very crestfallen.

“But that’s where we can gain the advantage.” Gang Orca straightens up in his seat as to express the seriousness of what he has to say. “This villain is going to escalate his efforts as quickly as he can before we become aware of his intentions.”

It just now dawns on Officer Sansa. “What?! Are you saying he’s going to attack the city again?! And soon?!”

“Possibly, but what I’m also saying is this.” Gang Orca cups his chin in thought. “If this villain has become paranoid due to us being here then they're going to try to rush their own plan. And when one is too fearful and moving with haste, they are more prone to making mistakes.”

Izuku gaps in understanding. “Oh, so you think that he’ll be in such a panic that he’ll trip himself up!”

“Exactly.”

“But we still have an issue.” comments Dholak. “We have no idea where this villain is. And I’m sure he’s not going to fall for the same trick as last time.” Basically Clancy isn’t just going to let the heroes follow a swarm of bugs back to their hideout. 

Gang Orca rises from his seat. “Then we’ll implement the oldest tactic of being a hero.” He marches for the door as Dholak pushes himself away from the table too.

Izuku however is a bit lost. “And that is?”

“Gear up, shrimp.” Gang Orca’s red eyes shine back at the boy. “We’re going on patrol.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

And so they do, the members of Gang Orca’s agency go ahead and drake separate sections of the city to patrol. Gang Orca in the North, Dholak the South, and Izuku in the East. Plus the police are out in force scouring the entire city while making sure the citizens remain indoors just in case Clancy gets ahead of himself and attacks, they also lock down the city just in case he tries to make a run for it.

They all search with do vigilance a harsh silent tension has fallen over the city like everyone’s bracing themselves for the inevitable explosion of chaos.

Hopefully someone will report something about the villain’s whereabouts, with a whole city searching there can't be too many places for him to hide. Then again, he did avoid detection for nearly a week before the heroes arrived.

Speaking of heroes or rather hero course students, Izuku is out on his Hoverboard flying through the city buildings keeping his eyes peeled to the ground and the sky for any signs of Clancy. Nothing can be overlooked from a discarded hoodie to a single fly harmlessly buzzing by.

Izuku wipes the sweat off his brow. He could do without this heat though; this Urban Heat Effect is real and it sure does suck.

As the greenette tries to bear with the heat he allows his mind to wonder back to his encounter with the villain. Specifically that weird canister he had and that ooze inside it. Why did Clancy think it would kill him? All because he thought Izuku was human? Buy why? And heck, where’d he even get a hold of stuff like that?!

Maybe if Izuku thinks back and resteps everything he saw and heard. There was that strange smell, there was trash, there were bugs, there was….

_‘Ahh!! This is so infuriating!’_ Izuku grips his head in frustration. _‘Come on universe just toss me a bone!’_

*Clank!*

Izuku brings the hoverboard to a stop and peers down into the narrow alley below to see what could have caused such a loud noise. And apparently it was a rat, like a giant rat, a rat that walks…on two legs?

Izuku watches as the bipedal rat snacthes something right out of the trash can and pockets it for later. The rat is wearing an orange jacket and it’s got a mane of black quills on the back of his head.

“Why do I feel like I’ve seen them before…” Izuku cups his chin as he tries to think back… And then it hits him!

##########(Flashback to Ch.8)#########

“This is one of the biggest rats in all of Musutafu, both in the literal and metaphorical sense of the word.” Izuku is unsure what they mean. “He’s a con artist.” Thirteen explains.

Argit interrupts, feeling somewhat offended. “I prefer the term entrepreneur.”

Thirteen gives the rodent a nasty glare.

Argit appropriately takes a few steps back, airing on the side of caution. “Hey come on, now. I mean a rat’s gotta make a living, you know?”

The Plumber’s glare intensifies tenfold. 

Ochaco decides to risk her well-being by speaking up. “I don’t mean to step on your toes, Thirteen, but shouldn't you arrest him.”

Argit gulps but he keeps his composure despite the situation. “He…” He pauses. “she…um, they wouldn’t dare, not without good cause, plus I am following Intergalactic law, because my…” He pauses to think. “business dealings in no way compromise the wellbeing of my fellow space travelers.”

Thirteen’s glare somehow becomes even more terrifying.

Argit sighs in defeat. “I’m also a part time snitch and informant for the Red Spot.” He gestures towards Thirteen.

########(End Flashback)#######

_‘But why is he here?’_ Izuku eyes the rat-alien warily for a moment before something else pops into his mind.

When Clancy poured that toxin on Big Chill, he said something: _Clancy’s harden and furious scowl returns. “That damn rat!!” He slams the canister down, smashing it apart and the last of the liquid spills out onto the floorboards. “He lied to us!_ ”

Izuku’s eyes pop wide open. _‘No it can’t be…but…you never know.’_ And so he slowly begins to descend towards the oblivious alien hustler. “I know you, don’t I?”

Argit kicks over a can as he scrambles away in fright. “Wah?!” He grips his chest, his heart pounding from being startled, but he calms down and a look of annoyance grows on his face as he eyes Izuku. “Oh, it’s you.”

The intern folds his arms as he stands atop his hoverboard. “So, we have met.”

“Yeah, at Mr. Baumann's place.”

“That’s right!” Izuku nods before giving Argit a suspicious look. “And if I remember correctly, Thirteen didn’t have such kind words about you.” 

“And I take offense to that!” snaps Argit.

“S-sorry.” Izuku fiddles with his fingers nervously. “But I was kinda hoping you could help me.”

“Help…you?” Argit shakes his head waving his hand in denial. “Nah, uh, no way pal. I don’t help Red Spots.” He turns to walk away, his back to Izuku. “Or heroes for that matter.” And so he walks away all definitely like that’s the final word. 

“Wait! What do you know about the bug villain?”

Argit pauses, his eyes going wide before they smoothly become more placid. “Who?”

“You know the villain that’s been attacking this city!”

Argit thinks on it and then a light smirk appears on his face and his snout twitches as if it can actually sniff out a quick buck. “I…may have heard a few rumors.” If he plays this right, he just might swindle this snot-nosed brat right out of his allowance. “What is it you want to know, exactly?”

“The villain, they had this…canister of poison or something.”

With his back still to Izuku, Argit’s ears shoot up in surprise and he practically has to pull them down in order to look as calm and innocent as possible. “Eh, uh, yeah sorry, hehe. But I don’t think I know enough to help.” And with a smile that’s far from genuine Argit quickly tries to walk away.

Izuku frowns, he knows a lie when he hears one after all he was friends with Henzu. Not to mention he, regrettably, lied to his own mother just to keep her from worrying about him.

“Hang on!” Izuku’s hoverboard races forward, intercepting the rat’s path.

Argit scrambles back as Izuku nearly runs him over. “Hey, what’re you doing?!”

Izuku, harnessing his inner Gang Orca, stands tall, his breathing low, and his piercing gaze fixed on the lowlife if this is going to work then he needs to be as intimidating as possible.

And it, miraculously works, if Argit’s cowering hunched over form is anything to go by. 

“You do know something don’t you?”

“What?!” Argit tries to play it coy. “Me?! Why I would never work with a fella like him, alright?”

“Who said they were a him?”

“Excuse me?”

“I never said the villain’s gender, but you did.”

Argit’s blood goes cold. “Wait, wait, wait, come on now I was just being general about it. You know?”

Izuku’s gaze hardens. “Come on, you know more than you’re letting on.”

It seems that Izuku’s intimidation has worn off, because Argit has gone from scared to annoyed. “Alright, maybe I do but what’s it to ya?”

“What matters is this city and the people who live in it?!”

Argit scoffs. “So?”

Izuku is adequately starting to get frustrated with this guy, he sort-of reminds him of Henzu in a way. He’s got that shifty con artist feel to him.

“So, you’re going to tell me all that you know!” Izuku holds his narrowed glare, leaning forward and standing as tall as he can as he holds his steely gaze.

But Argit is having none of it looking rather calm and unafraid.

Izuku holds his glare for another moment, and another, and another, and another…but Argit never breaks.

But then… Argit’s quills spring up on his head and Izuku jumps away, startled by the sudden action only to realize that he was the one to break under the pressure.

Argit deadpans. “You’ve never done this before, huh?”

Izuku goes red from embarrassment, for his first attempt at an interrogation it did not go over too well did it? “Look, this guy…he’s up to something. Something that may…hurt hundreds of people, of humans!”

“So? Why should I care about humans I mean…” Argit gestures to himself, after all he’s not exactly human.

“Come on, please you have to help!” Izuku is practically begging at this point as he jumps down from his hoverboard and stows it away. “This guy can control legions of bugs and with that strange toxin there’s no doubt he’s going to cause some major harm! He can’t be allowed to do this, it’s not right! We need to stop him before it’s too late otherwise…we’re all done for.” His breath is heavy after delivering such a tirade.

He looks at Argit expectantly like he’s going to give in to his please. And Argit, for his part, actually looks like he’s considering Izuku’s words! Maybe, just maybe he appealed to his better nature.

Izuku offers up his hand in friendship. “So, what do you say? Will you help me?”

Argit looks between the hand to its owner. “Nope.”

… 

“What?”

“I said, no.”

Izuku’s mind is still processing.

Argit backs away in annoyance. “Look, kid you seem nice, so I’ll level with ya. There’s no benefit for me to help you. Plus you can’t actually do anything to me.”

“Huh?”

“Yeah, if you turn me in to that overgrown fish of a hero I may just…let somethings slip.” His eyebrows bounce up and down as if to suggest something…nefarious. “You never know a rat like me just might let a few…sensitive things slip out.” A sly smirk crawls its way onto the rat’s face as his threat reaches Izuku’s ear.

The space cadet is in absolute shock and awe just from Argit’s not-so subtle threat. “You wouldn’t dare…”

Argit’s smirk grows, glad the boy is getting the picture. “I would.” As long as it’s to his benefit Argit could care less about who he hurts, he’d even sell his own mother if it meant a few more bucks in his wallet. 

“But the Plumbers-”

“Don’t have any reason to arrest me.” Argit waves this concern off like it’s nothing, and in a way it’s true he may be breaking Japan laws but not intergalactic laws, meaning if the Plumbers out him then they’ll out themselves. “Sorry kid but I’ve been at this way longer than you have. After all, why do you think I’m still walking about without a single Plumber in sight?”

Izuku can’t believe this! How!? How can this rat just be so cold?!

“So why don’t you just…head on out on your little hall monitor duty?” Argit shews Izuku away with a cocky grin. “I’m sure you’ll catch this guy all on your own…or not.” And with that Argit strolls right past Izuku without a care in the world.

Izuku’s hair cast a dark shadow over his eyes as the air around him becomes rather ominous. “So, you’re not going to cooperate?”

Argit stops. “That’s the idea.”

Fine, Izuku’s done with this anyway. And so he lifts up his wrist and goes ahead and dials up an alien.

Argit, having seen the kid in action, panics. “What are you doing?!”

Izuku stops turning the Omnitrix faceplate and raises his hand right above it. “This.” He just lets his hand drop right onto the dial and a blinding light floods the alley.

What happens after the light fades away could be considered both hilarious and/or disgusting to those who have the chance to witness this.

“Hey, put me down you big palooka!”

Four Arms stomps forward and pulls the gangling Argit up higher by his tail. “Alright, since you asked so nicely.”

“Hey!” Argit shouts as Four Arms drops him right into an open dumpster that’s nearly filled to the brim with trash bags and garbage. “Wait-”

Four Arms slams the dumpster shut, his fingers curl around the lid and with his mighty grip he crushes the lid shut, locking the alien inside.

Argit desperately bangs on the lid, he may be a rat but even his nose can’t take the stench of… Oh, god is that garbage bag filled with diapers?! “Hey, let me out of here you bastard!”

Four Arms keeps his hand locked on the lid. “Not until you tell me what I want.”

“Go rot in a gutter!”

“Alright, just remember I tried being nice.” Four Arms bends down, below the dumpster.

“Woah, woah!” Argit freaks out as the dumpster is lifted into the air. “What are you doing?”

When Four Arms has a good grip on the bottom of the dumpster does, he responds. “Just so you know I am sorry about this.”

“Sorry about-Wahhh!!”

Like a kid testing a present before Christmas, Four Arms rapidly shakes the dumpster throwing Argit around inside.

“Stop! Stop it!” screams Argit as his quills and claws tear into the garbage bags. “Gwahh!! Uh, gross!

“Not until you spill it!” Four Arms tosses the dumpster up into the air.

“Ayiii!” Argit screams all the while even as Four Arms catches it on its way down. “Bleh, keep this up and I’ll end up spilling my lunch…” 

“Just tell me!”

Argit kicks the side of the dumpster. “I can’t, if I rat out my clients then that’s bad for business!”

Four Arms deadpans as he shakes the dumpster again.

“A-a-alright, I-I’ll t-talk I’ll talk!!”

Four Arms grins before he drops the dumpster with a loud clang. He slips his fingers into the lid and tears the dumpster open to reveal a garbage covered Argit, who’s stench could rival that of Stinkfly’s. 

Argit scrambles out of the dumpster, plopping down onto the ground, as he pants heavily catching his breath.

Four Arms kneels down. “So, is there something you’d like to tell me?”

Argit nods as he sits up. “I gave Clancy the canister.” he admits with much disdain.

“Where’d you get it from.”

“The chemical factory.”

“What?”

“Uh!” Argit rolls his eyes as he pushes himself onto his feet, dusting his jacket of any garbage. “That “toxin” was nothing, but a canister of chemicals slapped together. I got them from that chemical factory on the west side of town.”

Four Arms raises an eyebrow. “Got it? You mean bought it right?”

“Uh…sure let’s go with that.”

Four Arms glares.

“Hey as far as you know that’s the truth.”

Four Arms goes ahead and moves on. “What’s Clancy planning?”

“Beats me. Eiii!” Argit flinches, covering his head as Four Arm raises his fist at him. “I’m being honest!”

Four Arms lowers his fist.

“Look, man, if it means I’m getting paid then I don’t ask questions.”

Four Arms frowns but he doesn’t question it, Argit seems like the type to take the cash and run. “What can you tell me about the toxin?”

“Not much… “ As Argit thinks his eyes go wide with worry as he stares up at the transformed human before averting his gaze. “Well…” His voice falls away and he goes suspiciously quiet.

Four Arms eggs him on. “Well what?”

Target nervously pulls on his collar. “I do remember one thing about the toxin.” He gulps before giving Four Arms a sheepish smile. “It’s apparently very deadly to…humans.”

And just like that, Four Arms remembers the last thing Clancy said about the toxin: “ _This toxin should have exterminated you and any other humans!_ ” Not only that he also said the following: “ _And so we will exterminate all humans._ ”

With the pieces in place Four Arms sprints away so quickly he could possible keep up with XLR8, but that could just be an exaggeration.

Argit blinks a couple times before realizing the interrogation was over. “Hey where are you going?!”

“To get help!” shouts the panicked Four Arms as he grips his phone and dials away for Gang Orca.

Argit watches on as Four Arms leaps up into the air as he heads for the west side of the city. “Man, Uuichi was right. That guy is a pain.” Argit makes a mental note for himself not to get any more involved with that kid, he’s just a magnet for trouble.

Back with Four Arms, the red muscled alien continues to hop from building top to building top as he waits for Gang Orca to pick up.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Gang Orca steps out of the Rolls-Royce Phantom. “This better be the place.”

“It’s gotta be.” responds Izuku from atop his hoverboard.

After he arrived, he had to wait for Gang Orca, Dholak, and Officer Sansa to arrive and in that time, he actually clocked out and transformed back into human. And so here they are standing at the gate of a giant chemical plant. The whole place seems to be locked up tight and empty, which makes sense since the rest of the police have the entire city on lockdown. Speaking of police, they couldn’t afford to send any back up instead they’re all remaining within the city to patrol the streets and keep people indoors.

Dholak raises a suspicious eyebrow at the boy. “How’d you come by this anyway?”

A bit of nervous sweat forms on Izuku’s brow as he looks away. “Um, a little rat told me.”

“A rat?”

“Yes…” 

“Never mind that.” Gang Marches forward, gripping the locked gate, with his sharp claws he rips right through the padded lock before swinging the gate open. “If the villain’s heading here then we best be prepared to take him on at all costs.” Gang Orca turns and peers over at the only officer present. “Officer Sansa?”

“Of course.” Somehow the two of them had a silent conversation, before Officer Sansa turns to address the intern. “Midoriya.”

Izuku fidgets in place. “Yes?!”

Gang Orca turns to him too. “I hereby give you permission to use your Quirk against the villain.”

“What?” Izuku looks between Gang Orca and Officer Sansa. “But what about the law?” They talked about it earlier!

Officer Sansa waves it off. “The law states that those without proper licensing are forbidden to use their Quirks in public, however, there are exceptions to that rule or rather there are loopholes.”

Izuku blinks not sure how he feels to hear that some laws have loopholes.

Officer Sansa continues. “Your status as a hero course student of U.A. grants you some leeway to this rule. However there is a condition you must have permission from your school or guardian to use your Quirk in a public setting.”

Gang Orca gestures to himself. “Since you are currently under my tutelage, I can grant you that permission.”

Izuku tilts his head. “So, does that mean?”

The killer whale nods. “Yes, if the need shall arise you will be allowed to use your Quirk without any restrictions.”

Izuku straightens up: a part of him wants to be excited that he has permission to fully use his Quirk but the other wants to make sure he doesn’t overdo it.

“Keep in mind, you are still a student as such fighting the villain should be your last resort not your first. Is that understood?”

“Yes.”

“Good.” Gang Orca turns towards the factory. “In truth, this is no time to be giving lessons or rousing speech. Thousands of people’s lives are on the line all because of one villain. We will not stand for it. We. Will. Devour. That. VILLAIN!!!” Like a feral beast on the loose, Gang Orca charges forward for the entrance and it doesn’t take long for the others to follow suit. 

Gang Orca basically smashes his way right through the large tin-like garage doors leaving a gaping hole in his wake that’s wide enough for the other three to step through.

The factory is huge with a wide-open space filled with all sorts of machinery, pipes, and hanging lights with even a few catwalks above for the scientists to observe all the going ons from above. But this is only the first area of the chemical plant surely there’s more to it than this.

But none of that matters because right there sneaking his way through the room is the villain!

Clancy just stares at surprise at the intruders, clearly, he wasn’t expecting them so soon after he himself just got here.

“Rahhhh!!!!” Gang Orca releases a high frequency sonic pulse right at the villain. 

“Damn, humans!!” Clancy braces himself as seemingly out of nowhere a swarm of cicadas intercept the sonic screech.

Their combined chirps and buzzing are just enough to dampen the impact of the soundwaves, their own proving to be a good interrupter. 

“You damn, bug!” Gang Orca scowls, now truly understanding how the villain used the cicadas to avoid his detection.

“Clancy!” Officer Sansa aims his pistol right at said villain. “You are under arrest for terrorism, illegal Quirk use, and destruction of property!”

“He…he…hehe. Hahaha. Hahahaha!” Clancy howls into a fit of laughter as the cicadas buzz around him, protecting him.

A shiver runs down Izuku’s spine. “Why is he laughing?!” Seriously, that’s just so wrong. Why would a villain be laughing at their own defeat?!

Dholak is just as creeped out. “Something tells me we're about to find out.”

Clancy catches his breath and grins at the heroes. “Surrender? We don’t know the meaning of the word.”

“Then please.” Gang Orca readies his claws. “Allow us to teach you.”

Clancy’s grin falls away to a nasty scowl as the cicada swirl around his frame.

Gang Orca leans forward, Officer Sansa steadies his gun, Dholak raises his pincers, and even Izuku grips his Omnitrix as they all square off waiting for someone to make the first move.

“Enough of this!! Yaa!” Dholak launches his lance-like legs forward.

Clancy ducks down just in time for the extended legs to attack to impale themselves into the wall behind him.

Izuku’s nose twitches for a moment. _‘It’s that smell.’_ It’s that rotting onion smell again.

Before he can say anything, a massive wave of flying insects crash through the upper windows, flowing the entire space quickly as they infest the whole facility.

Gang Orca blasts away regenerating sonic wave after sonic wave to ward off the encroaching swarm but he might as well be fighting fog because the swarm easily and rapidly replace their numbers.

Dholak isn’t doing any better spinning around and using his extended limbs as sort-of fans to swat away the swarm.

Sansa seems to be a little more effective with his smoke grenades and flashbangs warding off the insects.

As for Izuku, well he’s flying up above on his hoverboard, evading strikes from the flooding swarm, swatting bugs that get too close, and avoiding obstacles like the hanging lights, catwalk, and pipes. Even as he soars above avoiding the swarm, he still manages to survey the situation: he can see Dholak swatting and swinging away at the bugs, he can hear Officer Sansa’s flashbangs, and gaps in the swarm burst forth thanks to Gang Orca’s soundwaves.

But more importantly Izuku spots Clancy running towards a large open passage at the end of the vast room. “Clancy’s heading for the lab!!”

Dholak breaks free of the swarm just enough to spot Clancy too. “Well go after him, dumbass!”

“Right!”

They burst forward after the villain, and soon both officer Sansa and Gang orca break out of the swarm too but they’re far behind them.

Clancy makes it through but as he goes red light flares up at the top of the entrance and a large metal wall slowly descends downward.

Izuku and Dholak speed up, Izuku leaning forward on his hoverboard makes it through and with a quick launch from his extended legs Dholak makes it though as the descending wall makes it half-way.

But by the time Gang Orca and Officer Sansa arrive…it’s too late as the passage has been completely closed off to them. 

Gang Orca slams his fist against the barricade, but it doesn’t so much as leave a dent.

Officer Sansa is starting to panic as the massive waving swarm approaches them. “What do we do?!” He fires his gun at the swarm but like one would expect it didn't do a damn thing.

One portion of the swarm race forward right for the officer but Gang orca steps in the way, releasing a sonic shield that propels the insects away.

“Stay close to me.” He releases another sonic shield before more insects could get to them.

“What about the others?”

“Don’t worry about them.” SKREEE! Another sonic shield. “For now we should just focus on ourselves.”

Officer Sansa grips his last two flash grenades. “Right.” 

Meanwhile, from inside the passageway Izuku's pounding his fist against the iron barricade. “Boss!”

Dholak peels Izuku away from the wall. “Let’s go kid!”

“But the boss and Officer Sansa!”

“Are On their own. Come on!”

Izuku is hesitant, looking back at the iron wall. “But-”

“If we stop the villain then we save them. Besides, the boss is more than capable of taking care of a few pests.” If anything they should be more concerned about themselves.

Izuku bits his lip. “You’re right.”

“Duh.”

And so they both take off, racing down the long passageway. After nearly a minute of running they can see light pouring in from the exit.

“He’s got to be there!” yells out the greenette, slowing down to make sure he arrives with his fellow sidekick.

That was his mistake as another iron gate begins to descend down, threatening to block the exit.

“It’s closing!”

“Hurry it up!!” Dholak’s kicks into high gear but even if he somehow reaches a new top speed neither of them will make it.

Dholak wraps his extended limb around Izuku’s waist.

“What are you doing?!”

“Get going, shrimp!” Dholak pulls Izuku back away from his hoverboard, he spins around, and with a mighty swing his extended-leg he slingshots Izuku forward and through the doorway.

Izuku slides across the ground before coming to a stop, his eyes wide in surprise as Dholak stops running, seeing no point since he won’t make it.

“Go squash that bug, kid.”

And like that the passageway shuts closed leaving Izuku to deal with the villain by himself once again.

Izuku gets up and has a look around. He appears to be in a plastic outlined room probably meant for those that work here to put on hazmat suits and get decontaminated.

Figuring his own suit is good enough, Izuku brushes past the plastic door to find himself in another large space.

The place is cold and dark with rows and rows of giant vats probably storing all sorts of chemicals and toxins, with a catwalk that stretches over them all. Heavy machinery and equipment in the walls and a maze of pipes run in every which way from the ground, walls, and ceiling.

“You again?!” Clancy’s voice echoes through the chemical lab as he hides away in the shadows. “How’d you find me?”

“The smell.” Izuku spots the stairs leading up to the catwalk. “Pretty hard to miss.” Seriously, that rotten onion smell is distinct.

“You should take this more seriously, hero.”

Izuku steps onto the catwalk, moving warily since Clancy can decide to attack at any given moment. “And you need to calm down. Can we talk about this?”

“NO!!!”

Izuku scans everything trying to look for any sign about the villain’s whereabouts. “Why not? I mean what are you even trying to accomplish here? All you’re doing is sewing chaos!” Maybe if he can get this guy to talk, he can maybe talk him out of this or at least buy some time for Gang Orca and the others to catch up.

“Hahahaha! Is that all you think? No, I was giving the foul humans of this city a warning. Which is more than they deserve” There’s venom dripping from Clancy’s voice like he has some sort of personal vendetta against everyone.

“A warning?” Izuku is getting frantic looking and looking for the villain. “What exactly are you planning?!”

“Tell us human? What do you feel when you step on a bug?”

That’s an odd question.

“Does it make you feel superior? Strong? Invincible? Tell me.”

Izuku gives in and shouts out. “What are you getting at?!”

“Humans are selfish, greedy, and vile! They only care for themselves without any care for the harm they cause to others. They step all over each other, hoping to get what?! Money? Recognition?! Power?! They poison everything! Destroying lives, people, and everything they touch!!”

Izuku fearfully backs away as chirps, buzzing, and the beating of tiny wings echo from every direction.

“But we understand.” The hidden bugs chirp and beat their wings in response to their master. “We know what’s like to be stepped on by humans, to be pushed out and tormented by humans, so much so that they resort to eliminating us from the world!!”

The hidden swarm buzzing explode and echo all around Izuku who’s frantically searching and searching becoming delirious and panicky as it finally sets in how far this guy just might be willing to go.

And then the buzzing stops, Izuku stops all because of the villain. Clancy is standing just down the catwalk, out in the open without a hint of fear for his safety, standing beside a control panel.

“So, we’ll eliminate them from this world first.” Clancy places a hand on the control panel.

Izuku eyes him warily. “What…what are you…?” 

Clancy smirks. “This factory manufactures all sorts of chemicals and compounds, but these vats are specifically considered highly toxic for humans.”

Izuku peers down at the open vats below and there are just pools and pools of the same green toxin Clancy poured on Big Chill earlier.

“Now imagine it. A high concentrate of toxins fumigating this entire city!! Exterminating every filthy human in it!!”

“You can’t do this?!” Izuku does his best to keep his voice from sounding too scared and squeaky. “Besides your…your plan won’t even work! I mean it didn’t work on me!” Maybe if Izuku can, he can get Clancy to trip up to make him second guess his choices right now.

“That was a surprise but there are other ways to deal with those like you.”

The hidden swarm of bugs echo out from the shadows and a few hornets zip by past Izuku’s hair as if to give him their personal points.

“Our plan is flawless.” Clancy grins as he grips a lever on the control panel and gives it a pull.

*Vrrrrr.*

Foldable tins lower down into each of the chemical vats and begin vacuuming up all of the toxins.

Izuku follows the piping until his eyes land on a giant cylindrical machine at the end of the lab.

Clancy goes ahead and explains. “That there is a grade A gasifier, basically it converts any liquid chemical into a gas.”

“Gas…” It feels like the world has stopped as Izuku finally gets Clancy’s plan of action

He’s going to fumigate the entire city and with the Urban Heat Effect trapping any and all fumes the toxic gas will only spread and remain in the city! For how long doesn’t matter because it’ll be long enough to kill everyone!

“You…can’t…you’ll be…killing everyone…”

Clancy smirks as he picks up an old looking gas mask from his hoodie; the gas mask has big insect-like eye holes and the mouthpiece looks like oddly-shaped mandibles of a bug. “That’s the idea.” He tucks the mask over his head giving him a more bug-like look.

Okay, it’s time for the last resort. “Well I have an idea, too.” Izuku dials up the Omnitrix and disappears in green light. “I’m going to stop you!” Stinkfly’s wing beat behind him in a threatening manner and his stinger raised up at the ready. 

Clancy glares through the large bug-like lens. “We won’t allow that.”

And like a plague on Egypt the massive swarm of insects flood out from their hiding places, swirling around Clancy like a massive swirling veil before charging right for the alien.

Stinkfly takes off into the air and just in time for the swarm to crash and bounce off the very spot he was occupying, chasing after him as he rises up into the air.

The swarm chase Stinkfly through the facility, they flood past pipes like a stream washing around a log, they swerve around the vats, the circle and swirl the catwalk as Stinkfly tries all he can to lose them but they continuously stay right on his tail even getting so close at times that his tail actually gets bite and stung a few times.

_‘Come on, what did Thirteen say about this guy again?’_ Stinkfly thinks back to the explanation he got from Thirteen earlier, after he first encountered Clancy.

Stinkfly is apparently a Lepidopterran, they produce a foul odor thanks to a bodily produced oil, they aren’t exactly the strongest, and grossly enough they spit out goop from their eyestalks! But Stinkfly does have a pretty big stinger, a very durable and sharp stinger.

And so Stinkfly flies up, close to the ceiling of the roof and just as he had hopped the swarm follows right behind like a massive smoke cloud. With his targets in range, Stinkfly spins and with expert timing his stinger slashes right through a large pipe, a water pipe, the sprinkler system pipe.

As planned water gushes out like a waterfall, dowsing the incoming insects who were unfortunately moving too quickly to evade the deluge. Thus giving Stinkfly a much-needed lead to circle back towards Clancy.

Circling back around Stinkfly quickly dive bombs the villain. “In coming!”

He zooms right over Clancy who dives down to avoid being taken out.

He growls back up at the creature as it circles around for another go. “Buzz off!”

Stinkfly grin, flashing his misshapen teeth. “Hehehe! Good one!”

He dive bombs again but Clancy jumps away just in the nick of time. Stinkfly circles around again but this time he stops midair, takes a breath in and releases a barrage of slime right out of his eyes.

The slime rains down in a line like bullets but Clancy grips the side of the catwalk and jumps off right onto the side of a vat before sliding down before taking cover behind a forklift. “You’re an insect just like us!” He sticks his head out but quickly recoils as a slime bullet nearly strikes him. “You should be on our side.”

Clancy swings his arm out as if throwing something, but he has nothing to throw, so what was the point? Stinkfly wasn't even anywhere near him.

*Sniff*

_‘What’s that smell?’_

Despite Stinkfly’s own well stink there’s another odor in the air too. It’s not that rotting onion smell either, it's something else…like a bowl of rose petals mixed with honey, it’s sweet and distinct.

Stinkfly circles around the forklift and Clancy, for some reason, is surprised to see him and barely has enough time to avoid another shower of slime.

Clancy takes cover behind one of the large vats. “Why hasn’t it affected you?!”

Stinkfly lands on the ceiling, crawling along it like a spider. “What are you talking about?”

“Never you mind.” Clancy scowls as he swings his hands forward and that sweet savory smell increases.

“It’s your Quirk!” All four of Stinkfly’s eyes widen in realization as the smell waffles up to him. _‘His Quirk! He’s using pheromones that explains the smell!’_

That’s it! Before, back at the apartment, when he was smelling the rotten onions it wasn’t onions it was Clancy producing a pheromone that must manipulate the behaviors of insects! And since Stinkfly is so much like an insect the pheromone was much more pleasing to the smell whereas a human or any other species would find it as foul and rancid. Thank god Stinkfly is probably too intelligent (and an alien) for Clancy’s “Releaser Pheromones” Quirk not to work on him.

Before he can divulge further the soaked swarm is dry and ready for more action the massive cloud rises up and rushes for their enemy.

Stinkfly quickly goes right back to lopping around and swerving from one end of the factory to another as the insects give chase.

‘Alright, I got an idea about how his Quirk works.’ Stinkfly quickly changes directions just before colliding into a vat, thankfully some of the swarm are not as agile and crash into it before recollecting itself to continue the pursuit.

“Hehehe, Wah!!” Stinkfly gets slammed from above, apparently a small portion of the swarm diverged off and got him while he was busy laughing.

“You guys really are pests!” Stinkfly barfs up a glob of slime, dosing the insects on him and washing them away, thankfully his natural bodily oil prevents himself from being gooped by his own slime.

“No!” Clancy roars out in anguish as Stinkfly lands right in his path. “You think you’ve won? Not yet.”

Clancy uses his Releaser Pheromones Quirk, evident by an increase in that sweet odor. What’s left of the swarm soon arrives but not just them but a whole armory of cockroaches scurry out from their hiding places. But they don’t attack, no what they do is by far so much worse. All the wasps, roaches, cicadas, and just everything else encroach on Clancy himself. Shrouding him in a mass of bugs. The shroud of disgusting bugs lift Clancy up and become a sort of full body cloak covering him completely from his head all the way to his feet, even lifting him up to make an even taller form.

Stinkfly grips his mouth to prevent him from puking as he backs away. “Okay, even I think that’s nasty…”

“We’ll destroy you!!” Clancy’s voice screams out from within the cloak of living insects as the giant mass lashes out at him, swinging its representation of an arm at the alien as to swat him like a lowly bug.

Stinkfly’s limber legs and nimble wings allow him to leap back just in the nick of time. As he flies up Stinkfly releases bullets of slime at the collected swarm and it works, the whole right arm gets gooped and droops away as the helpless insects all get stuck and or drown. But soon more roaches and insects arrive from elsewhere and quickly replace the lost limb of the bug cloak.

The regenerated cloak of insects takes a swing at the pesky hero who shifts to the side to avoid the strike before diving straight for the center of the mass where the insects are probably keeping their king. With his stinger thrusted forward Stinkfly crashes right into the center of the swarm, slamming with a hard crash as bugs go flying all around him either in pieces as he hopefully rams into the villain. But it was all for not, as the mass washes down and cascades over Stinkfly pulling him down and pinning him onto the hard ground.

Clancy’s head pulse free of the crawling, buzzing cloak as his unwilling underlings pin the alien down. “It’s over for you, fly.”

The Lepidopterran scowls up at the bug villain. “Not a fly, Stinkfly!”

With a quick inhale of breath, Stinkfly’s cheeks puff out and his eyes tighten giving him the look of someone trying to use the bathroom.

Clancy raises an eyebrow, but he soon has his answer as a cloud of green fumes just radiates off of the bug creature. “What is this?!”

Stinkfly grins up at him. “This is pest control.”

A string of slime shoots out of his eye smacking into Clancy’s gas mask. Now a thick rope of slime stretches from the mask to Stinkfly’s eye and so with a pull of his eyestalk the gas mask rips away, and Clancy is left exposed.

“GAHHHH!!!” Clancy gags as he falls backwards, waving his hands desperately at his face to get rid of the awful green gas. “That’s terrible!! It’s like a skunk dropped one in a sewage plant that’s on fire!!” There are tears in his eyes as he gags and tries in vain to plug his nose.

As Clancy tries to find relief, his once massive swarm begins to disperse. The insects begin to go their separate ways, washing away and becoming nothing but specs as they all go back to whence, they came, exiting through the broken windows, cracks, and shadows.

As the last few roaches scurry away does Clancy realize his folly. “No come back *cough*! We-I need you!!” He grabs at his mouth he can taste the terrifyingly disgusting stretch! “What did you do?!”

Stinkfly grins down at the keeled over hobo. “I fought stink with stink. Hehehe!” ” Specifically Izuku used Stinkfly’s own natural body odor to overpower and counteract Clancy’s Releaser Pheromones Quirk.

“Why you-”

*SPLURT!*

A big glop of slime glues Clancy in place.

Stinkfly sighs, glad the fight’s all done and over with. “Finally.”

“Ha ha, you think you've won?” Despite being captured Clancy is uncharastically ecstatic. “My plan can still succeed even without my Quirk.”

Stinkfly lets out an exasperated sigh before strolling over towards the gasifier which is still humming as it continues to evaporate the toxic liquids.

Clancy’s smile falls as Stinkfly casually walks over to the gasifier. “What are you doing?”

A calm Stinkfly looks Clancy right in the eyes with the most uninterested look as he lifts a single finger and then presses the power button. The gasifier stops humming and shuts down, becoming still and silent.

“Noooo!!” Clancy howls out in anguish as all his plans fade away much like the humming of the gasifier.

Before Stinkfly could say anything remotely corny the metal barricade finally opens back and those in comes rushing in are Gang Orca, Officer Sansa, and Dholak.

Gang Orca seems fine, perhaps his thick skin and suit protected him from the stings and bites, and surprisingly Officer Sansa looks to be fine too although he’s got Gang Orca’s cape draped around him. The pro hero must have cloaked him with it to protect him.

And Dholak…he just looks antsy for a fight after being stuck in there for the whole duration of the battle. 

“You guys sure took your time getting here.” Stinkfly gives them a smirk. “I already took care of our infestation problem.”

As the adults walk closer, they quickly back away, gaging, and covering their noses.

Dholak even turns a shade of sickly green! “Dude, that smell again?! Just why?!”

“Hey, this stink isn’t terrible! It just saved everyone!”

“Bleh, but what’s going to save my nostrils.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

It’s over, it’s all over. The villain's been defeated and so is the city-wide lockdown.

Under the setting sun, police swarm the factory and work the police line as what Izuku assumes is the whole city has shown up to get a look at their tormentor and saviors. Thankfully Officer Sansa seems more than capable in organizing everyone to keep everything orderly and controlled.

Izuku stands to the side, not sure if he should be helping in some way.

“Good work today, you really showed your stuff.”

“Thanks, boss.” Izuku shyly smiles up at Gang Orca and Dholak, still not used to such praise. “I’m just glad everything worked out.”

“Midoriya.”

Izuku blinks up at the pro hero.

Gang orca stands tall under the setting sun, the light causing their own shadows to stretch out at their sides, “You just saved an entire city, take some pride in that.”

Dholak chimes in with a wave of his hand. “Seriously, kid. No one’ll blame you for bragging a little…well okay I may but whatever” 

Izuku chuckles softly, happy to see that he’s sort-of on Dholak’s good side.

“Midoriya.” Gang Orca places a hand on the young man’s shoulder. “You demonstrated the kind of hero you strive to become. But you got to accept who you are as a hero.”

Izuku’s eyebrows narrow. “What? I don’t understand.” What does he mean accept who he is as a hero? What does that even mean?

And so Gang Orca answers his question with another question. “Tell me. Who are you?”

“Huh?!”

“Answer the question.”

“Oh, I’m… Izuku Midoriya?” Okay this is weird, even for Izuku, and why does he sound like he’s questioning his own identity now?

Gang Orca’s mouth opens wide as he roars out. “Wrong!”

“What do you mean wrong?!”

Before Izuku could get a real answer out of Gang Orca a bunch of flashing lights and random questions are thrown their way. 

“Gang Orca! Gang Orca!”

It seems a horde of reports have flocked to the scene, they’re all probably starved for some watchable news.

“Was it you that stopped the villain?!”

“How’d you do it?!”

“Is it true the villain was going to fumigate the city?”

“Will this affect the factory’s stocks in any way?”

Gang Orca does answer, he doesn’t speak, he doesn’t so much as blink as he marches straight towards the police line. His sheer will and presence silences the reporters who cower under his gaze.

“No, I was not the one that stopped this villain.”

One brave, or stupid, reporter speaks out. “T-then w-who did?”

“Who indeed.” Gang Orca peers back at Izuku.

Izuku suddenly becomes very shy as not only the reports are eyeing him but so is the rest of the crowd, all of them having overheard the reporters and the pro hero. The reports look expectedly for Izuku to approach and sedate their questions. But Izuku remains rooted to his spot, nervous and too scared to move forward.

Eventually Dholak gets tired of waiting and gives Izuku and good shove forward his foot to his rear end.

Izuku scowls up at him but Dholak just responds with his own look that’s a mix between annoyance and…encouragement?

So, knowing he can’t escape this Izuku begrudgery and shyly walks forward towards the awaiting masses. 

As Izuku approaches, Gang Orca steps aside to allow him past, but he was more like a gate preventing the dogs of war from tearing him apart because the reporters immediately begin to fire question, after question, after question at the poor lad.

“Is it true you defeated the villain?!”

“Wait, you’re that kid from the Sports Festival, aren’t you?!”

“Which transformation did you use?!”

“What’s it like interning with Gang Orca?!”

“What-”

“ENOUGH!!!” Gang Orca’s immediately silences them all. “One Question at a time!”

He jabs a finger at one report. “You.”

The unlucky reporter nervously points at himself to which Gang orca nods in confirmation.

“Start it off easy.” That is an order, not a suggestion.

Gang Orca probably doesn’t want a kid to be overwhelmed especially by media outlets of all things. They can be a real hurdle for heroes to get through, if anything it gives Gang Orca an appreciation for underground heroes who actively avoid the press like Eraserhead. 

The reporter steps forward and asks the simplest question he can muster. “Who are you?” Wow okay he went way too simple there. Come on who doesn’t know who this kid is by now? He was second in the U.A. Sports Festival! But whatever, guess Gang Orca’s presence is enough to shatter anyone’s will.

With a shaky breath, Izuku leans into the microphone. “I’m Iz-OW!” the boy scowls up at Gang Orca, who for some reason smacked him on the back of the head “What?!”

The pro doesn’t bother with a response instead he looks forward ignoring the boy.

‘What was that about?’ Izuku takes a moment to think, Gang Orca must have had a reason for hitting him but why?

Gang Orca’s previous statements flood into his mind. “ _But you got to accept who you are as a hero._ ” Wait, didn’t Gang Orca also frown when Izuku first introduced himself to Officer Sansa…yeah, he did, but why?

‘Wait…I know why.’ And so standing tall and with confidence Izuku finally answers the not-so simple question. “I’m Deku.”

And just like that the reports light up like ducks that were just fed a crumble of bred.

“Was it really you that took down the bug villain?!”

“Y-yes!” Deku’s still not used to this, even if he did expect it.

“What’s it like working for Gang Orca?!”

“Intense.”

“Which transformation did you use?”

“Stinkfly.”

“Can you show us?”

Deku’s mind fills with worry and it definitely shows but the reports could care less about that. Deku worriedly eyes the surrounding crowd, his mind replying to their reactions from last time they saw his transformation. He looks to Gang Orca and Dholak for help but neither of them are going to intervene: one’s ignoring the situation and the other’s helping out the police.

As Deku watches the two of them he does realize something else about them. Neither of them really care about how people react to their appearances. They let their actions speak for them. It’s like Gang Orca said earlier: “ _People will often see what they want to see due to their limited perspectives. But only through our actions can they truly come to understand who we are._ ”

And so with a bit of hesitation, Deku dials up the right alien and then transforms right in front of everyone’s eyes.

“Gahh!!” The reports back off as a horrible smell fills the air.

But the smell isn’t the only thing any of them have to worry about.

A woman screams from within the crowd. “Eeeek! It’s a giant bug!!”

“The villain’s loose?!”

“Everybody run!”

Stinkfly’s immediately regrets his decision as a start of possible mayhem is about to occur. Thankfully a voice of reason reins it in before it’s too late.

“EVERYBODY PLEASE!!!”

The crowd quotes down as they all turn to Officer Sansa who broke away from his duties and is now standing before them all.

“This young man just saved all of our lives today!” He marches unbothered by the stench and giant bug. “In fact this…form’s stench saved all of Geonosis City! This hero put his own life on the line for us and me for one can’t thank him enough.” Officer Sansa stands before the wide-eyed hero course student. “To the hero, Deku.” He stands at attention and salutes. “You have my thanks.”

It takes a moment for it all to sink in as Stinkfly can only stare up at the officer in disbelief, he didn’t really come here expecting to be thanked for…for real hero work, but it’s so much more than he could have expected. And it doesn't end there as slowly but surely the crowd comes around and begins to applaud and cheer away for their city’s savior. 

“Deku! Deku! Deku!”

Stinkfly smiles wide as the crowd whistles and cheers his name. “T-thanks…”

Watching from afar, Dholak deadpans. “Moron, they’re supposed to be thanking you.”

As the crowd continue to chant and clap for Stinkfly, Gang Orca approaches his sidekick. “Go get the car.”

Dholak raises an eyebrow. “Aren’t we going to stay to fill out our statements and reports?”

“We can do that back at the agency. Besides we’re needed elsewhere.”

Dholak’s eyes widen as he remembers that they did in fact been requested help in another city, “Oh, right.” And so without another word Dholak strolls off to go get the car, they better hurry it’s going to get dark soon so they may not have that much time to relax.

With that out of the way Gang Orca turns his attention back on his intern. “Enjoying your time in the limelight?”

Stinkfly chuckles sheepishly. “I…don’t think I’ll ever get used to it.”

“You never know. You just might, Deku.”

The transformed Deku lights up at the sound of his codename. Almost nothing could possibly ruin this moment for him.

“Release me, humans!”

Okay, maybe one thing could.

Stinkfly and Gang Orca look over to see several police officers forcing the cuffed and somewhat slimed Clancy into the police vehicle.

“You cannot contain us! We will have our vengeance against humanity! We cannot be exterminated! We will always find a way to survive! Just you wait we’ll-”

A shot of slime plugs up Clancy’s mouth muffling him shut.

“Quiet! Your words really sting.” Stinkfly grins as he looks to Gang Orca “Get it? Stings, because he’s a bug villain and I’m…oh, never mind.”

Gang Orca frowns. “Yeah…” Maybe he should beat the puns out of the boy. Would that fix it?

The two watch as the police finally get him in and then drive off for the station. The crowd boo and cuss at Clancy as he’s driven away possibly to never be seen again.

As they watch Stinkfly’s smile fades away and his eyes drop in contemplation.

None of which goes unnoticed by Gang Orca. “Something on your mind?”

Stinkfly nods. “The things he said…it seemed like he was not just angry but…sad. Like he felt like what he was doing was right.”

“What makes you think that?”

“Because…I get it…being stepped on.” He’s been stepped on by Bakugou practically his whole life and it never got better, if anything it got worse, his old classmates were no better, and hell stepping on others was practically Henzu’s whole philosophy! “For a long time…people overlooked and “stepped” on me. All to boost their own selfish egos. So when he said all those things I actually…sympathized with him.”

Gang Orca nods, understanding more than he’s letting on. “You understand his reasoning.”

“Yeah.”

“Tragically, that's just how…humans are. We can be selfish, cruel, and unkind.”

That doesn’t make the transformed child feel any better.

“But we can also be kind, caring, and selfless.”

Okay, maybe he is onto something.

“Tragically, those hurt by others, by society, often lash out at those who’ve wrong them. They are driven to desperation by the very thing that torments them, and they sometimes have no one to turn to for help or guidance.”

“But…I could have reasoned with him!”

“Maybe you could have, but there’s something else to consider.”

“What’s that?”

“Sometimes there is no reasoning with them.”

“Huh?”

“Don’t get me wrong, it’s very professional of you to take a more peaceful route first before resorting to violence. Not even many pros would do that.”

Stinkfly frowns knowing he could probably name a few that are like that off the top of his head.

“But there are times, especially like today, where you need to step in before things get out of hand.” Gang Orca shakes his head like he’s disappointed with reality. “The tragedy is that sometimes there is no reasoning with people, if they believe what they’re doing is right, often or not opposing sides will clash… Sometimes there's just no point in changing their minds.”

It all makes sense, it really does, but it’s also a warning. There will always be does with opposing opinions and sometimes you just have to live with that fact that you can someone else won’t see eye to eye. But then…there are those that may take things too far for their own ideals. Just like what could have happened today.

And the scary part to Izuku is that there are more out there that will do whatever it takes to make their own personal ideals a reality. 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

The sun has nearly vanished across the horizon, the inevitable darkness of the night slowly creeps over the bustling city as its residents take shelter for the night. But as the darkness seeps in through every back alley and dark road an air of unease is ever present. It’s deadly quiet and there’s this feeling of being watched from the shadows.

A lone figure is perched just above surveying their hunting grounds like a predator that’ll soon be on the prowl in the dead of the night. As they eye the darkening streets, a piece of the night swirls together to form a dark black void just behind the figure’s roost.

The predator spins around, his rust and dented blades at the ready as a voice echoes out from within the swirling void.

“I mean you no harm. I simply request your presence.”

The predator leans forward, ready to pounce at any given moment.

“My Master is in need of someone of your…caliber.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally! This chapter is over, and we can move on. Seriously this was meant to be a reality short chapter, but it somehow got over 80 pages of content! I even cut stuff out! Honestly, it was a bit too much for me, these last two weeks have been exhausting for me in general, but I’m hoping (praying) that the next chapter is a bit easier on me. Because
> 
> Speaking of the next chapter we will be jumping back to Ochaco Uraraka and Gran Torino because while Izuku was out on patrol with Gang Orca those two were up to their own little (hoping it’s little) adventure. So yeah, I’ve got one more original chapter before we finally get to Stain!
> 
> *See! I did keep my promise to introduce a new alien, STINKFLY!!! I love this alien and I hope he proves to be a good addition to Izuku’s roster. I think he will be.
> 
> *I have no plans to use Clancy again, I mean if I do I could. I did have more ideas for him like backstory, actually I was originally going to have him be an eco-terrorist OR he was a guy that got screwed over by a corrupt company and was forced into homelessness. But the chapter was already soooooo long by the time I could delve into any of that so I had to just cut it out completely.
> 
> *And hey did you all catch the One-One Omnitrix Documentary tie in? I told you all it took place during the internship arc!
> 
> *Also how was the SixSix scene?! I really enjoyed writing that part and I’ve been told it’s probably the best part of this chapter but please let me know your thoughts.


	34. Magical Girl Uravity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ochaco and Gran Torino go on their own patrol which ends up being a rather magical experince for them both.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, Alright, Alright. This will be the last original chapter before we move on to the real MHA stuff. So I really hope you guys enjoy this one.

“Woah!! This is so exciting!” A fully costumed Ochaco Uraraka steps out of the taxicab with a fire in her heart and excitement in her voice.

Gran Torino waves the paid taxi off. “Haha! Relax will ya? Save that energy for the crooks.” He shifts his gaze to their new hunting grounds: Dathomir City.

Dathomir City if described in a single word it would be…spooky. The architecture of the buildings are a little more gothic and Victorian in design with gargoyles, dark colors, rusty light posts, old statues, cracked roads and sidewalks, and weedy yards. Giant withered trees litter almost every corner and roadside casting darker shadows on those below the wilting and broken limbs. There’s an ever-present eerie fog casted across the city, huge dark clouds hang overhead casting a shadow over the buildings, and it seems a lot of light posts are installed with red lightbulbs that dim in the fog.

Even though the city has the appeal of old-styled buildings and architecture, the city isn’t exactly rolling in money. In fact it’s seen a drop in its local economy and as such crime is a bit more prominent here. Which according to Gran Torino, makes it perfect for crime fighting.

“Alright girly!” Gran Torino grins up at his intern. “You ready for your first patrol?”

Ochaco throws her fist up into the air. “You bet!”

As she bounces in place, Gran Torino notices something new attached to the small of the girl’s back. “Hey, what’s that there?”

Ochaco blinks before realizing what he’s talking about. “Oh, this?”

She reaches behind her and unhooks the disc-shaped device from the back of her costume.

The disc kinda looks like a toy U.F.O., it’s about 9 inches in diameter, and it sort-of looks like plastic but that’s just the effect of the pink color shine. There are three ejection holes aimed in separate directions of each other with narrow passages that spiral towards the center of the disc. But just what is this little device? And what’s it for?

“It’s a new support item I…sort-of asked the Support Department to make for me a while back.”

Actually Mei Hatsume basically took it upon herself to design it, make it, and do everything else before pawning it off to Ochaco but hey it’s hers. “It’s called the Gyro-Disc!”

Gran Torino’s a bit lost here. “Gyro? Like the sandwich?”

“No!” Shaking her head, Ochaco’s cheeks turn red in embarrassment. “It’s supposed to help me fly.”

She is not at all ready for Gran Torino’s reaction. “WHAT!?!”

“Wah?!” Ochaco flinches back in fright as Gran Torino just goes off.

“You can already fly! Why in the world do you need that then?!”

It’s true he saw her flying around during her match against Bakugou and Midoriya, so why would she need some cheap piece of plastic to do so?

Ochaco sheepishly scratches the back of her head and holds the Gyro-Disc a little closer. “Well, I can’t exactly rely on One For All to propel me around. This Gyro-Disc will help me move in the air without hurting or straining myself.”

Basically she means this. Like in the Sports Festival, Ochaco can use her own Zero-Gravity to levitate herself in the air. But using One For All to move around is way too strenuous and exhausting to do. Not to mention if she loses focus, she could cause some real damage not just to herself but to those around her and property. And that’s where the Gyro-Disc comes in.

The Gyro-Disc activates when the wearer’s center of gravity changes. When it senses changes in movement and balance it activates its internal thrusts that produce a stream of air from the necessary exhausts. The device actually doesn’t need that much power since Ochaco has to be weightless to use it, it doesn’t have to use up as much force to propel her. In a way it’s a one-of a kind jetpack specifically made for Ochaco.

Gran Torino doesn’t seem all that impressed. “Sounds cheap to me.”

“It may be cheap.” Ochaco smirks and throws finger guns at the old man, trying to act sarcastic. “But it works.”

“Whatever just be sure to keep up alright.”

“Don’t you worry about me, old man.” Ochaco rehooks the U.F.O.-like device as she confidently states the following. “I doubt I’d need any help.”

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“Help!! I need help!!” Ochaco’s arms are uselessly flailing at her sides as her entire body is spiraling out of control in the air above.

The Gyro-Disc thrusters propel her in every direction with her struggling to gain control.

All the while a purse snatcher is quickly gaining ground down on the street below.

“Gran Torino help me!!”

But Gran Torino does nothing but stand there watching below with his dopey-grin and acting all senile. “My doesn’t that look fun.”

The flailing Ochaco snaps. “I know you’re faking it!”

But whatever with a heavy sigh Ochaco manages to clap her fingers together and she can feel the pull of gravity dragging her back down to Earth.

She hits a few dead branches on the way down before landing atop a bush. Before quickly springing to her feet and acting like nothing was wrong despite the leaves and twigs stuck in her hair. “Nailed it!”

Gran Torino, with his dopey-grin, claps non-sarcastically as if Ochaco really did pull off the landing.

The purse-snatcher’s still making his escape running down the mostly empty dark street the only reason Ochaco can even see him through the thick fog are the red illuminated lamp posts lining the road.

He’s too far away and her “landing” did a bit of a number on her, but even so she’s determined to see this through. _‘I got this!’_

Ochaco holds her hand forward, palm open, and she grips her wrist to steady her open hand. She takes a firm stance, breathes in and then out, and focuses on what she needs to do. She allows One For All to flow naturally through her entire being but only allowing the smallest amount of excess power to be expelled from her palm. Not a lot though, she doesn’t want to destroy a building, but enough to take the criminal down. And just like yesterday, a pink sphere swirls around her open palm.

And so with brimming confidence Ochaco unleashes her newly acquired attack. “You’re not getting away!”

The pink sphere of energy basically blasts itself right out of her palm, before racing right for the back of the purse-snatcher.

“Haha!” Ochaco couldn’t be more thrilled. This is going to work! She’s going to catch her first perp as a (sort-of) official hero!

Even the purse-snatcher can sense the inevitable as the orb flies closer and closer.

But then a miracle (for the purse-snatcher) occurs. The pink orb, for some reason, floats up and away from him. Like a perpendicular curveball that goes upward instead of to the side. Flying up and up completely missing the thief altogether.

Ochaco can feel nothing but shock and despair, she totally should have had it! Why in the hell did that happen?! Was her aim off or something? Was it the wind? Maybe the thief was too far out of range? Maybe?

“Why didn’t that work?!”

The thief could care less why it didn’t work; he’s just thrilled that it did. “Hehe, stupid bi-GAH!”

“Watch your tongue!” Gran Torino scolds the thief from under his boot. “There’s a young lady present.” He decided to intervene after that spectacular failure of an attack.

Gran Torino smirks down at the thief but frowns when he notices that the freaking wimp passed out! He got knocked out by one kick to the head! Just one kick! How boring.

Gran Torino steps off the weakling. “They just don’t make crooks like they used to. Back in my day it took more than a kick to the head to bash their heads in.”

Ochaco is a bit horrified after hearing that comment. _‘He’s not being serious, is he?!’_

“But one could say the same about…YOU!!!” Gran Torino nearly pokes Ochaco’s eye out with his accusing finger!

“ME!?!” Ochaco pulls away grabbing at her stinging eyes.

“Yes, you! What the hell do you call that back there?!” Specifically that weak sauce of an attack and not to mention that horrible display of flying.

Ochaco knows this but for some reason she just tries to play dumb, hoping that will somehow save her form the inevitable scolding heading her way. “W-what do you mean…?”

“You know exactly what I mean?!”

Ochaco cowers, wincing in fear as if expecting a slap on the head

“That had to be some of the worst flying I’ve ever seen!!” 

Ochaco shakes her head in denial. “I-I don’t know! It’s not my fault! I’m not used to this thing yet.” She points to the Gyro-Disc on her back.

It’s way too sensitive, it keeps activating whenever Ochaco leans in any direction! It’s way too complicated to figure out!

“No excuses!!” Gran Torino takes a breath calming himself down before pinching the bridge of his nose. “Look I’ve got nothing against support gear, heck there are plenty of heroes whose whole thing is to use support items. However!” He snaps his accused finger at the hero student. “Understand this girly! A hero is not as good as their gear but rather how well they use it! Understand me?!”

And Ochaco, for some reason, answers with the most calm and deadpanned tone. “I guess.”

Gran Torino, in disbelief, face faults onto the ground. “You GUESS!?!”

“Whah! Sorry, I mean I get it! I get it! But…still…it’s just all sort of frustrating you know. I may have won the Sports Festival but…I that doesn’t mean I’m even close to the top. I still have so much more to learn, and it sometimes feels like even when I make progress there’s just another wall waiting for me.” 

Gran Torino doesn’t respond; he can understand the girl’s frustration. It’s hard to feel confident when just after accomplishing so much you only end up encountering another obstacle that is even bigger and more challenging than what you’ve previously faced.

*Ping!*

Gran Torino’s attention is drawn to his phone which has an alert notification on it.

Ochaco, the ever curious, speaks up. “What’s up?”

Gran Torino flashes her the phone’s screen. “Oh, this it’s the Hero Alert System.”

“Hero Alert System?”

“Guess they haven’t covered it in class yet.” Gran Torino holds up the phone showing off an app displaying an overview of all of Japan. “The Hero Alert System is a special program that only pro heroes have access to. It grants heroes information on regional crime rates, active crime scenes, and disasters, S.O.S.s, and villain sightings. Heck you can even alter the setting to only alert you about small time action.” And it’s not just an app, the app is just a part of the system.

“Impressive.” Ochaco is truly surprised, she’s never heard of such a thing, although that may explain why certain heroes are able to report to certain crimes so quickly. “I didn’t think you’d have something like that.”

Gran Torino doesn’t take any offense. “I may be old but even I enjoy having a smartphone. But anyway lookie here.”

Ochaco leans in reading the screen. “Suspicious looking people have been spotted near the Dathomir Museum.” She raises an eyebrow at her supervisor. “Are you sure this is something?”

Gran Torino just smiles as he stuffs his phone away. “Well we won’t know until we get there. And besides you can get some more practice in with your new fancy toy there.”

Ochaco considers it because she's not too keen on being humiliated and thrown across the sky again, but that seems like a weak excuse. Plus maybe she can save some dignity if she can actually do something and stop a villain.

“Alright, let’s do it!” She’ll stop these creeps, master her Gyro-Disc, and her new move! “Besides what’s the worst that could happen?”

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A tour guide is currently leading a group of ten through the Dathomir Museum. The museum isn’t anything too grand but it’s enough to warrant tour guides apparently. Although it’s far from a welcoming atmosphere being just as dark and spooky as the rest of the city. All across the large room are ancient relics, statues, and displays showcasing ancient civilizations from all across the planet.

The elderly tour guide positions herself next to a small glass display before turning to her tour group. “And behind this impenetrable glass is the ever mysterious and recently discovered Charms of Bezel.”

The tour group leans in examining the strange ancient looking talismans. There are five circular talismans each one decorated with very exotic and unique engravings. The talismans sit across an ancient looking neckpiece, leading the group to assume they were meant to be some sort of jewelry. 

“It is said that these charms grant unimaginable power to those who wield them. But that’s all we know about these artifacts. Our archaeologists have not been able to properly pinpoint where it was created or by whom. It’s proven difficult to tell what these artifacts are even made out of and we are having trouble carbon dating them.” The tour guide gets a faraway look as she begins to ask the big questions. “There’s so much we don’t know. Who made them and why? Is there a mystical power surrounding them? Are they a treasure of a long-lost civilization too advanced for us to understand?” She sighs in contempt, pushing up her glasses as she refocuses on the group. “But we can say for certain that they do not grant any…um, mystical powers of any sort.”

The lights dim and a strange ominous wind swirls through the museum as a haunting voice accompanies the cold wind. “I beg to differ.”

Every guard and visitor turns towards the ajar entrance that’s been burst open with a gale of wind. Under the flickering lights of the entrance stands a cloaked figure.

The cloaked figure steps forward and the people gasp as they see his face. The grey-skinned man is adoring a tribal like garb that’s red and black in color, with black pants, and black bandages wrapped around his legs. But the most disturbing part is the man’s face: he has a skull tattooed to his own face as if his presence wasn’t disturbing enough.

The guards spring into action jumping between this stranger and the tour group.

The cloaked figure holds forward his oddity of a staff. The staff is wooden with the adornment of a raven skull with a gold ring running through it.

The stranger slams the end of his staff down onto the earthen floor, as the slam echoes through the building red cracks break through the surface until lava spews forth and floods the nearby area.

The guards wail and scream, jumping back towards the tour group as to try and get away from the molten lava.

With them all in position, the stranger swings his staff forward and a powerful cold wind rushes over the lava, hardening it, and then slamming into the guards and the tour group knocking them away from the display case.

With nothing hindering his path, the stranger steps forward walking across the cooled and hardened lava without fear until his skull-tattooed face smiles up from his reflection from the glass display.

The stranger taps his finger against the glass, and it crumbles away into dust allowing him to reach into the display without any hindrance. “Finally, the ancient lost Charms of Bezel are rightfully mine!” He holds the Charms up in the air before draping the talismans around his neck.

The moment the talismans rest around his shoulders the engraved runes give off a soft glow like they’ve finally awakened after centuries of slumber.

The thief grins like a madman as he throws his hands out. Flames burst from his left hand and lighting cracks from his right, the dual elements burn and flash across the museum. The people scream and take cover as flames and lighting crack just above their heads.

The intruder begins to rise off the ground, levitating up as the flames and lighting thrash about, a whirlwind swirls around the museum picking up anything and everything that isn’t bolted down.

All the while the mad thief savors his newfound power. “Hahahaha!”

Despite the turbulent winds, cracking lighting, and burning flames a calm and somewhat sarcastic voice manages to pierce through all the chaos. “Well you sure look like you’re having fun.”

The thief’s smile fades away and is replaced by a scowl as he looks up towards the nearby balcony, there standing by the railing with a hand on her hip is a girl.

The girl seems to be in her late teens with long silver hair tied in a low ponytail, amethyst eyes, and her lips are purple from her favorite lipstick. She’s wearing a magenta coat with purple trims with dark purple latex pants and matching purple boots. Strapped to the side of her waist is a monstrous-looking purple bag with the zipper acting as a mouth and loose buttons as eyes.

The floating cloaked madman frowns at the sight of her. “Charmcaster. Did you take care of the security system?”

The young woman, Charmcaster, brushes her hair aside. “Of course I did, Uncle Hex. But we should probably get going before some hero shows up.”

“Watch your tongue girl!” The mad man or rather Hex snaps at the girl who for a brief moment winces in fear. “With the Charms of Bezel in my possession no hero could possibly take me on. Not even All Might!”

“Really?” Asks a very overconfident voice.

Both Hex and his niece turn towards the door to find two new party crashers,

“But are you a match for, Uravity?!” Ochaco cockily smirks up at the villains as she tries her best to look as cool and imposing as she can even with dirt and leaves stuck to her in various places because of her crash landing just a few moments ago.

Gran Torino stands nearby and is totally ready to throw down. “Something tells me he is.”

Ochaco or rather Uravity is a bit hurt by Gran Torino’s lack of support. “You’re supposed to be on my side…” 

“What is this?!” Hex snaps at the heroes as he floats overhead. “How dare you approach me mortals!”

“Allow me, Uncle Hex.” Charmcaster is about to jump over the railing when her dear uncle cuts in.

“No! This is the perfect time to test my new abilities.” Hex floats forward, glaring down at the heroes with the intention of ending their lives.

Gran Torino recognizes that look and he’s more than happy to answer it. “You’re one for the dramatics aren’t ya?”

Hex scowls. “You’ll find that my abilities are far from a show, old man.”

“Old man? You’re the one that looks like a skeleton.”

Hex must have a short fuse because he swings his staff forward and from the mouth of the ornament flames burst forth.

Both Uravity and Gran Torino jump out of the way of the burning inferno. But Gran Torino not only jumps out of the way, but he speeds his way right towards the villain socking him right in the face.

Hex shakes it off as Gran Torino zips away again before he tries to blast him with a bolt of lightning that thankfully misses.

With Hex distracted, Uravity quickly gets to the terrified tour group.

“Everybody out!” She directs them along with the guards to the exit and thankfully they all make it out quickly without anyone getting harmed.

Uravity spins around to go help Gran Torino but instead she finds Charmcaster standing before her path.

Charmcaster smirks, her piercing eyes scanning the girl’s hero costume and figure. “Aren’t you a bit young to be playing hero, Little Girl?”

Uravity scowls in annoyance. “You’re not that much older than me!”

“Perhaps, but” Charmcaster flips back her silver hair and poses with a hand on her hip. “I’m for sure way more mature.”

Uravity takes that comment rather harshly, her cheeks puff out making her pout seem more adorable than intimidating as she lets out angry cute girl noises. 

Charmcaster grins, more than satisfied with the effect. She opens up her purse and pulls out a handful of small capsules filled with water and then she tosses them at the upset Uravity. A pink pixiedust fumes out of her hand, enveloping the capsules, and then out from the pixiedust-cloud three large icicles race forward.

Uravity snaps out of her aggravation and hastily jumps away just before the icicles impale the spot she was occupying. “I-I s-see your point.” Suddenly Uravity’s face goes pale as reality sets in after hearing the pun that just escaped her lips. “I’ve been hanging out with Deku for too long…” 

While Uravity questions her sanity, Charmcaster pulls out a silver ring and throws it like a frisbee towards the hero course student. The ring too disappears behind a cloud of pixiedust and then a giant ring about the size of a car spins like a buzzsaw out from the cloud.

Uravity swerves to the side but as she moves out of the way she grabs the ring from the inside, she spins, and tosses the giant ring right back at its owner. 

Charmcaster throws her hands down and a shroud of pixiedust floods to the ground and then a massive chunk of the Earth bursts out of the ground, intercepting the giant ring and effectively stopping the attack.

Charmcaster remains behind the Earth shield as she searches her bag for more supplies. “Alright I’ll admit you’re good. But I should have figured since you won the Sports Festival.”

Uravity suddenly becomes very shy, holding her cheeks in embarrassment and awe. “You saw me?” She just won’t ever get used to being recognized and praised there’s just this sense of pride and flood of shyness every time someone brings it up.

Charmcaster smirks finding this girl’s reactions amusing. “Yeah, I did. And I know your Quirk hurts you.” She steps out from behind her shield with a pair of strange stone carvings in her hand. “And that means I know how to beat you, Little Girl.”

And with that she drops the two carvings right onto the ground, but not a thing happens.

Uravity eyes the rocks on ground before raising an eyebrow at her opponent. “Um is that it?”

Charmcaster smirks as she thrust her hands down and out from the tips of her fingers the pink and purple pixiedust rushes out and envelops the carvings like a fog machine.

As the fog of pixiedust clears away Uravity is more than surprised to find a pair of Stone Creatures growling and snarling at her.

These Stone Creatures look like a mix of dogs and golems with magenta runes glowing from the engraving across their bodies. They’re made completely out of stone but they’re alive! Moving and breathing and snarling like an animal!

Charmcaster pats one of the Stone Creatures’ heads. “Surprised?”

Yeah, Uravity is surprised. “Just what the heck is your Quirk?!”

Charmcaster lips curl up into a cocky smirk. “Who said I was using a Quirk?” She doesn’t give Uravity a chance to process her statement, because with a snap of her finger the pair of Stone Creatures attack.

Uravity leaps back as the Stone Creature slung at her with their sharp claws and massive jaws. These things may just stand below her waist but even she knows not to underestimate an opponent based on their size.

One of the Stone Creatures pounces but Uravity ducks down allowing the creature to jump over head. As it does so she grazes her fingers against its underbelly allowing Zero-Gravity to take hold.

And it does, the Stone Creature flails and tries to grab for support as its body floats up into the air acting like a small dog when someone holds it just above water.

Uravity smiles up watching the struggling creature before she hastily jumps away as the second Stone Creatures tries to take a chunk out of her leg.

The Stone Creature repositions itself, growling and snarling at Uravity who slowly backs away.

The girl’s eyes trace upward and then back down to the Stone Creature. A sly smile graces her lips as she brings her hands together. The Stone Creature is about to lung at her but then its own companion smashes into it from above. The floating Stone Creature was high enough for it to build up enough speed to smash and break both itself and its partner apart.

The smirking Uravity turns to the stunned Charmcaster who clearly wasn’t expecting her to escape her pets so easily. “Is that all you got?”

The villainess scowls before brandishing a ribbon and lashing it out at her as a cloud of pixiedust bursts out from her fingers.

While the girls fight it out, the old men are flying above throwing attack after attack at each other. As of now Hex has been blasting flamethrowers and lightning bolts at Gran Torino who’s been zipping and bouncing around the entire room like a ricocheting bullet.

“Avoiding me is futile!” Hex casts another blast of flames but they too miss. “Death is inevitable for the likes of you!”

Gran Torino latches himself to the side of the upper balcony’s railing. “I may be up in years, but I still plan on living far longer than you.” Using his Jet Quirk, he kicks off the railing and races right for Hex, aiming to strike him hard and fast.

Hex gasps before casting a spark of lightning out from his hand but something else occurs. With his opposite hand he swings his staff and the cracking lightning let’s out a humongous BOOM!!! A roaring thunder explodes out from all around Hex knocking away Gran Torino before he could land a hit!

That push back hurt, but Gran Torino repositions himself and catches himself by grabbing onto a statue. “I gotta admit that’s quite the Quirk you got there.”

Hex for some reason laughs as if Gran Torino said a joke that was just so hilarious. “Hahaha! This is not the results of a measly Quirk!” With a wave of his hand items, relics, and anything not bolted to the ground floats up levitating all around Hex’s own floating form. “This. Is. Magic!” Hex throws his hand forward and all of the floating debris rains down on the elderly hero.

Gran Torino though is more than capable in dodging each projectile, zipping between them with his Quirk. “Magic? Then how about a disappearing trick?”

Evidently, Hex doesn’t appreciate a good sense of humor. “I’ll make sure you disappear. For good.” He aims his open palm down at the hero and flames begin to flicker from his palm.

“Nothing but show.” Before Hex could even blink, he finds Gran Torino’s boot right up against his face. “But I guess for a magician that’s a good thing.”

Blam! The kick smacks Hex’s head back making the villain groan and wince in pain as he grips his possibly broken nose.

After the pain fades away a bit, the infuriated Hex roars out in an explosion of fury. “I. Am. A. Sorcerer!” Flames burst out from all around him and with a swing of his hands the flames rush forward like a wave.

The heat is so intense that even Uravity can feel it but she’s in a heated situation of her own right now. She is currently taking cover behind one of the bigger displays as Charmcaster casts magenta fireball after magenta fireball at her.

“Come on!” Charmcaster reaches into her bag and throws another capsule that, after passing through a veil of pixiedust, reappears as a flaming ball that bursts out like a firework when they slam into the display. “You’ve faced worse than this! So come on!” She throws more fireballs.

 _‘This is crazy!’_ Uravity needs to stop this chick and help out Gran Torino out of the two of them that skull-faced creep seems to be the most dangerous so he should be their priority. 

Crawling across the ground, Uravity makes her way around the large display.

When Uravity gets to the opposite side, she peeks out from the side of the display and she’s happy to see Charmcaster is so into casting fireballs that she didn't notice her target slipping away.

 _‘Okay make this count, Ochaco.’_ Uravity takes a breath steadying herself as she aims her hand forward.

It seems to be getting easier for her to allow One For All to flow through her and after a moment the pink sphere forms over her open palm.

And then with a steady breath and a thrust of her hand, pew! The sphere goes flying right towards her intended target.

However, from the corner of her eye Charmcaster spots the pink energy coming her way and with a last-minute swerve she manages to dodge the speeding sphere.

Uravity gaps but the sphere continues its path and curves upward right towards Hex. The sphere slams into his back and bursts into a small explosion that swallows up the sorcerer. Smoke and energy flash before their eyes as Hex is blasted up into the air. 

“Ahh!” Hex screams as his body slams into the ceiling before the Zero-Gravity fades away and he collapses onto the ground with a loud crash.

As he lands onto the ground one of the talismans breaks away from the neckpiece and rolls away coming to a stop by the stunned Uravity's foot.

Charmcaster gasps at the sight of her uncle. “Uncle!” And she takes off to see if he’s alright.

Uravity stands up ready to follow but as she takes a step she steps right onto the talisman. She looks down noticing the odd item and how ancient it looks. She picks it up examining the strange carvings finding it just oh so fascinating, there’s just something about it that makes it feel so familiar to her. She shakes her head; she needs to focus and so she pockets the talisman into a compartment in her belt figuring she'll return it to the museum later.

As she pockets it, she fails to notice that Charmcaster was watching her pocket the item, before she turns to her downed family member. “Uncle, are you alright?” She reaches to check his pulse.

Hex swats her hand away like one would a pesky fly. “I’m perfectly fine.” He sits up and as he does so he reaches for the Charms of Bezel around his neck, he gasps, and his eyes widen when he realizes that there’s one missing!

“You won’t be for long.”

Hex snarls up at Gran Torino who’s standing just a few feet away from the thieving family.

Uravity soon stands by his side with her fists at the ready.

Gran Torino’s smile comes off as wicked and devilish. “Now don’t go pulling a Hundi now I’d hate to mess up your pretty face.” He cracks knuckles. “And I’m not talking to the girl.”

Hex is shaking with anger, snarling and grinding his teeth, but before he can make a move the sound of police sirens reaches his ears.

And so with very little options left Hex decides now is not the time to fight. “Your time will come.” A light suddenly surrounds Hex and his niece, blinding the heroes.

When their vision returns, they find the museum empty of any thieves.

Gran Torino scowls. “Damn, I guess they did know a few vanishing acts.”

Gran Torino may just be joking but Ochaco can’t help but feel like there’s just might be some truth there. Were those two…really using magic? How else could you explain those Quirks of theirs? Heck were they even using Quirks?

She just can’t make any sense of it! Ochaco grabs at her head, she can feel a headache setting in and the loud police sirens aren’t helping matters.

As she furiously tries to figure out just what those villains’ Quirks are, she fails to remember the ancient talisman hidden away in the compartment of her belt. 

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Just outside Dathomir City, hidden away in the woods, stands a little abandoned church which thanks to the years of abandonment and abuse looks more like a place for the arcane to gather. But today it hosts some very…mystical practitioners. 

“Rahhh!!!” A levitated Hex uses telekinesis to throw a table right against the creaking wall, breaking the table into millions of splinters.

Strewn across the collapsing church lies debris, burn marks, and other smashed objects. Clearly Hex has been throwing a bit of a tantrum since they had to retreat from the museum and Charmcaster has already found it a bit exhausting to watch. “Will you just calm down?”

Hex snaps his attention to her, his eyes screaming with fury making her flinch under his glare.

Hex eventually breaks his glare and floats overhead, calming himself down.

Knowing she’s in the clear, Charmcaster let’s go of the breath she was holding.

Hex soon hovers just in front of a large stained-glass window, that somehow has remained intake after all these years allowing a ray of reds, yellows, and greens to illuminate the empty church. “Excuse my…outburst. After all thanks to your folly we’ve lost hold of one of the Charms!” Hex breathes in reigning his temper. “We’ll have to return to the museum. They undoubtedly would have recovered it by now.”

Charmcaster smirks, glad she has something over her uncle. “Or maybe they haven’t.”

Hex eyes her with a hint of danger but intrigue. 

“I saw that girl, the one that won the Sports Festival pocket the thing.”

Hex smirks, this may be interesting. “Did you now?”

“Yeah, I saw her pick it up.” Charmcaster’s feeling a bit more secure now. “If you’d like I can go get it. It shouldn’t be a problem for me.”

Hex turns back to the stained glass. “I beg to differ.”

“Hey, I’m more than capable! My powers are more than enough for her! Heck I’m more than enough to take you on!”

And that was a mistake and she doesn’t need her uncle's furious gaze to explain that.

Charmcaster cowers away, knowing she overstepped. “Wait, I-I didn’t mean-”

“Are you challenging me, girl?” Hex’s voice is dangerously low, and it somehow causes even more fear to run down the girl’s spine. “Are you questioning my power?”

“N-no…uncle. I didn’t mean any harm. I just thought…that I-” 

Hex roars out in anger. “That is your mistake!!”

Charmcaster flinches, holding her body tight as her uncle begins to scold her.

“You are nothing but a child not yet ready to think for yourself!”

“Yes, uncle… I know…” 

Hex glares at her as if trying to find any lies in her words before finally relenting. “Good.” He turns away again. “We will retrieve the Charm. And you will be sure to play your part, correctly. Is that understood?”

With her head hung low Charmcaster almost whispers her response. “Yes.”

“Very well then.” Hex floats back up to the stained window. “Pray tell what was the girl’s name again.”

“I think it was…Ochaco, Ochaco Uraraka.” Charmcaster thinks back to the girl’s entrance. “But I guess her hero name is Uravity or something.”

“Hm, that is tragic.”

“What is?”

Hex grins down at his niece as lightning cracks from his pal, the lightning discharges across the church until it inevitably cracks through the beautiful window. “She possesses a hero name, a name she won’t have the pleasure of using for very long.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Gran Torino wobbles his way from the police officers having just finished up his report. He spots his young student leaning against a nearby tree waiting for him no doubt. “So! What’d you think of your first patrol?”

Ochaco frowns in embarrassment. “Humiliating…” 

“Haha! That’s great!”

“No it’s not!” Geez! Why can’t he ever be on her side?

“Why of course it is!” Gran Torino brushes his thumb against his nose. “Feeling defeated like you do just demonstrates how seriously you’re actually taking it.”

It takes Ochaco a few seconds to truly get what he’s saying. “I guess that’s good but it’s still bad the villains got away.”

“Yeah, that was totally your fault.” Wow, he could have shown a bit of sympathy there.

Ochaco deadpans. “You could share some of the blame.”

“Yeah, I guess I could. Haha!”

Is it bad that Ochaco feels a bit more humiliated? “But…there is something I don’t understand.”

Gran Torino mercifully stops laughing. “Oh, what’s that?”

“Those thieves they’re…Quirks were just so…unexplainable! And they kept talking about magic and stuff…” To anybody else they would just chalk it up to some kind of Quirk but Ochaco isn’t normal, she knows that aliens exist so what’s to say magic exists too?! “Do you think that maybe they…really were using magic?”

Gran Torino doesn’t respond instead that dopey-smile of his remains plastered to his face for a few moments. Soon it drags on for too long to the point that Ochaco wonders if she broke him somehow, but then he finally reacts. “Hahahaha! And they call me senile! Hahaha!” 

“I’m being serious!!”

Fine he’ll give her the benefit of the doubt. “Well, I have to admit they’re Quirks were definitely on the unique side. And I definitely couldn’t give you an accurate read on what they do, even the police seem like they’re going to have a rough time identifying them.” Gran Torino peers away into the fog illuminated by the red lights of the streetlamps. “Then again the world is a far bigger place than we think, you never know just how people will surprise you.”

“Is that…a yes?”

“Ha, nope!”

Okay, she should have seen that coming.

“Who’d be dumb enough to believe in magic?! Heck, next thing you’ll say is that you believe aliens exist! Haha!”

 _‘They do…’_ Before Ochaco could say anything, she’d regret her stomach let’s put the most obnoxious grumble it could give. _‘My poor stomach all we ate were those pastries and they definitely weren’t enough.’_ A jolt of shock and despair courses through her. _‘And I don’t have enough cash on me! Oh, man and Gran Torino probably won’t offer to get me lunch. Even if I asked…’_ She almost wants to cry, it’s just her luck she’d be humiliated and starved at the same time.

Unbeknownst to either of them the talisman in her belt glows dimly and almost instantly Gran Torino lights up as if an idea popped into his head. “Alright, kid. How about I show you one of the best parts of going out on patrol?”

Ochaco is a bit hesitant to respond. “Okay.”

“Great, follow me!”

After a short walk the two arrive at the local park that’s definitely seen better days. The grass lawns are littered with garbage and weeds, the trees are dark and wilted, and that darn fog is making the place even creepier than it has to be. And that cemetery nearby isn't helping matters.

But to be fair Ochaco was in for a bit of a nice surprise when they arrived. “I wasn’t expecting this.” She grips the philly cheese steak sandwich, examining its peculiar content.

“Hm hm! Tasty!” Gran Torino doesn’t even wait for her, he may have bought the sandwiches, but he’s just chowing down on his. 

Ochaco gives the sandwich a sniff. “This is the best part?”

“Of course, street vendors serve the best stuff!” The old man throws a thumbs up towards said street vendor who happily waves back in appreciation.

And so Gran Torino goes right back into devouring his tasty meal.

Ochaco sniffs it again and figures it shouldn’t be that bad and so she slowly and hesitantly takes a small nibble.

The moment the cheese and meat touch her tongue her eyes light up like a Christmas tree. “This is amazing!” And like that she starts going down on the delicious sandwich like a dog tearing apart a pack of hotdogs.

Gran Torino kicks back into the bench, his legs swinging up and down. “I know right? And it’s all within a reasonable price range!”

Ochaco licks her lips clean of foodstuffs, and with stars in her eyes she holds up the sandwich. “I’ve seen the future, and it’s street vendors.”

And so they continue with their lunch enjoying the savory flavor. But as they eat, Ochaco can’t help but let her mind wander back to those villains. After talking to the police and hearing the reports of the tour group, they learned that the skull-tattooed freak is called Hex and apparently his niece, the one with the silver hair, is called Charmcaster.

And admittedly Ochaco has to admit that those are some pretty fitting names. Especially if…they’re names are literal. Were they actually casting spells and curses and that junk or were they just…lying and using some really weird Quirks?

Again she shouldn’t just write it off after all she almost wants to consider Deku’s Omnitrix as magical because how could a little device just turn someone into a different alien species?! 

As she continues to think on the possibility of magic existing a cold eerie wind manages to pull her out of her own thoughts.

Ochaco peers up and she nearly chokes on her own breath as her eyes widen in surprise. “Um, G-Gran Torino.”

Gran Torino is licking his lips trying to get any more flavor off his mouth after finishing his lunch. “What is it?” He hasn’t noticed anything odd yet.

“W-We h-have company.”

Gran Torino finally notices the nervousness in the girl’s voice, and so he sits up and quickly realizes their guests.

Floating up in the air just above the tree canopy is Hex with four charms around his neck and his staff in hand.

Gran Torino jumps off the bench with a thrilled smirk on his face. “It appears we’ve got ourselves an encore.”

Hex ignores Gran Torino and instead his gaze is drawn upon Uravity’s. “You have something I want.”

Uravity tucks her helmet on, her eyes never leaving from Hex’s form. _‘What’s he talking about?’_

Gran Torino however has some more taunting to do. “What’s that? You want a knuckle sandwich?” He slams his fist together while a giant toothy grin adorns his face.

Hex is really getting tired of this elder’s games. “Insolent old man.” Hex raises his staff and the charms around his neck glow. “I will send you to your grave!” Lightning bursts forth from Hex’s hand searing into the Earth like a laser as it traces its way towards the heroes.

“Look out, kid!” Grabbing Uravity’s wrist, Gran Torino pulls them both out of the crackling bolt’s path. Gran Torino throws Uravity to the side before zipping up and around to take on Hex himself but he throws Uravity a bit too hard and she ends up sliding across the dirt. 

As Uravity winces and pulls her face up a purple high heeled boot strides just in front of her.

Looking up she finds Charmcaster smirking down at them. “Hey, Little Girl, are you ready for Round Two?”

Uravity springs up to her feet, raising her fists like a boxer. “Are you?”

Charmcaster grins as she whips out a long silky ribbon. Pixiedust veils around the ribbon as she whips it forward and out of the cloud a thin purple-colored chain lashes out at Uravity.

Uravity quickly jumps back but Charmcaster quickly goes after her, whipping the chain at her repeatedly forcing her to defend and jump back continuously. Uravity can see Gran Torino zipping around a very frustrated Hex who’s blasting flames at the old man, but none are hitting their mark, thankfully.

Charmcaster reaches into her bag for something, she pulls her hand out as pixiedust leaks out from between her fingers, and when she uncurls her hand a magenta fireball ignites in her palm. She throws the fireball forward and it rams into Uravity slamming her against a large withering oak tree.

With her opponent cornered, Charmcaster reels back the chain, preparing to strike Uravity with what will undoubtedly be one hard slash.

Uravity flinches away, raising her hands to protect her body as much as she can from her downed position, unbeknownst to her the talisman in her belt glows softly in its compartment.

Before Charmcaster could whip her chain forward a crow of all things flies down from the tree above, swooping down at her and swiping its talons at the girl’s face.

“Eahhh!” Charmcaster is so startled by the crow that when she lashes the chain forward it swings too far up and wraps itself around a withered hanging branch.

The crow caws and pecks at Charmcaster who’s trying to swat the thing away while still holding onto the chain. “Get away you pest!” She throws the hand holding the chain forward to punch the crow.

But she pulled too hard because the branch snaps off the tree. The thick dead branch slams into the back of Charmcaster’s head, knocking her down.

Uravity just stands there blinking into total confusion as the Charmcaster just lies there groaning and the crow mercifully flies off into the woods. _‘Huh, that was lucky I guess…’_

Charmcaster groans, rubbing the back of her head, she glares up at the brunette, but her eyes widen when she spots a red and black cloaked figure hovering above them both.

Hex snarls down at Uravity. “Give me the Charm!”

Uravity leaps back in surprise, she didn’t expect to see him at all. “What are you talking about?!”

“Don’t play coy with me.” Hex aims the head of his staff at her.

Uravity fearfully raises her hands while wondering where the heck Gran Torino is. Wasn’t he handling this guy?!

“Hey, I thought I was your partner.”

Oh, there he is.

“You are infuriating!” Hex swings his staff around and a maelstrom of a whirlwind rages towards Gran Torino.

Gran Torino uses Jet to zoom away between the trees, but Hex is far from finished. He thrusts his hand forward and flames burst to life, roaring as they race towards the elderly hero. Gran Torino uses the trees as cover ricocheting off of them as Hex continues to fire flames and lighting at him.

Hex becomes more and more infuriated with each missed attack and so with a spin of his staff he slams the end of it into the ground. Almost instantly the ground shakes and rumbles as if he set off a miniature earthquake.

Gran Torino is thrown off as his feet hit the ground, Charmcaster struggles to crawl away as she too is thrown off balance, and Uravity miraculously lands on a bed of dead leaves completely cushioning her fall.

Hex strikes the end of his staff against the nearest tree. And like magic the tree’s long withered roots sprout out from the ground like tentacles. The roots lash out and wrap themselves around the pro hero, before he could regain his balance.

With his opponent immobilized, Hex levitates forward with an overconfident grin, like he knows blood is about to be spilled.

 _‘I’ve got to help!’_ Uravity gets up and runs forward, Hex is already far away as it is if she wastes another second there’s no way any of this will end well. _‘I have to use the Gyro-Disc! It’s the only way to get to him in time!’_

She kicks herself off the ground while using Zero-Gravity on herself. The Gyro-Disc instantly kicks in and a part of Uravity just knows that she’s about to be thrown all across the park, but hopefully she’ll get lucky and at least be able to distract the psychotic villain.

But wouldn’t you know it, whether by sheer dumb luck or skill she can’t be sure but she’s racing forward. Gliding over the Earth like a bullet without any signs of struggle, heck if one saw her now, they’d think she’s been flying this way all her life.

Not going to overthink it right now, Uravity reels her fist back as it begins to glow with One For All’s power.

Hex is just above Gran Torino now and he’s so distracted with his victory that he doesn’t see the face of his defeat speeding towards him. Another stroke of luck!

He does notice eventually…when Uravity’s fist collides with his face!

“Rah!!!” Hex is thrown across the park, crashing through thorn bushes and branches until he slams into a light post, bending it in place of his impact.

That impact definitely broke something and he’s pretty sure a few of his own teeth were knocked loose. So, with a shaky, possibly busted, hand he grips one of the talismans. A soft glow envelops all around him and as the light covers his body Hex can feel himself healing. And after a few short seconds he is as good as new.

But not for long.

Quickly he casts a shield of light to encircle himself just before Gran Torino slams down on top of it.

“Ha, looks like there’s still some life in ya.” Gran Torino smiles down from atop the forcefield. “And here I was thinking you were starting to run out of tricks.”

Hex snarls; he's in such a burning rage that he can’t even form words other than curses, and not the magical kind.

Charmcaster gasps at the sight of her uncle’s assault. “Uncle!”

“I got him. I actually got him!” Uravity’s leaning her elbow on a nearby tree catching her breath after that rush of adrenaline and just reveling in her success.

Uravity turns her head and takes notice of the stunned Charmcaster, who also takes notice of the intern. And she is not happy to see her at all.

Charmcaster throws out about four stone carvings that after a pixiedust bath soon become dog-sized golems.

Charmcaster stands among her snarling Stone Creatures and points a single finger forward. “Rip her to shreds!”

Uravity stands at the ready very willing to fight them off but as luck would have it one of the charging Stone Creatures somehow slips on a small puddle of all things! And as a result it collides with its packmates so hard that they all crumble away, breaking apart until they’re nothing but little clumps rolling forward and stopping near Uravity’s feet.

“No!!” Charmcaster grabs and pulls at her hair in frustration, infuriated beyond belief!

Uravity however is in much higher spirits. “Ha, seems like your pets aren’t up to snuff.”

“Be quiet! Grrr, it’s because of that charm.”

Uravity raises an eyebrow. “What the heck are you even talking about?”

Charmcaster bites her lip pulling at her hair so hard that it’s a miracle it doesn’t rip away before she lets it go and shakes her head in frustration. “I can’t tell if you’re that dumb or just playing…” She raises her hand like a feline displaying her claws as a small trail of pixiedust snakes upward. “No matter, my…magic will take care of you.”

_‘There it is again…’_ Uravity caught that, Charmcaster called it magic not a Quirk! Is she really using magic?! “Now I’m not sure if your dumb or just playing.”

Charmcaster gives a knowing smirk as she shakes her head. “Neither.” She throws hands up and then swings them down and a cloud of pixiedust floods onto the ground.

As the magenta fog clears away earth-crusted spikes burst out of the ground one-by-one in rapid succession and racing right towards the brunette.

Acting fast, Uravity leaps to the side just as a spike sprouts out front the ground, thankfully missing her. Wanting to put some distance between herself and her opponent Uravity takes off running, she makes it out of the trees and to the nearby road. There doesn’t seem to be any cars of people, but the thick fog could just be obscuring everything.

Either way the coast is clear so Uravity runs across the road so maybe she can lose Charmcaster and then circle around for an ambush.

It doesn’t matter because a magenta colored chain wraps around her leg and pulls her foot right from under her, causing her to fall onto the harsh cracked road.

Rolling up on her back Uravity glares up at her capturer who pulls back on the chain trying to drag the girl closer. “You can’t run, Little Girl!” She strides forward continuing to pull on the chain like she’s harpooned a massive catch.

Speaking of harpoon, Charmcaster pulls out a handful of metal filings from her purse, she raises her hand up and from within a cloud of pixiedust a sharp metal harpoon springs from out of nowhere.

Uravity shivers at the sight of the sharp harpoon knowing full well what Charmcaster’s intending to do.

Speaking of. “Looks like it’s over for you, Little Girl.” She raises up the harpoon in order to finish her off.

But luck is just not on her side.

*HONK!!!*

BLAM!!! A freaking delivery truck rams right into the poor unexpecting Charmcaster running her over like a deer in headlights!

Uravity can only watch in horror as in slow motion as Charmcaster’s broken body is flung across the road as the speeding truck zooms by and disappears into the thick fog.

Uravity, however, was not the only one to witness the tragedy.

“NO!!!” Hex roars out in anguishing rage as the forcefield around him explodes outward blasting a surprised Gran Torino away long enough for Hex to fly over so quickly that one would think he teleported. 

He scowls down at his niece’s broken body lying on the cold road, she’s bleeding, and her limbs are not pointing in the right directions, and oh god is that bone?!

Hex kneels over her and places a hand to her head as he grips the talismans around his neck. A soft glow flows down from the charm, through his body, and then into the dying or possibly dead girl.

Ochaco is in such a daze from shock and horror she can only watch in stunned silence as the soft light glows around Charmcaster’s still form. And somehow even through her dazed state Ochaco watches on in shock as Charmcaster’s body magically begins to heal itself. The cuts close up not even leaving a scar, the blood seeps away, and her limbs readjust themselves.

After a few moments Hex releases his spell and after a brief second Charmcaster’s eyes blink awake.

“Are you alright, Charmcaster?” He actually sounds concerned but also annoyed.

Charmcaster coughs, sitting up and not even groaning, acting like she wasn’t just run over a second ago. “I’m…fine.”

Uravity continues to watch on, her mouth hanging open, she’s in so much shock she doesn’t even notice Gran Torino’s arrival. _‘How’d he do that?! Did he just…resurrect her or something?! That’s impossible! Just what are their Quirks?!’_

Hex stands up and with a wave of his hand Charmcaster’s body floats off the ground as if being carried by an invisible stretcher.

When he’s sure she isn’t going anywhere Hex turns to the ones that dare to impose him. “This is far from over, heroes. I will have what is rightfully mine!”

A plume of smoke floods the street forcing Gran Torino and Uravity to shield their eyes. When the smoke clears both Hex and his niece are long gone.

Ochaco takes a moment to shake off her sense of shock and horror accepting the fact that she thankfully did not just witness someone dying due to a hit-and-run.

And with that out of the way she can really ask the big questions. “Just…what are they?”

Gran Torino shakes his head in complete defeat. “To be honest, I’m begging to consider that magic theory of yours.” He cups his chin before looking up at his intern. “Hm, but more importantly they think you have something they want.”

Ochaco is quick to defend herself. “But I got nothing!”

“Are you sure?”

Ochaco blinks up trying to think of anything those creeps could be talking about… It slowly dawns on her that she does have something that they might just be looking for after all. And as a result her face slowly begins to become a nervous tomato.

Gran Torino lets out an exasperated sigh at the sight of her red face. “You do have something, don’t you?”

Ochaco gulps before reaching for the compartment in her belt. “Y-Yeah, I-I picked it u-up at the m-museum.” Her face looks like it’s going to explode in embarrassment as she holds up the very talisman Hex’s been looking for. “I-I…forgot I had it.”

Gran Torino can only smack his own face in response, shaking his head in denial about the girl’s forgetfulness. “A stupid piece of jewelry. That’s what their after, seriously?”

Ochaco eyes the charm, rubbing her finger over the smooth round design and ancient yet mystic or alien looking runes. “What’d he call it again? A…Charm?”

“Yeah, I think so. The museum said something called the Charms of Bezel were taken by the Hex creep.” Gran Torino continues to rub his chin in thought. “But why are they so determined to get it?”

Ochaco nervously gulps, she starting to feel stupid asking this but she just…has to be sure. “You don’t think it’s…actually magical, do you?”

A part of Gran Torino wants to laugh, and another part of him wants to smack the girl upside the head, but…right now even he can’t rule out that possibility not after witnessing…a resurrection. “Doubt it, but…at least now we have some sort of an advantage.”

Ochaco is a bit lost here now. “What?”

And just like that Gran Torino is back to being his confident self, giving her a condescending smirk. “Don’t you worry about it. Just relax for a bit. I gotta talk to the police for a second.”

He waves her off as he waits for the police to arrive. If the sound of their approaching sirens are anything to go by?

And so Ochaco is left alone with nothing but her own thoughts and worries to give her company. Well there is the Charm, too. _‘What is this thing anyway?’_

She rolls the Charm round in her hand observing its soft glow of the mythical runes engraved into the stone. No stone’s not the right word it’s far too smooth and it almost feels like some sort of metal but if it’s an artifact then why hasn’t there been any more damage done to it? Like erosion, cracks, rusts, or anything? Heck even the runes aren’t engraved or at least that’s what it feels like. Even though it’s a perfect circle Ochaco just can’t reasonably accept that a human was able to make something of this nature.

And like that a realization dawns on the girl.

Ochaco scrambles for her phone, snapping a phone of the Charm and sending the pic over to someone who just might be able to make sense of all this.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Thirteen is a bit preoccupied at the moment, they’re too busy manually scanning through the Plumber Base’s computer systems for any signs of tampering or attacks. So far there’s been no sign of anything wrong but after SixSix was able to sneak in so far into the base it’s only necessary that they check the systems.

Thirteen’s sweating with stress as they scan through every bit of data. _‘Damn, this is why we need more Plumbers.’_

Sure One-One’s great with monitoring, repairs, maintenance, programming, and well everything but there’s no way to tell if SixSix even tampered with his systems too. That’s another thing, they don’t even have someone to go track down the bounty hunter. Hopefully he doesn’t cause any trouble out there otherwise Thirteen’s going to be hearing it from Nezu later on.

Sitting atop a desk nearby is One-One who’s been waiting patiently for Thirteen to finish the inspection and sitting beside him happens to be Thirteen’s phone, its screen lights up as an alert signals a text message.

And One-One just so happens to notice it. ^You have a message!^

Thirteen doesn’t even turn away from the screen as they continue to type away. “I’ll read it later! Kinda in the middle of something here…”

One-One decides to take the initiative as he holds up the phone.

Glad-One eyes his other half. ^Should we answer it?^

Sad-One is of course ready with an appropriate response. ^ _It’s be pretty rude not to…so we shouldn’t._ ^ 

^Oh, I’m going to answer it!^ Glad-One goes ahead and calls up Ochaco.

After a moment Ochaco picks up. “Hello. Thirteen?”

^Nope! This is One-^

^ _-One…^_

“One-One?” Why is he answering?

“^Yup! And you’re our dear friend, Uraraka! How are you?^

^ _If your calling for a bail out, sorry but if you’re in jail you’re probably there for a reason…_ ^

“What? Uh, no! Where’s Thirteen?”

One-One peers over at Thirteen who’s very hard at work. ^Thirteen’s a bit preoccupied at the moment, but maybe I can be of service.^

^ _Or you can hang up and ghost us._ ^

“I guess that’s fine.”

^ _Wait, so you are going to ghost us?_ ^

“What? No, I’m talking about the first thing.”

^ _Oh…how disappointing._ ^

^So what can we help you with?^

“I…found this weird item from a museum and I was wondering if it could be…” She leans into her phone and whispers. “alien.”

^Well let’s have a look, shall we?^

“I've already sent a photo.”

One-One briefly scrolls through the messages and finds the photo. He quickly scans it and then runs it through a quick database search and after a few seconds he’s got his results. ^Oh, my…^ Glad-One directs his attention to his other half. ^Were you aware of this?^

Sad-One shakes the collective head. ^ _If you don’t know, how could I know?_ ^

Ochaco can hear them over the phone. “What? What is it? Is it bad?!”

^It’s not bad per say it’s just…^

^ _Dangerous and possibly…deadly._ ”

“WHA!?!”

^Well if we want to be more accurate it’s actually a highly advance and rather ancient piece of...alien technology.^

“So, it is alien!” Well now things are beginning to make sense but…then again that just brings up even more questions. “So…how’d it end up in a museum of all places?”

^Well, an archaeologist will go out and dig up artifacts to bring back to the museum and-^

“…Okay, that question’s on me. What I mean is how did this alien tech end up on Earth and in the possession of a museum?”

^Well this device is just one part of exploration tools.^

Okay that was not what she was expecting to hear. “Exploration…tools…?”

^Yes. You see what you have there is level twenty technology that was used to aid an ancient civilization of aliens to explore the cosmos!^

^ _Or they were seeking out conquests._ ^

“That’s crazy!”

^Not really, aliens have been visiting Earth since its entire existence! Fun fact many of your planet’s god-like figures and fairytales are just accounts of visitors from the stars!^

“Woah!!!” Okay now that’s pretty cool! Wait no now is not the time to delve into how alien contact shaped human cultures and societies. “Wait, but what about these…charms?” 

^In any case this device or…charm rather proved to be rather handy for ancient explorers.^

“How so?” How could fire and lighting be used for exploration?

^Well this device telepathically connects only with the one who wears it. And it consists of five separate parts with each one serving a different purpose.^ One-One takes a deep breath before continuing with his lecture. ^You have the system for pyrokinesis which the explorers used to make big campfires! So they could make smores and roast hotdogs!^

^ _Or burn people at the stake…_ ^

“Wait, so it was just meant to be used to generate heat?” Ochaco thinks about all the flamethrowers Hex was casting and she can’t help but think it was a bit of overkill.

^Yup! And the system or charm for electrokinesis was just meant to help recharge the alien’s other technology and ships incase of a lack of energy resources.^

Okay that makes sense actually. It’s good to have a source of fuel when going somewhere that may not have discovered electricity yet.

^Even the charm for telekinesis was used for anything more than to lift and transport materials.^

“Huh, but what about…bring people back from the dead?”

^Oh! That would be the charm of resurrection or rather healing. It was created so the explorers could go anywhere without fear of losing their own life!^

^ _That’s so unnatural._ ^

“Wait…THERE’S TECHNOLOGY THAT CAN DO THAT!?!” Now that’s magic!

^My! There’s a lot of technology that can heal you up to perfect health.^

^ _Yeah, but even then a lot of its experimental and can result in some…not so fine results._ ^ Seriously, there have been reports of aliens making full recovery in mere minutes but they perish either because of horrible mutations, cells implosion, digestive failure, brain tremors, loss of sanity, and so much more.

^Plus not all planets have access to such technology in fact in some cases it’s been banned.^

“Why’s that?”

^ _Population control or something…_ ^ And the side effects listed above but Ochaco doesn’t need to know that right now.

“That’s insane!”

^It sure is!^

Ochaco takes a moment to process everything. _‘No wonder Hex and Charmcaster think this thing is magic, the thought of this being alien tech hasn’t even crossed their minds. Talk about dramatic irony.’_ That makes her feel so much better because then if this thing isn’t actually magic then those two must not be using magic at all! They must be using some kind of emitter-type Quirks! But why lie about it? Heck why are they so desperate for this charm in particular? “And this charm? What can it do?”

^That one, my that one’s the best of them all.^ responds One-One. ^That there is a charm of probability or in other words LUCK!!!^

“Luck?! As in good luck?!”

^Of course!^

“How? How can it cause luckiness? Resurrection is one thing but manipulating luck?!”

^It shouldn’t be that surprising. There are aliens that can control time and even reality, so it’s not that surprising an alien species can figure out a way to manipulate luck.^

“I guess…” Ochaco’s head is beginning to hurt.

^Anyway the system or charm literally reverses Murphy’s Law, meaning it grants the wielder supernaturally good luck, literally causing anything and everything to go their way!^

^ _But only if there was a possibility of it going their way in the first place. Meaning if you walk into a busy road there’s a good chance, you’ll still be runned over._ ^

Woah! Okay that explains…a lot actually. Gran Torino getting her lunch, the crow attacking Charmcaster, the Gyro-Disc working correctly, and that…truck. But that also begs the question if she’s only been getting by all this time through luck? Did she really fight off the villains or was it just luck? Did she use the Gyro-Disc correctly or was it luck? Did she use One For All correctly or was that luck? Did she deserve One For All or was she just lucky…? 

Ochaco takes a calming breath. Now is not the time to put everything into question, now is the time to get answers. “Is there any reason someone would…want these things?”

^Well exploring for one thing.^

^ _Or destruction._ ^

“What was that?”

^ _Well one reason these things aren’t around anymore is that they’re banned._ ^

^Yes, the explorers often lost these items and the natives of the planet just couldn’t understand how it worked and so it often led to some…^

^ _Mass destruction and chaos._ ^ 

Ochaco’s entire body goes cold. “I have to get those charms!!”

^You should such an ancient and high-level piece of technology should not be in the possession of a human. If you can get them just hold on to them for now.^

“Can’t you guys come and get them?”

^Not at the moment.^ One-One looks towards the hallway where the destroyed catwalks precedes. ^We have our hands quite full here at the moment.^

“Oh, okay well I guess I’ll be sure to take good care of them I guess.” She can just hold onto them until she gets back to U.A.

^Is there anything else we can help you with?^

“Not really, I guess-”

An old man’s voice echoes out through the phone and into One-One’s ear. “Hey girly! Come on I got a plan to catch these freak shows!”

Ochaco is quick to nod before turning back to the phone. “Oh, I gotta go! Anyway thanks One-One you’re the best!”

^You’re quite welcome.^

And she hangs up allowing One-One to drop the cell phone back onto the desktop.

“Phew, what a relief!” Thirteen sighs, falling back into their chair. 

One-One looks over at Thirteen. ^ _How’s it looking boss?_ ^

“I think we’re in the clear.” Nothing stands out as corrupted, broken, missing, added, or out of place. _‘Perhaps I stopped him before he could actually pull anything off.’_ That’s actually such a relief, for a while there Thirteen was considering a total cleanse of the systems but that just be more hours of work and even longer hours to reprogram everything. But either way SixSix may have gotten away but Thirteen can rest easy knowing that the bounty hunter might just have failed to reach his objective. “Oh my that is good! I mean could you imagine the repercussions if that menace managed to tamper with our systems?” 

^ _I don’t know but I bet it would lead up to some sort of climax._ ^

Thirteen’s mind still can’t find peace with the fact that a top tier bounty hunter, SixSix, is running around in Japan somewhere. Why is he here? And what is he after? Perhaps they should send out an alert to all the resident aliens to be on the lookout? Yeah, that might be a good idea.

But what about the kids, Midoriya and Uraraka?

After taking a minute to sit on the idea Thirteen decides not to tell either of them. Why worry them now, they’re at their internships and those should be their main focus for now. Besides it’s not actually their responsibility yet to do Plumber work, they can’t even officially do hero work. And there’s no real worry they’ll even cross the bounty hunter, they’re spread across Japan and that’s too big of a place for one bounty hunter to cover. Also with their jamming signal there’s no chance in hell he’ll find Izuku.

And so the only thing left to do now is report to Nezu about their unwanted visitor, but Nezu’s off doing important U.A. stuff or something so it may be a while. And after that maybe Thirteen could go out and track down the bounty hunter, if they can or at the very least be on standby for an alien resident to report him in.

So for now Thirteen decides to get up and get back to their laptop so they can finally send out the edited Sports Festival.

Thirteen sits down and begins to prepare the video file, reading to send it out to every ally planet, Plumber Base, and selected individuals for viewing. Hopefully with the inclusion of two recruit Plumbers, and the fact that they performed amazingly, they're little Japan branch might just get some much-needed upgrades especially in staffing. Seriously it’d be so great to have this place just full of Plumbers from all across the galaxies. Heck, this might help to inspire some future Plumber recruits down the line. Who knows?

Before Thirteen sends it out one last thought crosses their mind. “Hm? I wonder how he’ll react to it?” Guess there’s only one way to find out, and so with a press of a single button Thirteen finally sends out the recording of U.A.’s Sports Festival. 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“I’m not happy.” Ochaco has no appreciation for a nice planned out ambush.

Gran Torino pokes his head out from behind a nearby tombstone. “It doesn’t matter if you’re happy. What matters is if this works.”

Ochaco shakes her head while she just stands out in the open in the middle of an abandoned cemetery. “And what makes you think they’ll just fall for this?”

“Villains nowadays are too simple minded, they’ll come.”

Ochaco sighs, she can’t believe Gran Torino roped her into being bait to reel in Hex and Charmcaster. And why a cemetery of all places? The fog, weeds, and crumbling gravestones are nothing but creepy and scary. The nearby forest is thick with withered trees whose branches twist and turn looking like thin skeletal arms and veins all twisted together in a mess of horror. And sure they have some backup from the local police, but they’re all hidden away, and she’s just left exposed and creeped out.

Ochaco grips her arms shielding them from the chilling wind. “I still don’t think this is going to work.”

Gran Torino whispers out from behind his hiding place. “Don’t worry it’s working.”

“How do you know that?”

A bolt of thunder flashes through the thick fog, drawing Ochaco’s attention to the floating cloaked figure hovering just above a massive tombstone with a broken cross.

Ochaco cowers under Hex’s foreboding glare as the thunder subsides and a chilling silence falls over the entire cemetery. “Nevermind…” 

Hex grips his staff tightly as he scowls down at the young hero. “Hand over the charm!”

Uravity readies herself for a fight, trying her best to seem composed and confident. “You didn’t ask nicely.”

Hex raises his staff to ready an attack.

“Hang on now.” Slam! Gran Torino’s foot slams against Hex’s side before he zooms by.

Gran Torino skids across the ground, his fingers claw against the dirt bringing himself to a full stop in front of a squad of policemen all at the ready.

“You’re surrounded, give up now or we’ll have to use force.” Gran Torino grins up at the villain. “And for full disclosure I much prefer if you chose the latter option.”

In response, Hex actually smiles like he’s amused by their display of rebellion. “Foolish old man, did you really think I wouldn’t recognize a trap when I saw one.”

Uravity actually backs away at the smiling villain as Gran Torino’s grin falls away and becomes a scowl.

“Grahhh!!” A Stone Creature slams its head against Gran Torino and causing Uravity to leap away in surprise.

Gran pushes himself away from the creature, using Jet to zip away, bounce off a gravestone and slam himself into the Stone Creature, smashing it to pieces.

“Grahhh!! Grahhh!! Grahhh!!”

An army of Stone Creatures are running about the cemetery pouncing, snarling, and clawing at the unexpecting policemen who have long forgotten about Hex and are now focused on defending themselves.

Uravity slams her One For All powered fist right to the head of a Stone Creature before she slams her opposite fist into another one that tried to leaps up at her from the side.

Hex watches on with a smile as he stretches his hands out and a spiraling column of flames rage forth.

The unknowing Uravity jumps away from an attacking Stone Creature but as luck would have, she falls right back into an empty grave. The large pit was obscured by overhanging weeds and the thick fog, completely obscuring it from sight and creating the perfect pitfall trap.

It makes a great fire shelter though since the flames don’t get anywhere near her.

Hex continues the inferno blasting to where he saw the girl last but a kick to his arm from a flying Gran Torino brings an end to the flames.

Gran Torino latches onto one of the more impressive tombstones. “You really are a glutton for punishment aren’t ya?”

“Spare me your taunts old man.” Hex swings his staff to launch another attack. 

Meanwhile, Uravity is busy pulling herself out of the pitfall. It may have been good luck that she fell into it but bad luck when it came to keeping clean.

As she finally gets her upper body up onto the grass Uravity finds a smirking Charmcaster standing just a few feet in front of her.

“That’s a good place for you.” Charmcaster cracks her whip, a whip that just so happens to be on fire with magenta colored flames.

The scowling Uravity leaps up, her hand forward trying to use Zero-Gravity on the older girl.

Charmcaster lashes out with her flaming whip, but the young heroine just keeps on running, ducking and swerving right past the flaming whip.

With her opponent so close, Charmcaster releases a plume of pixiedust producing a magenta colored smokescreen for herself.

Uravity runs right through the smokescreen but she didn’t slam into anything solid. Spinning around she watches on in surprise as the smoke clears away with no Charmcaster inside. Hastily scanning the cemetery Uravity spots said villainess booking it for the treeline!

And of course, Uravity gives chase. Running after Charmcaster just as she disappears within the dark foggy woods.

Uravity jumps in sprinting through the woods, scanning each and every direction for any sign of Charmcaster. But every twig, withered branch, and rustle of leaves throws her off distracting her and freaking her out more and more, keeping her on edge the whole entire time.

But then from afar a dull magenta light peeks out between the trees. Recognizing that hue Uravity takes off running until she finds herself at a little clearing. Looking out into the small clearing is Charmcaster who’s holding a little magenta fireball in her hand.

Uravity steps out into the clearing, her fists raised for a fight.

Charmcaster however doesn’t seem like she’s looking for a fight. She’s quiet and her posture reads of submission, she looks calm but there’s this air of fear around her.

Making Uravity very wary of her as well. “You could have gotten away if you didn’t use a light.”

Surprisingly, Charmcaster doesn’t bite back at the taunt; instead she just shamefully looks away, gripping her arm for comfort as she lets the little flame die out. “I'm…not trying to get away.” 

Alright, Uravity was not expecting that. “What are you playing at?”

“Nothing I just…want to talk.”

Uravity doesn’t reply, she just holds her ground, her fists raised in case she tries to pull anything, but after a minute Ochaco decides to let her guard down. She should at least hear the girl out before jumping straight into a battle.

Charmcaster slowly reaches for her bag and instantly Ochaco’s fits begin to glow pink.

Charmcaster pulls her hands away from the purse, showing she isn’t a threat, before she quietly reaches for the purse again. But she doesn't open it; instead she unclips the purse and let’s it fall right onto the grass.

She props the purse onto her foot before kicking it aside.

Ochaco finally puts her fists down but she’s going to keep her distance for now, just in case.

Charmcaster hugs herself, looking away nervously as she tries to work up the courage of what she has to say. “I…never meant to hurt anybody. My uncle made me do it…”

Okay that’s just sus as heck. “Why should I believe you?”

“You’ve…seen what he’s like, right? He’s cruel, unforgiving, and prone to violence not to mention power hungry.” She sighs in annoyance. “And he really can’t take no for an answer.”

“Really? Then if he’s so cruel why did he save you?” Specifically heal her.

“He didn’t do that out of the bottom of his heart or anything.” A scowl forms on her face like she knows for a fact that’s the truth and it infuriates her. “He’s just using me. He sees me as a tool that he can use to get what he wants.”

“And what does he want?”

“In a word…power.”

“Really?” She can’t be serious, can she? 

“I am, my uncle believes that those with power are the ones that have the right to force their will over others and society. To change things as he sees fit.” 

Ochaco still doesn’t like where this is going. “And by change you mean destroy?”

“Y…yeah… My uncle’s not exactly right in the head if you know what I mean.”

“I still don’t see why I should trust you though.”

“I’m just a victim in all this! And I want to set things right.” Charmcaster gets all nervous again tucking her hands away. “And I thought that if I could get to you, I might just have a chance to be rid of him.”

Ochaco can hear the truth in her voice, she really just wants to stop Hex. But what if she’s lying? What if this is all just a ploy? How can she trust this criminal…? If Ochaco can't be sure about trusting her, maybe she can at least try to get some info, at least this way she can walk away with something useful and possibly game changing.

“Before I trust you, I need to ask you some more questions.”

Charmcaster doesn’t seem that surprised. “Please…feel free.”

“Okay…” Ochaco takes a deep breath, knowing full well that what she’s about to ask could be either a catastrophe or really embarrassing for her. “Are you really using magic?!” 

Charmcaster blinks out of all the questions Ochaco could ask, she went with the one she was not prepared for. “Well in a way, yeah.”

Ochaco’s jaw drops in shock. “You can’t be serious?!”

“Well I mean not technically.”

“Huh?”

Charmcaster shakes her head. “Okay look admittedly I just like that idea of magic and I figured telling people that I use magic will just throw them off from figuring out my real Quirk.”

 _‘I’m an idiot!’_ Ochaco really should have realized that from the start, of course magic doesn’t exist! What is she an idiot?! “Wait! So what is your Quirk anyway?”

Charmcaster is a bit more hesitant, but who wouldn’t be? A Quirk is like everyone’s own secret weapon and exposing it could mean trouble for anyone who isn’t a hero. “I…guess I can tell you. My Quirk is called **Alchemy**.”

“Alchemy?”

“Yeah.” Charmcaster tries to think of a way to best explain it. “It’s kinda like your classmate’s Quirk. What was her name? Um, she’s the one with the big ponytail and the…” She briefly scans Ochaco’s figure, her eyes topping at her chest area. “more mature physic.”

Ochaco’s face turns red as she tries to cover herself out of pure shyness. “Y-you mean…Yaoyorozu?”

“Yeah, her! Alchemy works kinda the same way. It allows me to create almost anything as long as I have the right materials.” The silver-haired girl picks up a little pebble off the ground. “Here look.”

Charmcaster holds the pebble put in her open palm for Ochaco to see, she then points her finger at the pebble and a little cloud of magenta and sparkling pixiedust gushes out, veiling over the pebble. As the pebble washes away it is revealed to have been replaced or changed into a little crystal.

Charmcaster holds up the crystal. “It’s a bit more complicated but as long as I have the right chemical components, I can create any item made of the exact same material and even expand the chemical composition to make the things I create bigger. And like your friend I need to understand the composition of what I’m working with in order to turn it into something else.”

Ochaco’s mind flashbacks to all the times Charmcaster pulled stuff out of her bag during their last two battles. “Wait so the stuff you were grabbing from your bag-”

“Were ingredients.” finishes Charmcaster. “Those icicles earlier were made from capsules of water, and my flaming whip was from a ribbon laced with flammable chemicals for added measure. Heck my chain from earlier was also a ribbon laced with metal filings.”

“And those…Stone Creatures?”

“Oh, yeah, so I can make all sorts of animated objects too as long as there’s something organic mixed in. Those Stone Creatures are nothing, but clay dolls mixed with some dog fur.” \

Ochaco blinks, that explains the creatures’ dog-like behaviors and snarls. “Wow, that’s both gross and cool.” She chuckles imagining what having one as a pet would be like.

Charmcaster chuckles too. “Yeah, I know, right?”

Ochaco walks up to her as the tension fades away but just as it does, she gets serious again making sure to keep her guard up. “Okay and what about your…uncles?”

“Uncle Hex’s Quirk is called **Calamity** ; it allows him to manipulate the elements of nature to his will, but he seems to be only capable of making natural disasters.” She waves her hand nonchalantly like this isn’t that important to consider. “You know high winds, lava, tornados, thunder, that kind of stuff.”

“That sounds really nasty.”

Charmcaster’s smirk returns. “It is but he has a weakness too.”

“What is it?” Ochaco steps closer out of intrigue.

Charmcaster feels a bit more secure and steps forward as well. “His staff. He needs it to control his Quirk otherwise his own disasters will turn on him too.”

“I see, that is interesting.” Ochaco flashes Charmcaster a smile in appreciation, and the older girl is happy to return the gesture.

Ochaco frown. “Okay I have one last question for you.”

“Shoot.”

Okay here comes another question that could end terribly for her. “The Charms of the Bezel do you really think they’re magic?”

Charmcaster frowns not because she’s surprised but out of confusion. “Aren’t they?”

“I don’t know! That’s why I'm asking?!” Internally Ochaco’s actually sighs with relief. ‘ _Oh, good she doesn’t even suspect that they’re alien._ ’

Charmcaster continues, trying to explain her reasoning. “Remember when you asked about my Quirk and I said it’s sort-of magic.”

“Yeah?”

“Well aren’t all Quirks just…magic?”

“Huh?” Okay now that’s a new one.

“I mean, come on, you can manipulate gravity! And with a single punch you can take out a freaking train!”

“Well I don’t know about that…” She hasn’t tried that for one.

“But whatever the case can you scientifically explain how you can do that?! It just doesn’t add up!”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying this. Is it possible that our Quirks originated from magic?”

“W…what?”

“Think about it. Where did Quirks come from? How do they work? Why do we have them? How can they do what they do?! It’s just got to be magic.” Charmcaster holds a hand to her heart. “That’s what I chose to believe anyway.”

“But what does that have to do with the charms?”

Charmcaster continues. “Because the charms are like Quirks. My uncle read about them in some ancient texts; mysterious sorcerers who were granted powers and abilities beyond human comprehension helped to forge our earliest of societies like Egypt and stuff.”

Ochaco is actually making sense of things now. _‘Okay the sorcerers would be the aliens One-One was talking about.’_

“I believe those charms are magical and that they just might be the key to figuring out how and where Quirks came from! Perhaps sorcerers granted everyone with magic of their own. Maybe it was destiny. Whatever the case I need to know, I have to find out where they came from. So I can understand what they are and why we have them. In a way I just think that magic is my way of saying that there’s an aspect of science that we have yet to understand or discover.” A soft smile graces Charmcaster’s lips. “And if I can finally understand what they are…I might just be able to change this world.”

Ochaco is just lost for words right now! So when Charmcaster’s saying magic she just refers to technology or science greater than level three! Beyond Earth’s or human’s understanding and to the understanding of what aliens have already achieved. “That's a lot but I think I see your point.”

“Thank you.” Charmcaster gets all shy and nervous again hugging herself for support. “Look I know I caused you a lot of trouble today but in order for me to finally pursue my dream the right way we need to stop my uncle.” 

Ochaco doesn’t need any more convincing. “Alright, I choose to believe you.”

Charmcaster’s honestly surprised, delightfully so, as tears threaten to spill out. “Thank you!” She’s so grateful she leaps out and embraces Ochaco in a grateful hug.

Ochaco was definitely not expecting it, but she returns it nonetheless, glad she could provide hope to someone who’s in desperate need of it. Her heart is swelling with a sense of warmth like she can reach out to this person and save them.

Charmcaster’s hold tightens. “You really are a hero, aren’t ya?”

Ochaco blushes, her face becoming red hot in embarrassment, but she doesn’t exactly hate the compliment though.

After another moment Charmcaster finally pulls away and Ochaco is able to fan away her red face.

After her normal complexion returns, she tries to fill in her new role as this girl’s savior. “Alright, let’s get moving. Let’s get you somewhere safe and then we can figure out how to stop your uncle.”

“Thanks so much!”

Ochaco really is so proud that she can touch someone else’s heart and be able to be their hero. It’s such a great feeling to help others, it truly is.

Unfortunately all good things must come to an end and there’s no one better to ruin them than him. “Making new friends, Charmcaster?”

A flash of lightning announces Hex’s presence, as he hovers above the small greasy clearing. “You ungrateful child! How dare you betray me, your own blood!”

Charmcaster cowers away in fear she grabs her purse and holds it so tightly that her knuckles turn white.

Uravity quickly places herself between Charmcaster and her terrible uncle. “Don’t come any closer!”

Hex scowls in annoyance. “I do so despise children.”

With a flex of his fingers a telekinetic hold grips Uravity’s entire body, and with a wave of his hand she is flung aside like week-old leftovers.

Hex floats down and with a light tap of his staff onto the ground as his Calamity Quirk creates a fissure! It cracks and rumbles through the Earth before swallowing up the downed Uravity.

After witnessing her hero being eaten up by the earth itself, Charmcaster tries to make a getaway running back for the woods.

Unfortunately, Hex easily steps between her and her freedom. “It appears you require more discipline, child.”

“U-uncle H-hex please I-Ahhh!”

Hex levitates her up into the air, keeping a tight grip around her with his telekinesis.

“Put the girl down!”

Hex turns to see Gran Torino zooming in, jumping off from tree to tree with his Jet Quirk. 

Hex generates a ray of light and fires it at the fast approaching hero. Gran Torino leaps down and races forward avoiding the ray completely. But before he could land a hit, Hex swings his staff around and a rushing whirlwind repels Gran Torino away.

Meanwhile, Uravity climbs out of the pitfall. “What’s with all the pitfalls today?” She sees the immobilized Charmcaster floating in the air with a terror-stricken face. “Let her go!” With One For All powering her legs Ochaco rockets forward, reeling back her fist to deliver one powerful strike.

Hex smirks just before a bolt of lightning strikes the very ground before him, blasting Uravity away and blinding both her and her mentor.

And when they look up again, they discover that Hex has disappeared once again and this time he took his niece with him, by force.

“No!!” Ochaco wails in anguish. How could she let this happen?! She was supposed to protect and save Charmcaster, not let her get taken!

Gran Torino quickly gets to her side, his face written in worry.

“He took her! He took her!” Ochaco is just ranting, she’s just so ashamed and frustrated with herself. She failed to be a hero. There’s no arguing that.

“Woah, woah, slow down and explain.”

“Charmcaster! She’s just a victim, she's being forced to commit crimes! And Hex just took her against her will!”

“Is that so?” Gran Torino, for some reason, doesn’t seem to be all that convinced.

“Yes! We have to save her! Her uncle’s crazy, she said so herself!”

Gran Torino raises an eyebrow. “She…said so?” 

“Yes!” Why isn’t he taking this seriously?!

“You two talked then?”

“Yes!!” Ochaco’s starting to get frustrated here, they are wasting time! The longer they wait the worse Charmcaster will be in. 

Gran Torino continues with his questioning. “Kid, where’s that relic?”

“That’s not important right now!”

“Humor me.”

“Fine!” Ochaco reaches for the compartment in her utility belt. “If this will get you moving then…I…don’t…see…the…issue…” her voice trails away as shock and horror slowly creep upon her.

Because as her hand traces the compartment, she is horrified to discover that she no longer has the talisman! Charmcaster took it when they hugged! She lied to her! She tricked her! Just to get what she wanted!

“S-she…s-she…she-”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Played her like fiddle…or something like that.” Charmcaster is feeling real smug right now as she raises the Charm of probability to her uncle. “Ha, her face was just so precious she really thought she was saving me. Ha! That’s adorable.”

Hex glares down from their perch, leering down at Dathomir City below from atop the gothic church tower. “Yes, you played your part well.”

Charmcaster waves it off with a flick of her hair. “Of course I did, it was my idea.”

Hex’s stone-cold glare rages with a burning fury that instantly forces Charmcaster to shut her mouth and cower away. “Self-preservation often requires one not to stroke their ego.”

“Yes, uncle. Apologies.”

Hex turns away glaring down at the crumbling poisoned city. “Finally, I have acquired all of the Charms of Bezel!” He smiles as he places the last talisman back into position upon his garb. “Hahaha!” The charms light up the foggy sky like a beacon, as power surges through them and into their master.

Charmcaster watches on with both fear and awe as thunder clouds roll in from seemingly out of nowhere, a cold freezing wind bellows across the city, and the fog becomes thick and heavy despite the strong bone-chilling winds.

Hex waves his staff up into the air as the charms illuminate around his neck. “Hahaha! Yes! This is true POWER!!!”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Ochaco and Gran Torino duck down by the roadside as the high winds threaten to knock them off their feet and other natural disasters begin to form all across the city.

Hail the size of golf balls rain down from the sky in different parts of the city, lightning bolts strike and beat down on the buildings, and the earth shakes and rattles with tremors causing all sorts of damage and chaos.

“Come on, kid!” Gran Torino zips up into the air, he’s heading for a good vantage point to try and locate the villain responsible. 

Ochaco cries out through all the wind and chaos. “Wait! I can’t!”

Gran Torino zips his way back to her. “Why the hell not?!”

Her usual confidence is gone, now that she's without that charm she can’t help but feel like everything she’s done today has been nothing but luck. Was it her own skills getting her around or was it all luck? And without it can she even do what’s needed? “Without that charm…I…I can’t use the Gyro-Disc correctly…”

Gran Torino frowns with concern.

“It only worked because of that charm. So without it, how am I supposed to keep up? Not to mention I still can’t use that new move correctly either. Heck, she tricked me so easily. How can I even stop them both?”

Gran Torino remains silent allowing the girl the chance to vent and air her concerns and doubts.

‘ _It’s impossible. Hex has the charm now, he’s untouchable now. And just look at what he’s doing to the city! How can I possibly compete with that when I can’t even use a little piece of support gear? And there’s that energy sphere attack that I still can’t fully pull off, especially with the charm itself. So what can I do? If I use One For All way too much now and fail, there’s no Recovery Girl nearby to fix me up! I just don’t know-_ ’ 

BONK!

“Ow!!!” Ochaco whines as she holds her aching head.

Gran Torino is fuming mad even after karate chopping the girl’s head.

Tears leak out from the sides of Ochaco’s eyes as she rubs her aching skull. “What was that for?!”

In all seriousness Gran Torino replies. “I was knocking some sense into ya.”

_‘Is he trying to be funny?’_

“Listen here and listen good!” He jabs a finger right towards the cowering girl. “Who are you?!”

“What?! I’m Ochaco, Ochaco Uraraka!”

“No! I said, who are you?”

“Ocha-OW!!!”

Gran Torino just kicked her shin for some reason, that jerk! “I said who are you!”

“I’m…U…Uravity?”

Gran Torino seems to like that answer. “And who is Uravity?”

“She’s…” Who is Uravity? She’s a daughter. A friend. A student. A Plumber in training. All Might’s successor. No, there’s more to it than that, Uravity is something that this world needs. “A hero.”

Gran Torino’s face contorts to accommodate a wide toothy grin. “That’s right. And a hero doesn’t rely on fancy toys or gadgets. No, a hero relies on their own wit and skills to use what they got to get the job done.” He offers up a hand as if asking her to join him on a great adventure. “Now are you going to keep throwing around excuses or are you going to act?”

Uravity stands up unwavering against the winds, hail, and cold. “I’m going to act. I’m going to stop Hex and get back at Charmcaster for lying to me!”

“Then show me! Show me who you are!”

“I WILL!!!” Uravity activates her Zero-Gravity on herself.

The Gyro-Disc activates humming ferociously before Uravity kicks herself off the ground with a One For All charged jump, rocketing herself into the air.

The grinning Gran Torino soon follows bouncing off one building to another.

Uravity begins to lose speed and her flight’s a bit shaky as she hits turbulence. She struggles to avoid the low hanging branches and tall light posts but the moment she makes it over the canopy she finally seems to get it down.

And it’s absolutely amazing! The high winds propel her from behind making her flight smooth and speedy, and with her newfound control she can only find the experience both exhilarating and liberating. She just feels so free like she can roam the entire planet like it’s her domain without any restriction.

“Welcome to a higher plane of existence, kid.”

Uravity looks over and sees Gran Torino jumping up to greet her. “How’s the view?”

“Amazing.” Uravity chuckles as Gran Torino falls back down but with a quick burst of his Jet Quirk, he quickly rejoins her in the plane above.

Uravity scans the horizon and there not too far off, atop of a large church tower, there’s a familiar glow like that of the Charms!

A smirk plays her lips. “Really amazing.” Uravity points over towards the tower.

Gran Torino looks over and spots the church tower. “How bout a race?”

“If you think you can keep up, old man.” Uravity leans to the side and the Gyro-Disc does its job flying her away and towards the church.

“Haha! Dang kid’s got some spirit!” And so with a quick readjustment Gran Torino zips after her.

From atop of the large church tower Charmcaster spots the pink and yellow dots heading their way. “Tch, those two are so annoying!”

Hex takes notice of them too. “Fear not for they are racing towards their own demise!”

Hex swings his staff forward and the thunderclouds above the church swirl together becoming a funnel that eventual spirals down and lands upon the ground.

Uravity gasps in terror. “A tornado?!”

Sure enough, a tornado rages towards them, blocking their path.

Despite the imminent danger Gran Torino smirks. “Scared, are we?”

“No.” Uravity gives the old man a nervous grin. “It’s just a light breeze.”

“Haha!”

Uravity and Gran Torino race forward swerving and evading flying debris of trees, branches, trash cans, and rubble.

Gran Torino uses the flying debris as platforms, ricocheting off of them to climb higher and higher into the air and moving even faster than Uravity even against the raging winds. At this rate they’ll be past the tornado without any issues or delays.

“Impossible!” Hex thrusts his hand forward and from the sky a lightning bolt fires down.

Gran Torino jumps up and Uravity grabs his wrists, locking their arms, and she carries them away from the bolt just in the nick of time. “Gran Torino!”

“Huh?”

“The staff, get his staff!”

“What are you-?”

Before he could finish Uravity swings him around and throws him right towards the psycho with all her might.

With a boost from Jet Gran Torino flies through the air like a bullet and like a bullet he’s heading straight for one target.

Hex hands flex open and flame begins to swirl in his hand. But from the corner of his eye he spots Uravity swinging around and tossing a dumpster right at him.

Quickly he blasts the dumpster away giving Gran Torino the opening he needed to kick the staff out of Hex’s hand and off the tower.

“NO!!!” Hex roars out as he reaches for his fallen support item. 

Gran Torino also falls away back to the ground without anything to intercept his path. “Go for it, Uravity!!”

Uravity throws her hands forward and focuses allowing One For All’s excess power to form around her palms. “One For All: Ryou Spheres!”

With a mighty throw she launches the Ryou Spheres right at Hex who can do nothing but watch on in horror as the sphere explodes in his face. A massive explosion of pink energy blasts into Hex, destroying part of the tall tower, kicking up debris and smoke.

But it’s done. The Calamities all fade away into nothing as Hex collapses onto the broken tower’s floor.

Gran Torino looks up from the street below as the sky begins to clear up and the tornado phases out.

Uravity, meanwhile, is floating up in the air, exhausted and spent after that finishing attack. All the while a dopey-smug grin plays on her lips. “Like I said earlier, you’re no match for Uravity.”

Back on the tower, a tattered and beaten Hex groans as he struggles to prop himself off the ground. Without his staff he can’t bother to use his Calamity otherwise his own disasters will backfire and harm him as well. All he has are his Charms of Bezel but first he needs a bit of assistance in removing that pest of a child.

A step of a boot echoes behind him, turning around he spots a silent Charmcaster staring down at him.

“Charmcaster I require your assistance.”

Her eyebrow furrow, glaring at him in silent thought.

Hex doesn’t like that look at all. “What’s the matter with you? I am giving you an order. Obey me!”

Her glare hardens, reeking in danger.

Hex nearly falls back over as he fails to prop himself back up. “You no good, undeserving, child. Answer me!!”

A thin ribbon slowly drapes down from her hand followed by a light puff of pixiedust. And like that a flaming whip forms in her hand.

Hex nervously cowers away shaking in fear. “Charmcaster…? …Caroline?”

And that was the last straw. “Yahh!!”

“Rahhh!!” Hex cries out in pain as a bloody gash cuts through his chest and the Charms of Bezel are ripped away from his possession.

He groans as he collapses onto the ground, clawing his hand out at his niece as a weak attempt to strangle her, before he passes out from the blood loss and pain.

Charmcaster’s eyes are glossed over as she glares down at his still unconscious form. “Sorry, uncle. But I’m taking over from here on out.” She grabs the charms and places them around herself like a bandolier before turning her attention to the city.

She steps off the crumbling tower, but she doesn’t fall instead she remains standing in midair as if there’s an invisible platform supporting her. She lifts her hands up at her sides and huge fumes of pixiedust pour out like a fog. With the combined power of the charms, lightning discharges and rages from her palms, the lightning mixes with her Alchemy Quirk turning the lightning a magenta color.

Rays of lightning strike down at the city, electrocuting buildings, roads, trees, and cars. But instead of frying the targets they all transform. Gothic and crumble buildings become warped and brightly colored like bad modern art pieces. Cars become mechanical monsters that resemble Charmcaster’s own Stone Creatures. Light posts become twisted and discolored. And even the trees become alive looking, with vibrant colors and spirals. All the while the citizens of the city panic and do their best to avoid the magenta lightning bolts.

“I will rewrite this entire city!!” The lightning rages on even more as the Charms of Bezel power and fuel Charmcaster’s Alchemy.

The descending Uravity blinks in confusion of terror everything’s happening so fast. One second she was bathing in the glow of her win and then the next she sees is Charmcaster forcing her will upon the city!

She quickly flies back up, hovering across from the sorceress. “Charmcaster!”

Charmcaster turns ever so slightly smirking at the young heroine. “Aw, cute. You here to stop me?” Her voice is dripping with venomous sarcasm.

Uravity frowns. “What are you doing? Why’d you take the charm? What happened to being an innocent victim?!”

“Yeah… He.” Charmcaster fails to hold back a snicker.” I still can’t believe you fell for all that. But if it makes you feel better, it wasn’t all a lie.”

“What?”

“I did mean it when I said I needed you to take down my dear uncle.” She peers over at her uncle's still form. “He was in the way and after I saw what you could do, I knew you could bring him down.”

Uravity is in total shock here, just how could a family betray each other so easily? She can’t even process what a family like that must be like. “But what about pursuing your dreams?”

“That’s what I’m doing. I’m still going to discover the source of all Quirks. But why not start changing the world now?” ” Charmcaster aims her glowing palm at the heroine. “And maybe I can start with you.”

Uravity doesn’t react, she has to try at least one more time to reach her. Maybe she can still save her. “Are you sure…? Is this really how you want it to play out?”

Magenta flames poof to life within the silver-haired sorceress’ hands.

Uravity regrettably has to accept the reality of the situation. “Have it your way. Just remember I gave you a chance to back out.”

“Noted but not needed.”

Uravity aims her hands forward. “Ryou Sphere!” She throws a pair of small pink-energy spheres at her opponent.

A field of lightning surrounds Charmcaster acting as a barricade between her and the Ryou Spheres that burst against the electrical field.

Charmcaster grabs some ingredients and whirls her hands together combining the magenta flames with her Alchemy Quirk forcing the flames to burst forth like a geyser. The flames roar and hiss spiraling and crashing into themselves as they take shape. Soon a serpentine dragon made entirely of magenta flames roars to life.

The flaming dragon screeches as it snakes towards Uravity.

Uravity deactivates Zero-Gravity allowing herself to freefall and allow the dragon to fly right past her, even so she can almost feel her eyebrows singing away under the intense heat of the dragon’s fiery body.

The animated flames circle around the broken tower, bearing its fire lashing fangs.

After reactivating Zero-Gravity, Uravity’s palm lights up with a Ryou Sphere. “Rahh!!” The pink ball of energy rockets forward and blasts against the flame dragon’s maw causing a massive explosion that blasts Uravity away. 

She goes spinning out of control, but she quickly regains her balance. But she has no time to rest as Charmcaster bats her against the side of the tower with a levitated tree.

“Ow…” Uravity tries to push the tree away but Charmcaster has her pinned between the thick branches and the crumbling tower.

Charmcaster hovers down, standing before her opponent with a cocky smirk. “You know I wouldn’t have this power without you.”

Uravity gives her a response in the form of a nasty scowl.

“So I’ll tell you what. Surrender now and I’ll let you live. You could be my servant and if you behave, I’d bet you’d make a great bodyguard.”

“No thanks, I don’t like taking orders from witches.”

Charmcaster clearly didn’t like that. “I’m. A. Sorceress!!”

“No, you’re just a little girl playing a fantasy.”

“Shut up!!” Lightning and flames spark in her hands before she swings her hands forward.

“I’ve got ya!” From out of nowhere Gran Torino zooms in and snatches Uravity out of the way.

“Gran Torino!”

Gran Torino kicks off the side of the church and down to the street. “Sheesh, kid I leave you alone for a second and you somehow make things worse.”

“I’m handling it!”

He lets her go and she rolls across the ground before hoping to her feet as Gran Torino lands down on a nearby car, denting the hood.

Charmcaster is furious as she glares down at the defiant heroes. She may be powerful but those two are becoming too much. No they’ve been too much from the start. But that’s all about to change.

The silver-haired sorceress holds her hands out at her sides and she closes her eyes.

Some unseeable force begins to lift objects off the ground, no a telekinetic force is ripping things out of the ground. Streams of dirt and concrete flow upward, light poles bend and snap away from their posts, glass cracks and breaks away from windows flowing up into the air like a river, several trees are pried out of the ground, their roots tearing apart against the strong pull.

They all swirl and circle around Charmcaster who releases a massive cloud of sparkling pixiedust, swallowing up herself and the swirling mass of debris.

As the cloud clears away a massive creature smashes down onto street screeching and raising its limbs and fangs up in a display of terror. “Skrrrreeeee!!”

A giant Stone Spider-like creature bares its fangs at the heroes. The giant spider’s body is mostly made of stone and clay with magenta-hued runes. Its legs are long and thin made up of bending and twisting light posts, its abdomen is veined and twisted with the branches and roots of trees, and its fangs shine-made of sharp shattered glass, as its purple beady eyes light up. And fused to its upper half is Charmcaster, her lower half melded into the creature’s stone body.

“Skrrrreeeee!!”

Gran Torino looks over at Uravity. “You still got this handled?”

She gulps. “No…”

Charmcaster bares a maniacal grin as she swings her hand forward, in response the Stone Spider swings its thin leg out like a giant lance.

Both of the heroes leap back in time for the leg to impale the concrete. Gran Torino zips up the leg, bouncing off of it and slamming his boot against the side of the creature’s head.

“Skrrrreeeee!!” The Stone Spider hisses and lashes out but Gran Torino manages to use Jet to jump away.

While Gran Torino draws Charmcaster’s attention from the front, Uravity is sprinting around the back, her hand glowing with a Ryou Sphere.

Charmcaster, however, spots her from her vantage point. She thrusts her hand back and a barrage of lightning bolts snake through the air towards the heroine.

Acting on impulse Uravity fires her Ryou Sphere which breaks apart the lightning bolts in a blast of electricity.

As smoke rises from the blast, a magenta fireball flies through the smoke cloud and slams into Uravity, knocking her backwards.

“Hahaha!” Charmcaster fires more fireballs as she turns around. “Come on! I wanna see that fighting spirit of yours!” She throws another fireball at Uravity who’s forced to take cover behind a fallen semi-truck. “Where’s that reckless abandon from the Sports Festival!” She tosses another and another. “Am I not worth the effort?”

Uravity tucks herself back away from the flaring heat of the fireballs. “Believe me I’m considering it.”

The ground rumbles as the Stone Spider stomps forward, and on instinct Uravity leaps away just as a pair of long spider legs slam down on the semi-truck smashing it and denting it on impact. If she didn’t move her skull definitely would have been smashed in.

Even though she missed, Charmcaster laughs at Uravity’s helplessness. “Haha! What’s the matter Little Girl can’t play with the big kids?”

Gran Torino jumps and kicks off the side of the church. “I have you now!”

Charmcaster fires a barrage of light rays that move like arrows as they fly at the hero.

Gran Torino manages to swerve and twist his body avoiding the light rays but with a quick swing from the Stone Spider bats him away.

Uravity watches on from the side of the church, scowling in frustration. ‘ _She’s not giving us any openings._ ’

She needs an opening; she needs to lower Charmcaster’s guard. Maybe if she can throw Charmcaster off somehow, she might be able to turn this all around. “Hey, Charmcaster!”

Charmcaster spins around at the call of her name.

Uravity stands out in the open making sure Charmcaster’s attention is all on her. _‘I got to make her mad.’_ Maybe then Charmcaster will lower her guard.

“I got something to show you!”

Charmcaster raises an eyebrow in confusion.

“Does this make me a magical girl, too!?!” Uravity spins around on one leg, before skipping to a stop, and winking cutely as she throws up a V sign. “Magical Girl Uravity is here!” She forms a heart with her hands. “And she’s here to save the day!”

Charmcaster…is at a loss for words. “W…what?”

Uravity smirks, she spins around all cutesy like but as she spins back around she fires off a well-timed Ryou Sphere.

It appears her distraction worked because the Ryou Sphere blows up right into Charmcaster’s face.

As the blast goes off Zero-Gravity takes hold of the Stone Spider lifting it up into the air.

Charmcaster’s face scrunches up in a nasty scowl as she swings her hands forward producing flames and pixiedust. “Rahhh!!”

It looks like Uravity’s ploy worked because Charmcaster’s steaming mad and when one is prone to anger they are more likely to make mistakes.

Another serpentine dragon of flames bursts to life roaring and screeching in anger and anguish as it swirls in the air towards its prey.

Uravity doesn’t run away or even flinch she does run though, right towards the flaming beast. She uses Zero-Gravity on herself and kicks off the ground with a One For All boosted jump before allowing the Gyro-Disc to propel her forward.

With this speed and power she takes a page out of Bakugou’s book and she twists her body before spinning around like a twister. Her fists glow with One For All giving her spin a pink illuminated ring around it as she spins faster and faster.

The flaming dragon opens its massive maw ready to swallow up its victim.

Uravity’s twisting body rockets forward, generating a whirlwind around her. “Saturn Smash!”

Her Saturn Smash drills right through the dragon blowing it apart with sheer force.

Charmcaster gasps in horror. “No way!!”

Uravity’s Saturn Smash rockets right for her.

Charmcaster lashes out and the Stone Spider thrusts its legs forward, but they’re repealed and smashed away by Uravity’s high velocity spin.

Charmcaster screams as Uravity’s Saturn Smash crashes right into the Stone Spider and her, blasting the creature apart in a thundering boom. Rubble flies everywhere, glass clatters to the ground, and metal clangs against the pavement. And Charmcaster is sent flying into the air, she crashes down onto the church’s weedy lawn before her back slams against the side of the church. And judging from that hit she isn’t going to be getting anywhere quickly

Uravity collapses to her knees in exhaustion, her knuckles are red from deflecting the Stone Spider’s legs and her head’s still spinning even though her Saturn Smash is over.

With a shaky breath she spots all of the Charms of Bezel lying on the ground not too far away.

Uravity shakily wobbles her way to them, when she reaches them, she grips them between her hands before looking up to Charmcaster and back to the Charms, coming to a final decision.

Charmcaster forces her eyes open and just in time to witness the fate of her precious treasures.

Uravity places her fingers against the Charms making them weightless.

‘ _It’s like Thirteen said humans aren’t ready for this technology._ ’

She then reels her hand back like a pitcher, and her hand glows with the strength of One For All.

Charmcaster’s eyes widen with absolute horror and devastation as she realizes what Uravity’s about to do.

With all the strength she can muster Uravity throws the Charms of Bezel up towards the never-ending sky. The Charms rocket through the air, flying higher, and higher, and higher until they become nothing but a spec. Soon after they disappear completely flying up into the endless void that is space.

It’s finally over.

Charmcaster has to bite her tongue from screaming out. “Curse you…Uravity.” 

She can hear the police sirens in the distance and knowing full well how cruel the police system can be, the defeated sorceress unleashes a veil of pixiedust, before sneaking away in the smoke screen. And just in time as Gran Torino zooms through the smokescreen only to find nothing at all.

Meanwhile, Ochaco is grinning up at the clear sky, hued orange from the setting sun, happy she could return the charms back to the galaxy. Sure she was supposed to try and get them back to One-One but in all honesty, this was for the best. She doesn’t need the charms and keeping them around will only temp others to come after them. This was for the best.

Gran Torino approaches her from the side, and he only has one question. “Why’d you do that?”

Ochaco doesn’t even look his way, keeping her eyes trailed on the spot she last saw the talismans. “I thought it was for the best.”

Gran Torino sighs, not appreciating Ochaco’s cryptic response. “You know what? If anything that just puts this all to rest. I’ll put my faith in you on this one.”

“Thanks.”

Gran Torino flashes the girl a smile. “You did good by the way.”

“Did I?” Ochaco’s mood falls away again. “I was played…”

“Yeah, but now you're that much wiser for it. Learn from your mistakes kid, failure is often a great teacher even better than me.”

That makes Ochaco chuckle a bit, but he’s right. She learned so much today and accomplished so much after her failures. So she can definitely say she walked away today stronger, smarter, and more experienced.

The sigh of an unconscious Hex being hauled away on a stretcher draws their attention.

Ochaco frowns worriedly at the sight of the nasty gash across the villain’s chest. “Do you think we’ll ever find her again?”

Gran Torino shrugs his shoulder. “Who knows? Nothing’s for certain. But if she is out there hopefully, she’s rethinking her life choices.”

“Yeah, I hope so.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

A purple high heeled boot slams against a trash can. “Curse you…Uravity.” Charmcaster tosses a fireball against the wall leaving a massive scorch mark against the crumbling bricks. “I had it all! The power! The city! Everything!”

“Guess it didn’t work out like you planned.”

Charmcaster scowls at the unwanted interruption.

The interruption comes in the form of a man of moderate height and build with parted grey hair, and a gaunt purple suit, and a light cigarette between his teeth. “Oh my, where’s that fashionable uncle of yours? Is he not joining us?”

Charmcaster humphs in annoyance. “No, he’s not.” She throws a suspicious glare over at the man. “But what are you doing here, Giran?”

Giran chuckles. “Why do you sound so suspicious? I was the one who told you about your little trinket.”

Charmcaster snaps. “But I don’t have it do I?!”

The smirking Giran throws his hands up in defense. “Hey that’s on you sweetie, I did my part.”

The scowling Charmcaster whips her head away in frustration.

“So, what’s the plan?”

The sorceress rolls her eyes. “Getting out of the city obviously.”

“And then what?”

“Does it matter?”

Giran takes a huff of his smoke, finishing it off before reaching for another one from his pocket. “What about that gravity girl? She really kicked your ass huh?”

Alright, Charmcaster’s had enough. “Okay, what’s with all the questions?! You’re after something aren’t you?”

“Haha! Can’t hide anything from you, but yeah I’m sort of working for another client of mine.” He lights the new cigarette. “They’re looking for some new members and I think you’d be a great fit.”

“And why is that?”

“Because if I’m right you can get back at the gravity girl tenfold.” He inhales the smoke.

Charmcaster looks down towards the ground where a little bug is scurrying across the pavement. She steps forward and with no effort crushes the innocent thing under her boot. “Alright, Giran. I’ll hear you out.”

Smoke leaks out between Giran’s teeth as his wide grin signifies his elation.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Now I get it. You must be the ones who attacked U.A.” The bloodthirst predator scans the little bar and its patrons. And from what he sees he’s not that all impressed or intimidated.

Tomura Shigaraki is casually propped up by the bar while the bartender, Kurogiri, stands nearby, there’s also the monstrous Nue hunched over in the corner listening in, and in the back a little screen is lit up but only things displayed are the words SOUND ONLY.

The predator is not impressed. “And you wanna recruit me to build up your little group again.”

The predator is an intimidating, muscular man who walks with a distinct hunch, and has a flat, somewhat-triangular face without a nose. He has rather long, black hair, which he wears in a messy fashion; it would drape over his face if not for his headband and mask, and small red eyes with tiny irises.

He sports a dark combat suit, plated with metal armor across his body to holster his weapons, and a tattered blood-red scarf. The torso is sleeveless, so he instead wraps his arms in yellow bandages, all the way from just below his shoulders to his wrists. He also wears long black wristbands and a watch on his left arm, and his knees are protected with metal pads, the costume completed by black boots with steel armor.

“Yeah.” replies Shigaraki, his voice dry and bored like this meeting is nothing but a formality. “It’ll be great, you’ve got so much experience.”

Well that’s why Shigaraki wants him, but why should he join Shigaraki? “And what’s your mission?”

“For now? I really just wanna kill All Might.” The leader of the league snickers at the thought. “I like to destroy anything that pisses me off.”

Shigaraki flashes a pair of photos taken during U.A.’s Sports Festival. One is a photo of a girl with brown hair and pink cheeks running through the finish line with a little grey frog on her shoulder. And the other is of a green-haired boy with a freckled face standing atop a podium wearing a silver medal.

“Like these little brats here.” Shigaraki’s red eye glares through the hand adorned on his face. “Game over.”

Nue lets out a deep growl, baring his sharp jagged fangs in agreement.

The predator glares back, this was a waste of his time. “I was a fool to think you could offer me anything. It turns out, you’re the type of person I hate most in this world.”

“Hm?” Shigaraki wasn’t expecting such a cold response.

Even Kurogiri and Nue look a bit put off. 

“The goals of your league are those of a child.” The predator reaches for his blades located below his arms, gripping the hilts tightly. “What meaning is there to killing if you don’t have real convictions?”

Kurogiri watches on, he can sense the malice and danger emitting from this man. ‘ _The Hero Killer Stain. Tomura Shigaraki cares only about wanton violence, so we brought this man in to guide him._ ’

The Hero Killer Stain unsheathes his blades, drawing them forward. 

‘ _Perhaps we made a mistake_.’ Kurogiri addresses the screen. “Sensei. Should I step in?”

A deep cryptic voice softly responds. “ ** _Let it happen._** **_It’s possible this is the only way he’ll learn anything._** ”

Shigaraki’s fingers twitch in anger. 

“ ** _He needs to think about the ways he must grow._** ”

Stain stands at the ready with serrated blades up and ready to spill blood. 

“ ** _How he can mature. Only then will he reach his potential._** ”

Nue is up on his feet, hunched over and snarling like a beast waiting for any excuse to tear through anything made of flesh.

All the while the two photos are left forgotten on the floor where they’ll no doubt be trampled and bloodied before the end of the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that was Ch.33, what’d you all think? Was it good? Was it bad? Was it magical? Was it confusing? And hey this is the first real chapter where Izuku didn’t make a single appearance, huh weird, right? I also feel like I introduced a lot here: Gyro-Disc, Ryou Spheres, Saturn Smash, Hex and Charmcaster, and Stain! Wow!! But it’ll all be worth it in the long run for sure. And now we get to see how all of this gets to play out next time so stay tuned.
> 
> *The Gyro-Disc, if you can’t recall, Ochaco asked Mei Hatsume about back in “Ch.19 Prepare Yourselves.” Ochaco asked her for support gear that can help her fly without exerting herself and the Gyro-Disc is what we got. And yeah, it’s been a while since then, but the Sports Festival took place between then and now and that Arc was way longer than I thought it would be. But I think it was well worth it.
> 
> *So just to be clear there is NO MAGIC in this universe. Sure Clockwork and Alien X can do crazy things but I’m not calling it magic. Magic, I feel is a deep rabbit hole that I can’t afford to delve into for this story otherwise it will only derail the story so it will not be included. This also means that Anodites or Mana users aren’t a thing either. Sorry but Ochaco is the parallel to Gwen with One For All and Zero-Gravity mixing to act as mana. But you never know I may make a work around to get Anodites in here somehow or someday.
> 
> *Speaking of magic, how were Hex and Charmcaster? It took me a while to come up with Quirks that I could disguise as magical but still make them seem like real Quirks. And I think I did well with them. Just to be clear Hex’s Quirk is called Calamity and it allows him to generate natural disasters.
> 
> *Charmcaster’s Quirk is called Alchemy which allows her to create anything she wants as long as she has the right chemical compositions, and when mixed with living materials she can create animated objects too.
> 
> *Also only a few people pointed it out, but these original cities are named and based off two planets from the Star Wars universe. Geonosis City is the planet “Geonosis” from Attack of the Clones where the planet is inhabited by bug-aliens and where the “Separatists” keep their droid factories. And in this chapter, I used “Dathomir,” a planet in “Star Wars the Clone Wars” series where witches known as the “Night Sisters” live. And it’s the planet “Darth Maul” originated from. Which Hex shares a similar color pallet with. Kudos to those that got the references right away.


	35. Nightfall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our heroes arrive at Hosu but as night approaches so does death and tragedy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo!!! That’s right! I was able to update within a week since last time!! Amazing, right?! I didn’t think I’d actually get this one out so soon, but here we are. Anyway I hope you're ready because here we go!

The sky has started to turn yellow, the sun is just beginning to set, its dimming glow illuminating down on U.A.. The school’s campus is void of students and not just of the hero course but from support to general studies are all gone for the day, classes having ended long ago. Even the teachers have taken their leave for the day.

Well except for one that is and his unexpected guest. 

Said guest takes a seat across from the teacher within the confines of the Teacher’s Lounge. “I’m sorry to show up unexpectedly. Hope you don’t mind.”

Yagi Toshinori, as the proper host that he is, places a cup of hot tea down on the coffee table before his guest. “Please, it’s always a pleasure to see you, Tsukauchi.”

The detective, Naomasa Tsukauchi, smiles and nods in appreciation. Even through the warm smile, Toshinori can tell this man’s been working many long hours.

Toshinori takes a seat on the couch across from Tsukauchi. “So, how’s the investigation?”

Tsukauchi raises an eyebrow. “Which one?”

Toshinori glares, unamused. 

Tsukauchi sighs, knowing which one the hero’s talking about. “Well, there were a number of villains who attacked the USJ. But we’re puzzled by one. The one they called ‘Nomu’.”

Toshinori thinks back to that black and muscular monster that was hauled away by the police in restraints. If Toshinori remembers correctly that monster really was something with his brain exposed, a beak, and was a weird hybrid of a monster and a crab.

“Ah, that strong-looking crab guy.”

Tsukauchi confirms it with a nod. “We went ahead and ran some tests on Nomu’s DNA.”

“And what exactly did you find?”

Tsukauchi’s eyes soften, trailing down as his voice takes a more serious tone. “First: we’re not asking you to help us with the case. Technically, this is a leak.” His eyes lock onto Toshinori’s. “I just felt I owed it to you to let you know. It could lead us to the one in charge.”

Toshinori gasps in surprise. Is this it? Can they finally reach an answer?

Tsukauchi goes on to explain in full. “After several attempts at interrogation, we realized that Nomu can’t speak. He shows no reaction to anything. It’s as though he literally can’t think for himself. No matter what’s going on around him.” Tsukauchi pushes a mugshot of a fat lipped man with blonde hair across the coffee table. “As for his identity: we discover that he used to be a low-level thug with a record of assault and extortion.”

Toshinori cups his chin in thought. Sure this is good; they got an identity on Nomu, but a low-level thug is far from a mastermind. “Why do you think this’ll lead us to the mastermind behind the League?”

“Here’s where it gets interesting. Our reports show that he’s been altered drastically. When we analyzed his genetic makeup, we discovered four different people’s DNA.” Tsukauchi’s eyes drift away for a moment. “And some strands of mutated animal DNA, and I’m willing to bet you can guess what it was.”

Yeah, a crab. “Someone combined quite a bit of DNA to make this guy. So is he even human anymore?”

“The transformation is a result of drugs and other unknown methods. The animal DNA we actually have an explanation for: Dr. Animo.”

Toshinori’s face scrunches up as he tries to recall the name. “That sounds familiar.”

“It should nearly a year ago, you arrested him. He led an army of mutated animals to attack a mall.”

“Ohhhh!” That’s right Toshinori remembers that quake now, he was quite the character. ‘ _Actually, wasn’t that also the first time I met Young Uraraka…and I guess my second time meeting Young Midoriya…?_ ’ 

Now that they’re on the same page, the detective continues. “Dr. Animo’s Quirk allows him to genetically modify and mutate animals, which also explains the other…creatures we found during the USJ.” Specifically the giant monster koi fish, rabid mutant hamsters, and the grossly-fiendish snakes.

“So do you think this Dr. Animo is the mastermind.”

The detective shakes his head. “No, far from it. The drugs combined human DNA, and other methods don’t fit with Dr. Animo’s MO or knowhow. If anything…there’s someone else working those ends.”

‘ _Another doctor perhaps?_ ’ So, Nomu is just a product of some mad science. And if it wasn’t Dr. Animo then there might just be someone else with the knowhow. “And what exactly has this…other doctor done to this man?”

They both peer down at the photo of what used to be a normally average man, before Tsukauchi replies. “To oversimplify a bit, he’s been modified so that his body is able to hold multiple Quirks at once. His brain’s apparent lack of processing power probably comes from the burden that causes. But we’re more concerned about his DNA.”

Toshinori eyes him, silently asking him to continue.

“He shouldn’t have more than one power. Even if new DNA’s introduced, that shouldn’t give a person multiple powers. Not unless it’s completely integrated into someone’s body.” He speaks clearly and with meaning, making sure the hero fully understands what he’s trying to explain. “Not all Quirks work like One For All. But maybe…”

Toshinori’s eyes slowly widen, his pupils shake, as a horrible truth, he rather deny, is told.

“…there’s someone out there with the power to pass different Quirks on to other people.”

Toshinori gasps in horror, jumping out from his seat. “It can’t be!”

But it can. “Given the evidence, I think it’s a reasonable conclusion. S’why I came. I had to let you know immediately.”

The weakened Number One Hero needs a minute, walking over towards the large windows gazing down upon the city as the setting sun’s light signals that soon night will take its hold over Japan.

‘ _It can’t… It can’t…_ ’ That man can’t be alive… He saw to it himself! But…if he is still alive then what is he up to? And if Nomu was created then…are there more of him…them? 

Toshinori internally gasps. ‘ _No… Did he…? Is Young Midoriya…a Nomu?_ ’ Did he get his cruel hands on the boy, on young Midoriya?! That would explain One Man Army. It’s like Tsukauchi said: Nomu was “designed” to hold more than…one power. 

“No. It’s not **POSSIBLE**.” Toshinori’s entire body shakes with anger, his fists clenching together, as he slowly takes on his more powerful form.

But like at the U.S.J. All Might isn’t smiling. “Don’t tell me he’s back again.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

The sun has fallen even further upon the horizon and shadows have begun to stretch across the city as the bustle and hustle die down for the day.

But there is one section of the city where the shadows have completely consumed the city, where rats hide, crimes are committed and where…blood is spilled.

“So you want me to be part of your crumbling little league. But you won’t accomplish anything if you don’t have conviction and desire.” The disgust is Stain’s voice is palpable, as he addresses the villain. “Without those, you’ll always be an aimless weakling. Achieving nothing.” Stain remains crouched forward, his beaten serrated blades held tight in his grip. “That’s how you got here.”

Stain has Tomura Shigaraki pinned down, laying on his back, as one of Stain’s blades digs into his shoulder, and a second blade stationed beside his neck ready to slice through it at any moment.

Shigaraki’s breathing heavily from the pain but even with a blade impaling him he’s surprisingly calm even sounding a bit bored by it. “Hey, now. You’re being a little rough, aren’t you?” Shigaraki directs his attention up to the bar. “Kurogiri, take this guy back.”

Kurogiri is struggling to move, for some reason his body’s refusing to move an inch from its spot, but the only indication of anything wrong is the bleeding gash on his arm. “I’m sorry. I can’t move. It must be the Hero Killer’s Quirk at work.”

Alright that’s a bust, Shigaraki peers over to the other end of the bar. “And what’s your excuse, Nue?”

Nue didn’t even lash out at the murderer when he attacked Shigaraki. He just stood there watching as Stain took Shigaraki down in one second flat.

Nue gives his supposed leader a jagged-toothed grin. “Ha! What me?!” Nue leans back against the brick wall, folding his two pairs of arms together in defiance. “You heard the TV, you gotta figure this one out all on your own. Besides I love watching people get their asses handed to them.”

Shigaraki lets out an annoyed wheeze before he turns his attention back on the one currently stabbing him. 

Stain holds his grip over the villain, his blades digging further into the villain’s flesh. “The Word ‘hero’ has lost all meaning in this society. The world is overrun by fakes and criminals like you who chase petty dreams.” His eyes flare red with finality. “They must all be purged.”

Nue’s smile fades away, even he has to admit that the Hero Killer has a somewhat interesting point.

Stain slowly aims the teeth of his blade towards the disturbing severed hand Shigaraki’s been using as a mask.

Without hesitation Shigaraki grabs the knife by its blade, the teeth cutting into his palm, but even with death looming over him he dares to defy it, speaking with a burning rage. “What do you think you’re doing? If you touch this hand…” The blade cracks under the death grip of his fingers. “…I’ll kill you.”

Stain is…perplexed by the sudden resolve. 

Shigaraki’s grip tightens, breaking the blade more as it begins to decay away. “You sure talk a lot, ‘Hero Killer.’” The blade has now turned into a brown color as rust takes hold over it. “Conviction? Maybe I don’t have anything as loaded as that.” With one last grip the blade crumbles away like sand. “If I had to choose a desire, though…” Shigaraki’s eyes briefly peer over to the slashed poster of the Symbol of Peace hanging from the wall. “Yeah, it’d be killing All Might.”

A deranged grin appears across Shigaraki’s face as he proclaims his plans for this world. “If this world wants to worship trash like him, I’ll destroy their beloved Symbol of Peace, and then crush them while they’re in shock!”

Stain is both disgusted and amazed by the absolute resolve, bloodlust, and desire the villain is displaying before him.

Shigaraki lashes his open palm out, willing to kill the Hero Killer himself.

But Stain leaps away his blade drawn back to retaliate.

Shigaraki rises off the floor, his shoulder aching with pain. “Damn, that injury really did some damage there.” Blood drips down his arm from the open gash on his shoulder, but right now the burning itch of irritation is a far greater nuisance as he scratches away at his own flesh. “You should learn not to play with knives. We don’t have a healer in our party, you know.”

Stain lowers his blade ever so slightly. “I see your nature.”

Shigaraki…surprised. He just tried to kill the guy, yet he wants to have a conversation.

“It seems our goals fundamentally oppose each other.” Despite that Stain is grinning. “However, this wasn’t in vain. We agree that we need to destroy the present.”

Shigaraki wobbles backwards whether it’s from pain or confusion is unclear. “I’m over this. Leave drop dead. I’m the kind of person you hate most, right?”

Stain sheathes his knife, displaying his lack of interest for combat. “I was testing your motives. People always show their true colors when on the verge of death.” He eyes Shigaraki warily, with the intrigue of a scientist observing the odd behaviors of an animal. “It’s abnormal, but there is desire, a warped sprout of conviction, inside of you. How will it bloom in the end, I wonder?” The Hero Killer raises his arms out as if in awe of that potential before him. “Maybe I’ll let you grow. If you don’t turn out well, I’ll take care of you later.”

Alright, Shigaraki’s way past annoyed by this point. “You think you could get rid of me?”

Meanwhile, Kurogiri is finally able to move, his body relaxing as whatever spell held him has finally broken away. “I’m free.”

Shigaraki, without taking his eyes off the predator, addresses his subordinate. “Kurogiri. Someone as crazy as this would be nothing but a problem for the League of Villains.”

Kurogiri respectfully disagrees. “Please reconsider. This man will be a great asset if he joins us.”

Nue, who’s been quietly watching from the side, snickers. “Yeah, at the very least it’ll be entertaining.” His horrid maw turns into a fanged smirk. “And badass.”

Kurogiri sends him an annoyed glare before continuing. “I’d say this was a success.”

Stain, however, disagrees. “My business here is done. Now, you will return me to Hosu.” His abnormally long tongue dances slides across his lips, his eyes dilated glowing red with bloodlust. “There are still several false heroes I must attend to there.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

At the same time, within Hosu City itself a duo of heroes have returned to their agency for a quick break before heading back out again.

The pro hero, Manual, pulls off his helmet, sighing in relief of letting his hazel hair free from its confines. He smiles over at Tenya Iida, his intern, as he too takes his own helmet off. “Well, the nice thing about the whole city on alert is that no villains will dare come out.” Manual walks off deciding to go grab a quick bite to eat, leaving the young man alone with his thoughts. 

“Oh, yeah, sure.” Iida takes off his glasses, setting down onto the desk.

He leans over the desk trying to remain as calm and discrete as he possibly can as his insides simmer with an ever-growing rage. ‘ _Hero Killer Stain. It was obvious once I looked at your crimes._ ’ Iida thinks back to all the newspaper articles and news reels he could find before the internship. ‘ _In the seven places that you’ve appeared so far, you’ve always attacked at least four pro heroes. Maybe there’s a reason for that, or maybe I’m just reading into things, but it looks like a pattern. And Tensei is the only pro hero you’ve attacked in Hosu._ ’

Iida can still hear how weak and pained his dear brother’s voice sounded the day he was attacked…: “ _I’m Sorry. I failed you…_ ”

Iida’s fists clench but he remains still but his eyes…they burn with vengeance. ‘ _That means…it’s very likely that you’ll appear in this city again._ ’ He can practically sense it, the Hero Killer will make a move and soon, he must be in the city. ‘ _Good._ _I’ll dispose of you with my own hands._ ’

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Ah! What a drive.” Dholak’s lance-like limbs stretched out, stretching out longer than the Rolls-Royce Phantom he had just parked.

Gang Orca steps out from the back of the Rolls-Royce Phantom. “Don’t tell me you’re tired.”

“Naw! No way boss.” Dholak folds his arms together trying to seem cool and collected, before throwing an accusing eye at the other passenger. “I just couldn’t stand being in the car with this one any longer.”

Izuku Midoriya frowns, taking offense to the jab, but he just continues to play around with something on his right wrist.

After taking down the bug villain, Clancy, Gang Orca had them all pack back right into the car before they took off. According to the pro hero, they’ve been requested by the local authorities to aid in a villain search of some kind.

But what Gang Orca failed to mention was where.

And so Izuku turns his attention to their newest destination. “This is…Hosu?”

Gang Orca nods. “Very observant.” He turns away, his attention being drawn elsewhere. “Not surprising.”

Izuku frowns, he didn’t realize he was coming to Hosu. And if he remembers correctly, this is where Iida’s taking his internship. ‘ _I wonder how he’s doing… Maybe I should try to message, Iida. Just to make sure he’s holding up alright._ ’

He can wonder all he likes, but what’s really on Izuku’s mind right now is why they’re here? And so he turns to the pro hero. “But…why?”

Gang Orca doesn't reply, not right away as if hesitant, but he might as well tell him not like hiding the truth would do much good. “We’ve been requested to help the local heroes and police hunt down…” He pauses, his red steely gaze piercing through to the boy’s very soul. “the Hero Killer.”

Izuku chokes up, fear coursing through him at the mere mention of that monster.

Dholak snickers at the sight of the greenette’s flushed face. “What’s the matter kid? Don’t tell me you’re scared.”

“I’m not!!”Izuku shys away a bit. “It’s just that…the Hero Killer is…well…”

“A villain.” states Gang Orca. “No different than the ones you’ve already faced. Besides, if all goes as planned, you will not be required to confront the murderer, even he may prove too much.”

Izuku is a bit offended by the suggestion that he can’t defend himself. “I can help! I’m more than capable.”

Gang Orca’s eyes narrow, finding the boy’s defiance insulting.

Said boy, however, isn’t willing to stand down puffing his chest out and glaring right back at the menacing pro hero.

The two glare at each other each trying to force the other to back down first, but neither show any sign of giving up.

“RAHHHHHH!!!” Without warning Gang Orca’s lunges forward, his terrifying maw snapping open as he lets loose a blood curdling roar.

“Wahhh!!” Izuku flips out as death flashes before him, falling backwards in a panic knowing that with one simple movement the killer whale could end his life here and now.

But instead the maw snaps shut just an inch away from his nose, silencing the cowering boy.

Gang Orca calmly pulls away, his display of intimidation now over.

It takes a moment for Izuku to finally come to his senses that the danger has passed. “W-what…what was that…?”

“That was killing intent. That fear squeezing on your heart like death’s very hand has a grip on your soul…” A creeping danger lurks within the orca’s eyes. “that’s what we’re up against.”

Okay, Izuku might have to admit that…he may just be okay with sitting this one out. 

Gang Orca adjusts his tie before addressing the young man. “Now I do believe you are capable, but I rather not put you in any unnecessary danger.” He places his massive hand onto the boy’s shoulder. “This may sound cliché and a bit biased, but you’re young there’s no need for you to go through such a force yourself.”

Izuku blinks up at the hero. “I…I still think I can help.” 

Gang Orca pulls his hand away. “You misunderstand. You may help with the search.”

Izuku’s eyes widen in pleasant surprise.

Gang Orca is quick to cut into the moment. “But.”

His smile falls.

“You, under any circumstances, are not allowed to fight the Hero Killer. Understood?”

Izuku is hesitant to answer, but he agrees, nonetheless. “Yes.”

The pro hero nods back in approval.   
Alright now that that is settled, there’s still more Izuku needs to know. “So, um, how are we doing this? Are we going to split up or something?”

Gang Orca waves it off. “That will all be explained in due time, for now we wait.”

Izuku raises an eyebrow. “Wait? Wait for what?”

Dholak shakes his head. “Not a what but a whom.”

“Huh?” What is he talking about? 

“Midoriya?”

The wearer of the Omnitrix slowly turns his head around and finds the source of the calm and very familiar voice. “Todoroki?!”

Yup, Izuku’s own classmate, Shoto Todoroki, is standing there adoring his newly designed hero costume.

His updated hero costume consists of a dark blue jacket with elbow-length sleeves, its collar high and joined in the center by a gray neckpiece, baggy pants of the same color, a metal-plated combat vest and white boots, their soles and a thin line running down the center of each of them a darker pale gray. He also sports a brown utility belt around his waist, with little metal capsules hanging off the front.

Izuku…kind of misses that half-ice aesthetic he had a while back. It was way cooler but at least this one is easier on the eyes with some solid colors.

Speaking of colorful people, Izuku’s eyes drift over to Shoto’s and his eyes nearly pop out from their sockets as they land on the hero he decided to internship under. “ENDEAVOR!?!”

Sure enough a scowling Endeavor is stomping forward from across the street as a band of his sidekicks march behind him giving him the facade of a flaming emperor escorted by a legion of fiery soldiers.

“Oh.” Endeavor’s steely cold glare narrows down on the insignificant boy with disgust. “it’s you.”

“Uh!” Izuku cowers back a bit.

Shoto approaches his classmate as his father approaches Gang Orca. “Don’t mind him.” He sends a cold glare towards the back of his old man. “He’s always like this.”

Izuku chuckles nervously. “Oh…is that right…?”

Endeavor tchs, irritated by the child’s presence, before addressing the other pro hero. “This is the company you keep? Decided to add seaweed to your aquarium, have you?”

Gang Orca’s eyes narrow while Izuku feels a bit self-conscious and wounded as he grips his green-messy hair. “Sea…weed…?”

Endeavor folds his arms, speaking with authority, taking command of the meeting as he addresses Gang Orca. “Alright, you know why we're here. Your echolocation should make it easy to track down the Hero Killer.”

Gang Orca doesn't bother to challenge Endeavor, there is no point to it, it’s just an egotistical sociopath trying to prove his worth. “In theory but this villain has proven elusive before.” 

Endeavor tsks in annoyance, he was hoping to have this done and over with quickly. But he came prepared to search, hence why he brought his sidekicks along.

Endeavors’ sidekicks line up and Dholak takes note of one in particular, throwing them a sarcastic look. “Looks like your group’s as friendly as ever, Burnin.”

The sidekick, Burnin, grins. “Ha! Like you guys can talk!”

Burnin is a young woman who has big, dark eyes and pointy teeth. Her most distinguishable feature is her long, flaming hair with two bangs on each side and a wider bang going from the center of her forehead to the right.

She wears a light-grey jacket. Her collar, belt and wrist guards are black with a smaller red line. She wears a belt with a temperature gauge on the front and a fire extinguisher on the back, black knee-high socks, and short black boots. Her mask is black and is connected to a red headband.

“Ha! But I gotta admit, the boss hasn’t been in the best of moods.” Burnin casts her eyes over at Izuku who’s conversing with his classmate. “He’s all sore because his kid lost to freckles over there.”

Izuku overhears the comment, blushing with embarrassment and shyness. Wow, it didn’t really process until now but…he did beat the son of the Number Two hero, didn’t he? Wait, does that mean Endeavor has it out for him?! Is that why he can’t stand Izuku’s presence. And what about Shoto?! Is…is everything okay at home for him? He needs to get him talking, just to be sure. 

“So…?”

Shoto’s eyes glance over at Izuku waiting for him to continue.

“What…brings you…here?” Okay, dumb question but it’s all he’s got. 

Shoto takes a moment before answering, looking over towards the Number Two Hero. “My old man…wants to show me what real power looks like.”

“What do you mean…?” A jolt of internal fear and dread courses through Izuku as a nasty and horrible thought crosses his mind. “H-hey, T-todoroki?”

Shoto looks at him curiously, wondering why he’s shaking.

“Um, things are okay, right?”

Shoto’s…a bit lost here, so his classmate elaborates. “He’s not like…mad because of…you know?”

It eventually dawns on the scared teen what Izuku’s referring to: the results of their battle during the Sports Festival. “He’s always mad, so not much has changed.” Shoto thinks on the subject trying to think if anything did seem off. “Actually I think he's just more annoyed than angry.”

“What? Why?”

“Couldn’t say.” It could be because Shoto’s refused to continue their training sessions. It could be because he lost the Sports Festival. Or maybe it has nothing to do with him and all about his “ranking.”

But as Shoto thinks about it, Endeavor has really been acting really upset as of late. In truth he seemed…happy (that sounds wrong) when Shoto voluntarily decided to intern under him.

Weird, his attitude took a dive the moment they arrived in Hosu.

‘ _No he’s seemed even angrier since he saw Midoriya_.’ Shoto peers over at the possible target of his father’s aggression. ‘ _But why?_ ’

Shoto eyes Izuku curiously trying to figure this particular puzzle out. “Staaarrreee.”

As he tries to think of what his father could possibly have against Midoriya, Shota’s eyes are eventually drawn toward Izuku’s wrist. Specifically, Izuku’s right wrist where a new device lies. 

“Hey, Midoriya.”

Izuku blinks up at Shoto. “Yeah?”

“What is that?” Shoto points to the device on his right arm. 

Izuku follows his finger down to the item in question.

The new support item appears to be some sort of high tech looking vambrace. It’s bulky with black plating and silver trims. A small disc designed with the Omnitrix’s logo sits on top. Overall it looks like a second Omnitrix, it's just as bulky but instead of just covering Midoriya’s wrist it nearly encases his entire forearm.

“Oh, this?” Izuku smiles excitedly at the vambrace. “It’s a little something from the Support Department, courtesy of Mei Hatsume!” He had it the whole time, but they left the car in such a haste earlier that he forgot to put it on when they faced Clancy. But hey now’s not too late to try it out.

That didn’t answer Shoto’s question. “Okay, but what is it?”

“Oh, well I needed something to defend myself when I can’t transform so she made me a -”

“SHOTO!!!”

Both of the students’ heads snapped forward at the hero’s roar.

Endeavor is scowling, specifically at Izuku, like a rabid dog defending its turf. “Get away from him. The likes of him will only drag you down.”

Shoto’s eyes narrow as Izuku shys away worried for his own wellbeing.

Endeavor turns away and waves his agency forward. “Come now, we’re heading out.”

Izuku looks to Gang Orca for more of an explanation. “What’s the plan?”

Gang Orca goes ahead and explains. “We’re splitting up like back at Geonosis City, but by agency.”

Oh, Izuku gets it. They split up by agency with Endeavor’s taking one half while they take the other.

Gang Orca continues. “We’ll contact the other group if any of us encounter anything.”

Endeavor tsks in irritation. “Never mind that. We don’t need the help from weak willed fools.” He stomps off, his sidekicks and Burnin following along. “Let’s go, Shoto.”

Shoto turns back to his classmates. “See ya, Midoriya.” And with a slight wave of his hand he walks off, in no hurry to catch up to the fiery sore loser.

It takes a minute for Izuku to finally respond but by then Shoto’s already gone. “Uh, yeah. See ya.”

Gang Orca adjusts his cape as he too prepares to move forward. “Come now, we’re off too.”

Dholak leers at Izuku. “Don’t slow us down alright?”

Izuku shakes his head. “I won’t…”

And so Gang Orca’s agency heads out leaving their car behind as the shadows resulting from the setting sun descend down on the city, consuming everything in darkness. Providing the perfect cover for monsters to make their move, because lurking within the darkness is death and despair.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

On the other side of the city, Manual and Iida are out on their last patrol for the day. They’ve been at this for hours on hours every day so far but considering what’s occurred it’s no surprise. 

Even so Manual still feels like he should apologize for not providing a more educational and experiential environment. “Sorry this is so monotonous.”

From behind his helmet, Iida continues to scan the streets for any signs of trouble or more specifically villainy. “No. It’s better this way.”

Manual is just a bit put off by such an answer, usually interns like him are more eager to fight crime and be more active, but then again…this is no normal intern, now is he? “Hey.”

Iida turns his attention to Manual.

Manual’s usually friendly smile is gone, instead replaced by a more somber and serious expression. “This is kinda hard to ask, but you’re after the Hero Killer, aren’t you?”

Iida actually let’s out a small gasp. Did he really figure it out that quickly?! “How did you…?”

Manual sheepishly grins as he rubs the back of his head. “I couldn’t think of any other reason why you’d come to my agency.” He gets all flustered with embarrassment. “Uh! I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m really glad you did…” His grin falls away again becoming serious and somber. “But…you shouldn’t be pursuing personal grudges.”

Iida actually has the wind knocked out of him as the harsh reality slowly dawns on him.

“We heroes don’t have the authority to arrest people or punish them. The only reason we’re allowed to use our Quirks is because of the regulations put on them. That’s why, no matter how noble the reason may be, a hero must not use their Quirk for themselves.”

Iida peers down but it’s difficult to say if it’s from shame or…frustration.

And so Manual continues. “If a pro used their power for their own selfish desires, it would be a very serious crime.”

Iida remains eerily silent as the pain and harshness of the truth really sets in, but again the helmet is making it difficult to really gauge his reaction.

And so the flustered Manual tries to back track. “I’m not saying that the Hero Killer isn’t incredibly guilty or anything!” He waves off the denial, his friendly smile returning. “You just seem like the earnest type, you know? I’d hate for you to focus on one goal and ignore everything else.”

Without warning, Iida goes ahead and bows. “Thank you. I appreciate it.” Even though he’s thanking someone, the sincerity of it just doesn’t reach his voice.

Even so the pro hero doesn’t want to push the young man any more than he already has. “Oh, it’s fine, as long as you get what I’m sayin’. So, we good?” Thinking all was said and done, Manual spins around and continues with the patrol.

With his back turned, Iida is finally free to show his real feelings.

His fist clench, his nails threatening to cut into his palms just from how tight they are. ‘ _No_.’ He follows behind Manual as vengeance swirls in his mind. ‘ _What am I supposed to do…with this burning hatred…? If I can't act?_ ’

That monster…has to be put down, and nothing not even the law will get in his way. Justice will be served. Ingenium, Tensei, will be avenged. That is a promise, Hero Killer. 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

The setting sun is just barely in sight anymore, with darkness having taken over most of the land with the flag of the moon shining above to signal night’s arrival.

The Hero Killer has waited enough for this moment, he’s waited hours for the sun to set and the right prey to come along. So here he is perched upon a water tower overlooking the city of Hosu like a vigilant gargoyle that comes to life at night.

A piece of the night swirls around behind him, becoming a doorway for a lanky young man wearing a severed hand can step through.

Shigaraki steps out from Kurogiri portal. It seems like his shoulder’s been patched up, but a splotch of blood is still visible even through the bandages.

Even so Shigaraki briefly scans their surroundings. “Huh. Hosu City looks nicer than I expected.” As he babbles, Nue trudges out from the Portal and just in time as it swirls together leaving behind one Kurogiri.

Shigaraki ignores the two of them however in favor of the infamous villain before him. “So, what are you gonna do?”

“I will reform it.” Stains tongue hangs out from the side, like a snake tasting the air for rats. “In order to do so, blood must spill.”

Kurogiri nods in understanding. “You have a clear goal. Your dedication is admirable.”

Stain stands up, his scarf and bandana flowing with the wind behind him. “Ah… Finally, someone who understands.”

Shigaraki grips his wounded shoulder. “I get the feeling you enjoy picking on me.”

Nue snickers at his leader, not bothering to hide it. 

Stain continues to peer out into the city, but his attention is on the villains. “‘Hero’ is a title for those who’ve accomplished great deeds!” His voice is laced with bitter disgust and anger. “This city is full of false champions. All they care about is money and fame. Until this world realizes its mistakes,” He grips one of his sheathed knives. “I will continue my work.” And he jumps forward, dropping down onto the roof before leaping away his blade drawn as he pounces towards his next target. 

And all the while the League of Villains watch on.

But while two of them are intrigued by the man, Shigaraki just isn’t buying any of it. “He talks all high and mighty and stuff, but he’s wasting his time focusing on a small stage. He’s so noble I could just throw up.”

Nue scowls. “Yeah, we all know people like that.”

Kurogiri is quick to interject. “You shouldn’t spurn his methods. The reality is, in all the cities where Stain has appeared, the crime rates have fallen.”

Shigaraki scratches at his neck in irritation in response to Kurogiri’s words of praise towards the mad man. 

“Perhaps because heroes are more conscientious, or perhaps out of fear.”

Shigaraki’s scratching increases, threatening to break skin.

“Regardless, he does bring change.”

Shigaraki’s heard enough. “Oh, isn’t that just wonderful!” He snaps, smiling mockingly from behind the severed hand. “Heroes are working harder thanks to all those murders. I guess you could say our ‘Hero Killer’ is also a ‘Hero Breeder.’” He’s done with the act, slouching forward in boredom. “This is getting boring…”

He crosses his arms as he leers down at the city. “It won’t work. We just can’t agree on a basic level. And he annoys me.”

Nue’s grin turns mischievous. “Oh, but you still keep me around anyway.”

Shigaraki ignores him in favor of one possibly amusing idea. “Kurogiri, bring out the Nomus.”

Kurogiri summons forth a portal without question.

Shigaraki turns to the city as if the Hero Killer is still within earshot. “You think you can get away with stabbing me?”

Something…massive moves from with the void. No it’s several different masses all squirming and pushing against each other to be the first ones through, 

“When I get tired of you, I’ll kill you. Whenever I feel like it. Just like that, Stain.”

Three Frankenstein-like creatures crawl out from the black void, their muscles bulging, their teeth bared, and claws ready. Each one is unique from wings, to scales, to even having four-eyes but they have one thing in common…they’re all certainly monsters. Beastly in nature and willing to destroy anything with one command from their master. 

Shigaraki chuckles maniacally at the sight of the grotesque monsters. “But let’s make it more interesting. How about I crush your honor and your pride first? What do you say, big bad Hero Killer?”

And just like that the sun is gone and the night has officially taken over.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Ochaco Uraraka lets out a mighty big yawn, it’s so late in the day heck it’s already pitch-black outside and they‘re not even heading back home yet. So she’s got to get as much rest as she can on this speeding bullet train as they can before they arrive.

The costumed Ochaco leans back in her seat beside the window, turning to Gran Torino. “Why are we heading to Shibuya now?” She yawns again before continuing. “It’s going to be like super late.” She gives the old man a suspicious look. “I thought you old people went to bed early.”

Gran Torino isn't offended, actually he laughs along with the jab. “Hah! Good one. But this late at night there's bound to be more skirmishes then, so it’ll be much more fun!”

Ochaco can’t help but feel a bit sick especially after what happened earlier that day. “Isn’t taking down one villain enough for today?”

“Nope! Haha!” Gran Torino gives her a mocking smirk. “Better get used to it kid, a hero’s job is never done.” Unfortunately. 

And so Ochaco leans back as the train heads for Shibuya. Out of boredom Ochaco checks her phone pulling up a map to see how far it’ll be until they get there.

“Huh?” Interesting, they’re going to pass up Hosu soon. _‘That’s where Iida is isn’t it…?’_ She thinks back to the start of the internship when all of Class 1-A were first heading their separate ways.

Iida just seems so…off and sad like he was…hurting. ‘ _I hope he’s okay._ ’

One of the other passengers cries out from the back. “Hey, did you see that?!”

Both Gran Torino and Ochaco immediately turn to have a look and so do the rest of the passengers, at least those that don’t have their headphones in anyway.

The passenger continues, his face pressed against the window. “A building exploded!”

Another passenger, a woman, gasps. “Where?!”

Ochaco stands up at her seat trying to get a glimpse of whatever’s going on.

Gran Torino is just as confused. “What’s the ruckus?”

Ochaco responds. “It sounds like some kind of explosion…maybe a gas line or something.”

Just then the train’s speakers turn on and an automated message echoes throughout the bullet train. “Attention passengers, please hold onto your seats.”

The train lurches to a stop, hard, throwing Ochaco, Gran Torino, and all the other passengers right out of their seats.

But they have no time to even process that the train has stopped as the side of the train is blown open as a man, no a pro hero is smashed through the side of the train car!

The passengers scream out in horror mainly due to the bleeding man that was thrown into the train, but Ochaco and Gran Torino are more focused on the one that threw him.

The unknown pro hero scowls as he struggles to push himself off the ground. “What the hell-” A massive pale hand grabs his face and slams him down, silencing him. 

Ochaco’s eyes widen like she’s witnessing a nightmare come to life, as the pale-skinned attacker pries back the train’s smashed in wall revealing itself to them all. “Nomu?!”

It can't be! There’s only one Nomu and he’s locked up! So who’s this guy?! A brother or cousin or something?!

This Nomu has a lot of similarities to the other Nomu like the deadish eyes and protruding exposed brain. But…it’s a pale-white color, and noticeably skinnier to the point that Ochaco can see the monster’s ribs, and those four beady eyes only add to the bizarreness. Speaking of bizarre, this Nomu has some…similar features as that of a squirrel of all things. With a pair of jagged buck teeth that look like they could slice through an arm, to needle-like claws, hairless rat ears, and a hairless tail lined with a set of thin quills.

The Squirlanoid Nomu lurches forward like a zombie wobbling towards its next meal which it has pinned under its lanky muscular arm.

Without a second to lose both Gran Torino and Uravity leap into action.

Gran Torino zooms forward and plants his foot against the monster’s face. Forcing it to break its grip on the pro hero.

Uravity slaps her hand against the Squirlanoid Nomu’s side, making it weightless, just as Gran Torino zips back in grabbing the Squirlanoid Nomu by its head and flying it right out of the train.

Uravity gasps. “Gran Torino!”

“Protect the passengers!” And off he goes flying the monster down and smashing it into the buildings down below.

Uravity gazes down in horror. “Are you…” Her voice trails away as something even more devastating attracts her eyes. 

The city’s on fire!!

The glow of an inferno rages in the distance and clouds of smoke billow out into the night sky, and even from this distance she can hear the screams of innocent and panicked citizens.

“What’s…what’s happening…?”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“What’s happening?!” shouts a horrified Izuku amongst the screams and flames. 

Him, Gang Orca, and Dholak have just arrived onto the scene as panicking citizens flee the scene as buildings burn all around them.

Something large and bulky let’s out an animalistic groan as it marches through the flaming streets unbothered by the heat.

The monster is a black hybrid of a muscular man and a snapping turtle wearing a pair of beaten trousers and shin guards. With leathery scales, bulging muscles, a bulky and serrated outer shell, and massive claws that could crush the hood of a car. The monster’s head extends forward protruding a massive turtle-like beak that could snap through iron bars, it has tiny beady red eye, and a section of its skull has been surgically removed exposing its entire brain

Deku’s heart stops as dread fills his heart. “Is that…?”

“RAAAWWW!!!” The black-scaled Nomu lets loose a thundering bellow.

“A NOMU!?!”

No, it’s not one Nomu but two Nomus!!

A winged Nomu swoops over his packmate swiping at fleeing citizens before screeching back into the air.

This winged Nomu is pale-white with large leathery bat-like wings. But that must be its Quirk because the rest of its body resembles a lizard! The Nomu has wide reptilian head atop an extended neck with round reptilian-eyes, a thin wide mouth full of needle like teeth, and of course his brain is also exposed. His body is speckled with scales along with human skin, its claws are long and thin, and his arms stretch out before him with lean muscles, and a thin reptilian tail hangs from behind.

“RYEEEEE!!!” The flying-lizard Nomu releases an ear-piercing screech before swooping upwards, a chorus of screams ring out in its wake.

Izuku is at a complete loss for words. ‘ _There’s no way?! I beat Nomu myself! How could there be more?! Just…what the heck are they?!_ ’

“Deku!!”

Izuku spins towards Gang Orca just as the hero marches forward. “Focus.” He readies his claws that shimmer against the light of the dancing flames. “We’re heroes, we have a duty.”

Dholak stands at the ready as well, his lance-like legs at the ready. “Yeah, kid.”

Izuku shakes his head. “You don’t understand…those are NOMUS!!!”

And like that their eyes widen in shock. Gang Orca had heard about the villain, perks of being in the top rankings, but he didn’t think there would be another one.

Dholak repeats the name. “Nomus…like that monster that attacked your school?” He heard about the thing from Gang Orca.

“Yeah… But…I don’t understand how there could be more.”

“RAAAWWW!!!” The biggest of the Nomus charges forward.

Gang Orca springs into action using himself to block its path.

WHAM!!! The two behemoths collide their claws digging into each other as they each struggle to push the other away.

Gang Orca’s arms shake as he struggles to keep the monster back. “Forget the details for now.” His jaws rip open. “We have villains to devour!!” He throws the monster’s claws aside and then sinks his teeth into the Nomu’s arm.

“RAAAWWW!!!” Sparks of electricity dance off the Nomu’s shell and then BOOM a thunderous wave of electricity forces Gang Orca away.

Gang Orca manages to stay on his feet despite being knocked away by the blast. But then he falls to his knee as sparks of electricity dance off of him. That last strike was so powerful that it actually stunned him!! 

“What…was that?” Dholak cries out, he’s in shock that some monster was able to bring the hero down. “Some sort of shock wave?!”

Izuku gulps. “More like a shellshock.”

“RAAAWWW!!!” Shellshock roars out challenging his foes.

“Shut it big mouth!!” Dholak leaps forward his lance-like limbs at the ready.

Gang Orca tries to call out to him. “No, wait!”

But it’s too late Dholak’s already on the attack. “Crab Arrow Rain!!” His legs strike hard and fast like hundreds of arrows belting down on the villain’s tough hide.

Each strike is precise and piercing but Shellshock’s armor is too great. Shellshock throws his shell into the away allowing it to take the brunt of the attacks, snarling and bearing its beak at the crabman.

Shellshock’s neck stretches out, his massive maw lunging out and within a blink of an eye he has both of Dholak’s legs within his jaws.

“Dammit!!” Dholak tries to pull away but Shellshock’s grip is too strong like a bear trap.

“Raaawww!!” Shellshock snaps his jaws and he crushes through Dholak’s legs, shell and all.

“Wahh!!” Dholak cries out in pain as he’s pulled free.

Deku screams. “Are you okay?!”

Dholak winces in pain as his much shorter limbs retract back to him. “Ow, yeah I’m fine.”

“But your legs!!”

“They’ll grow back.” Dholak winces, rubbing the ends of his torn limbs. “Eventually.”

Shellshock turns towards his foes, taking a deep breath before letting out a thundering roar. “RAAAWWW!!!” His long-gross tongue lashes out whipping about as he roars, spitting out saliva, blood, and a foul rotting smell.

Shellshock hunches down and then whoosh he jumps high into the air, no doubt thanks to a dose of super strength. He throws his fists back as he falls back down to Earth like a meteor that’s about to strike. “RAAAWWW!!!”

*SKREEEEE!!!*

A sonic pulse slams into the turtle-like Nomu throwing it off course, forcing it to crash land onto a semi-truck that bursts into flames upon impact.

Dholak and Izuku spin around to find that Gang Orca is once again back on his feet. “Boss!!”

Gang Orca’s piercing red eyes flare with anger. “Get up you two, or I’ll devour you both myself.”

“Yes, sir!” Both Deku and Dholak leap back up readying themselves for a fight.

“Raaww…” From within the burning destruction Shellshock stomps out from the inferno. His flash is charred, smoking, and burned, with pieces of shrapnel protruding from its hide. “Raaww.”

His beady eyes land on the heroes. “Raaww.”

Dholak doesn’t like the look it’s giving them. “What’s it doing?”

They don’t have to wait long to find out as the Nomu’s flesh begins to heal itself, regenerating itself back to its previous state.

Gang Orca’s eyes narrow. “So the report was true, it can regenerate.”

Dholak scowls. “Shit.”

Izuku gulps nervously. “Not good.”

As Shellshock heals up Deku decides to finally contribute to the cause, searching for a good alien.

“RYEEEEE!!!”

Oh, no they forgot about the winged Nomu.

The flying lizard like Nomu, or Draco, slams into Deku knocking him to the ground as it flies back up.

Draco circles around its round-dilated eyes homing in on Deku. “D…ku…” The monster swoops down, forcing Deku to dive to the side as it swings its thin claws at him, missing him by a hair.

“RAAAWWW!!!” Shellshock charges forward his stomps causing the earth to shake under their feet. “RAAAWWW!!!”

BLAM!!! Shellshock and Gang Orca collide again, it’s a clash between titans both vying to prove which is stronger. Dholak leaps in as well, he may be without his most valuable weapons, but he can still fight, delivering a barrage of swift kicks towards the monster’s legs, trying to break its foundation.

While vying for dominance, Gang Orca calls to Deku. “Take care of that flying one, we’ll take the big one.” He shoves himself away, leaping away just as Shellshock releasing another booming shockwave. “Use all that you can to defeat it!” He’s giving Deku permission to fight these villains!

Deku ducks behind a car just in the nick of time, Draco is flying so fast that he actually slams into the car. ‘ _This one really has it out for me!_ ’ Izuku ducks down as Draco recovers from the impact. ‘ _Does it know I defeated his friend?!_ ’

No time, he needs to take action!

Not taking time to pick the right one, Deku hastily slams down onto the Omnitrix.

“Ryeee!!” Draco screeches, the blinding light taking away his vision.

As his vision returns the pale-skinned Nomu scans for its prey but it finds itself blind once again as something green and gooey is blasted into its face.

“Hehehe!” Stinkfly stands tall atop the nearby car. “That should keep you quiet. Hehehe!”

Draco rips away the slime like a Band-Aid, its eyes narrow towards the large bug, and its tongue whips about in annoyance.

Stinkfly sweatdrops. “Oh, wow would you look at the time! Sorry but I gotta fly!” Stinkfly takes off into the air, his wings beating a hundred times in a second.

“RYEEEEE!!!” Draco jumps up after him its long tongue lashing out and nearly ripping through his wings.

“Hey watch it!” Stinkfly ducks down as another tongue whip whooshes over his head. “I can’t regenerate too you know!” Or can he…this probably isn’t the best time to find out. And why is this Nomu so dead set on him?!

Stinkfly zooms and zips around the buildings, cars, and everything else but Draco remains hot on his tail the entire time slashing and lashing out at him at every given opportunity. Stinkfly tries to goop him up but the Nomu simply swings its massive thin hands in the way, interpreting the slime balls.

‘ _This guy sure is persistent_!’ Stinkfly continues to evade attack after attack all the while zooming across the city.

As he flies above a pair of his eyes can’t help but bear witness to the flaming city as citizens continue to flee the area. From above he can see Gang Orca and Dholak holding their own against Shellshock who’s firing off another electrical shockwave causing even more damage and destruction with each blast!

All in all the city of Hosu is a disaster zone, these Nomus are like forces of nature that cannot be stopped or controlled! But as heroes they need to stop them, they need to protect the citizens.

As the transformed Deku continues to zip about trying to rid himself of his winged-menace he can’t help but pray that his friend isn’t stuck within all the chaos too.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Far from the chaos, SixSix is flying through the air, courtesy of his jetpack, fortunately for him the night sky means he can move freely without worrying so much about being spotted by one of Earth’s protectors.

A light ping rings out, SixSix raises his arm to have a look at the display. A holographic map of Japan zooms in on a single reading, a signal from the Omnitrix being activated.

SixSix would be smiling if he could as he changes trajectories and flies off for his target’s location.

“Teg aydre eerrsad. Htis si ggnoi ot eb tsgemonih.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“What did you say? Villains appeared?!” Manual listens in on his comset as both him and Iida look up at the glow of the flames illuminating not too far away. “Don’t worry. I can head there right now.” He turns to Iida posthaste. “Stay with me. We’re running!” And he’s off not even slowing down to make sure Iida’s actually following along with him.

Iida runs along behind him, but his mind isn’t on the flames but on another threat all together. ‘ _Couldn’t be… This is different._ _That murderer wouldn’t be so flashy._ ’

They run against the flow of the panicking civilians. As they sprint forward, Iida notices the darkness of the abandoned and silent buildings after each one’s been emptied out by fleeing inhabitants. They continue forward through the now empty streets as only a few stranglers run past them.

But as they pass one last alleyway, Iida stops dead in his tracks. Unfortunately, however, Manual doesn’t notice instead he keeps on running trying to make it to the flames as quickly as he can. 

Iida however has his gaze locked onto the empty alley, like he’s trying to solve one last piece of a complicated puzzle and then it hits him.

Without hesitation or another glance towards the flames or Manual, Iida takes off running. Right into the dark narrow alley: his engines roaring to life as he sprints through Hosu, running as far from the flames as he can.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“That idiot’s making a move. And he’s so noisy.” Stain eyes the glow of the distance flames with disdain from his hunting grounds, a dark empty alleyway.

It would seem that Shigaraki’s destruction is nothing more than a child throwing a tantrum all in the name of gaining attention. How terribly pathetic.

“I’ll have to dispose of him later.” Stain then turns his attention back to his current task. “At the moment, I have important work to finish here.”

Specifically, he needs to rid this hero of their wasteful life.

Stain presses the hero’s head against the wall, muzzling him and depriving him of air.

“My body…I-I can’t move.” The hero, Native, isn’t tied up or that badly hurt, there’s just a lone cut along his shoulder but other than that there’s no sign of what could be causing his body to be paralyzed like it is.

“You bastard.” Despite the fear of death looming over him, Native tries to curse the killer’s very existence. “I-I’ll kill you!”

An empty threat, but Stain’s threats are not. “If you call yourself a hero,” He raises up his battered and bloodied blade. “you should choose your last words with care.”

Before he can deal the killing blow, his instincts flare up.

With a gasp and a spin, he swings his blade around, and it clashes with something else. Something hard, metallic, and quick. Stain can only assume it was a motorcycle, but no it is not. 

A white knight-like helmet is flung into the air and a pair of glasses are flung to the side as Stain bats his attacker away, knocking them to the ground.

Stain’s eyes widen with surprise when they land on the young man’s face. He certainly wasn’t expecting a child to attack him. And why does this child seem so…familiar? “A child wearing a suit. Who are you?”

Iida’s teeth grind together as he glares up at the murderer.

Even with the disdain written on the boy’s face, Stain can’t even bother to see him as a real threat. “Run, run away from here. This is not a place for children.”

The scowling Iida props himself up from the ground. “You’re carrying blades all over your body and you’re wearing a blood-red scarf. You must be the Hero Killer Stain! It’s you, right?”

A burning inferno of hate rages behind Iida's usually calm and collected eyes as all that hate, and anger threatens to spill out. “I’ve been looking for you, but I didn’t think I’d find you so soon.”

Stain’s doesn’t like that look, that sort-of look doesn’t belong in a child’s eye.

Iida’s glare hardens. “I am-”

*Shiiing!*

“Your eyes are searing with vengeance.” The end of Stain’s blade stops just between Iida’s eyes, cutting his declaration off, just one move and the knife’ll be through his skull. “Be careful what you say next. If need be, even someone your age could be my target.” That will be Stain’s first and last warning.

Iida’s fist clench and his voice chokes with anger. “Are you saying that…I’m not even a threat to you?” He’s seething with anger despite the bloodied blade hanging just inches from his skull. “You listen to me, criminal.”

Iida begins to rise up off the ground, determined to see this through. “I am the brother of an incredible hero who you attacked.”

The memories of how he always looked up to Tensai fuel his rage.

“He’s the best older brother that anyone could hope for.”

He remembers how Tensai always inspired him, by leading by example…but those days are over ripped away by a monster of a man, staining those memories forever.

“I have come to stop you because he can’t anymore.”

He recalls what his brother asked of him that day: ‘ _“I want you to take the name. For me, Tenya._ ”’ 

“You’re going to remember my name for as long as you live.” Iida stands tall, his glare burning with hatred as he declares himself to the villain. “I am Ingenium, and I will defeat you. That, I promise!”

“Then, so be it.” It appears the predator has found his next prey. “Die.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun-Dun-Duuuun! Cliffhanger! Yeah, I know. I was originally planning to have this and the full Stain fight in the same chapter, but I decided it would be best to split the chapter in half. Namely so I could update within a shorter interval so if things go well, I can have Part 2 out by next week. Anyway I hope this chapter was still enjoyable. A lot of it (all of it) was mainly set up for next Ch.35 and hopefully it’ll all be worth it. So, get ready this is going to be wild!!
> 
> *Just to be clear, Dr. Animo is not the creator of the Nomus. He just “mutates” them afterwards to give them a boost. The real Doctor is still part of this universe.
> 
> *Izuku’s new high-tech Vambrace is something I’ve been wanting to introduce for a long while now. I had the idea since before Ch.19 where Izuku sought out a new support item via Mei Hatsume. And we’ll finally see it in action soon. It’s nothing too flashy or spectacular but I like it. You can feel free to guess what it is or you can wait and see for yourself, up to you.
> 
> *All the Nomus in this chapter have the same Quirks as their manga/anime counterparts but just a few things added in. Squirlanoid has the same ones but now has Squirrel like features and abilities.
> 
> Shellshock has the Thundering Shockwave added onto his Immense Strength, and Super Regeneration. Combined with the powerful jaws of a snapping turtle and the nearly indestructible outer shell.
> 
> And finally Draco, smallest of the trio, is basically a thin pale-skinned wyvern of a creature. His Quirk being the wings but the abilities of a lizard: claws, long tongue, agility, senses, etc.


	36. Killing Intent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Hero Killer...Stain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well here it is part two of the Stain Arc. I actually had this chapter done on Sunday but way late into the day and there wasn’t enough time for my editors to do their part without rushing them. So I held off until now to give them time. It was necessary, they do a great job at making sure things are ship shape, especially in longer arcs and chapters. Anyway here it is, and I hope it’s worthy of a Stain Arc.
> 
> *Below is an Opening Theme generated by “Drag0n5on” please check it out, it’s very well written. 

_Lyrics_

Scene

(Play “ **Sora ni Utaeba** ” by amazarashi)

<https://youtu.be/2ieT6Vh7jZE>

_Kyojitsu wo kirisaite souten wo aoide tobitatta tokoshie_

Izuku crashes into the ground hard before getting up and running forward only for the process to repeat over and over again.

_Sora ni utaeba_

Izuku is breathing heavy as he struggles to get up.

_koukai mo iyaou naku_

Suddenly a hand lands on his shoulder catching him by surprise.

**H** _itsuzen hitsuzen narubeku s*** naru mirai da sore yue, agake_

He looks up to see Ochako smiling at him. Slowly he returns the smile and gets up. The two charge forward together and deliver twin punches forward destroying the screen.

_(Instrumental)_

The title appears across the screen as multiple planets surround it.

_Shinkirou namida no kawa wo kogidashite ikuseisou_

Izuku is helping out around Gang Orca's agency while getting into shenanigans with the other residents. Gang Orca gives them an order which they all roar out too.

_Sayonara yukazaru wo enai nani wo ushinatta tote_

Ochaco patrols the streets with Torino passing by Charmcaster causing the two girls to stop and turn to look at each other.

_Wasurenai_

Shoto looks down at his left hand as images of his mother appear behind him.

_kuyashisa mo_

He fades revealing Izuku as he recalls memories with Henzu and the day on the roof with All Might before ending on his conversation with Tenya.

_kutsujoku mo_

Tenya looks down as he grips his fists.

_Mune ni kazatte_

His eyes look upward revealing his hatred as his hero costume comes on.

_Kyojitsu wo kirisaite_

Tenya charges forward and send a kick that Stain blocks.

_souten wo aoide_

Shoto jumps into the air and sends an eruption of flames towards the Hero Killer

_tobitatta tokoshie_

Above them Ochaco dukes it out with Charmcaster who smiles at her sinisterly.

_Sora ni utaeba_

On another roof Izuku battles Sixsix before leaping backwards to dodge a blast from the bounty hunter.

_koukai mo iyaou naku_

He looks up and glares at a gallery of villains.

_Hitsuzen_

Tomura and Henzu look at him and snarl.

_hitsuzen_

Vilgax simply narrows his eyes.

_tachikiru ni wa mabushi sugita_

The Omnitrix glows as Izuku selects a transformation.

_mirai e,_

He smiles as he slams his hand onto the watch.

_Agake_

The watch activates and everything is engulfed in a flash of green

_Instrumental 1_

It shows Class 1-A and 1-B preparing for battle ending with Katsuki blasting the screen.

_Instrumental 2_

Izuku walks forward as he brings the Omnitrix up and grips his fist.

There’s a flash of green that fades to reveal Izuku standing along with his class with the shadows of his transformations on the wall behind them.

[Illustrated by **Drag0n5on** ]

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Everyone, please! Remain calm! Return to your seats! The villain is no longer here!” The train conductor is doing his best to keep the passengers calm while also tending to the downed pro hero. “More heroes will arrive, soon, I’m sure!”

“Keep them calm.”

The conductor snaps his head towards a young woman decked out in a pink hero costume, she’s standing but the gaping smashed in the wall of the train car.

“I’m heading out there!” Ochaco Uraraka lost track of Gran Torino and the Squirlanoid Nomu, she needs to help out.

And so with her body weightless and the Gyro-Disc firing up, she jets away into the air 

Train conductor calls after her. “Hey, are you nuts?! It’s way too dangerous out there!”

But he might as well be talking to a wall because his words land on death ears.

‘ _That thing…was another version of Nomu. Those dead eyes and exposed brain are more than enough. But…why is it here?_ ’ With a possible disaster on the horizon, Ochaco speeds up whipping through the air and over the buildings. ‘ _I need to help, in anyway that I can! Gran Torino. Please be alright!_ ’

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

The squirrel-like Nomu, Squirlanoid, smashes his way through an apartment complex groaning and howling animalistic wails. 

“A villain! Run!”

The residents flee the scene as fast as they can, unfortunately, not all of them are as agile on their feet as the rest.

A young woman trips onto the street, her boyfriend tries to help her up as fast as he can while Squirrelanoid wobbles towards them. “Where are all the pros?!”

“Eaaaaaah!!” Squirlanoid howls, swinging his claw up into the air. 

The couple screams out, bracing each other and bracing for the inevitability of death.

Gran Torino swoops in, his kick deflecting the slash away, before he Jets away. “Sheesh, I haven’t fought so earnestly in years. These last few days really have been something.” He lands back on the street behind the dazed creature. “Picked a fine time to patrol.”

He shouts, attracting the monster’s attention away from the young couple. “That’s right! Bring it on, ugly!”

“Eaaaaaah.” Squirrelanoid wobbles around, his jagged-bucktooth chattering as he swings his thin claws forward.

Gran Torino Jets upward, avoiding the sharp claws as they impale the ground. ‘ _He’s fast. But not faster than me._ ’

Squirrelanoid scurries forward, his spined-tail whipping behind him as he crawls his way towards the petrified couple. 

The couple cry out. “No, stay away! Ah!”

Gran Torino rockets forward. ‘ _He’s attacking at random._ ’ He scowls, he needs to give them a chance to escape. “Stop it, you stupid beast!”

“Eaaaaaah?” Before Squirrelanoid could make it anywhere near the couple an inferno of raging flames engulfs his entire body. “EAAAAAAAH!!!!”

Gran Torino gasps, rotating his body so his feet are facing forward and with a quick blast from Jet he’s able to propel himself away from the raging flames.

“EAAAAAAAH!!!” Squirrelanoid howls into the night sky as the inferno rages and consumes his entire being, putting him through a true hell on Earth. “EAAAAAAAH!!!”

The master of the flames scoffs. “I was looking for the elusive Hero Killer, but this thing will have to do.”

Gran Torino scowls up at the new arrival. 

The fire wilder marches forward. “Thanks, old timer. I’m afraid I don’t know you, but I can handle this from here on out.”

Gran Torino frowns. “It’s you.”

The couple gasp in surprise.

“Whoa, look.”

“Why’s he in Hosu?”

The Number Two Hero, Endeavor smirks as his flames consume the villain. “Hmph. Isn’t it obvious? I came because I’m a hero.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

That’s all well and good but that doesn’t really help out much of the city. Its total chaos, cars litter the streets abandoned or crashed as people stampede through the streets like a raging river. All so they can get away from the flames.

And Stinkfly flies over it all, his heart going out to all those poor people, as he flies back towards the destruction. ‘ _I lost that winged Nomu for now._ _So, I need to get back to the others and help out!_ ’ His four pairs of eyes land on the flames in the distance. ‘ _I don’t get it. Why did those things look like Nomu?_ ’ They’ve got the black-skin, exposed, brain, inhuman mutations, and monstrous power. ‘ _If they got insane power like the one, I fought at the U.S.J., this could be really bad._ _And it won’t just be the pro heroes in trouble, but the entire city!_ ’ His mind flashes with images of his Engine Quirked friend. ‘ _That includes Iida. He’s interning here!_ ’

Stinkfly shuts his eyes, desperately trying to fly as fast as he can. ‘ _What do I do-_ ’ BLAM!!!

“WOAH!!!” Stinkfly cries out as he spins out of control.

He crashed into something! While flying! That’s insane!

He spins around rubbing his aching head. “I’m flying here-Uraraka?”

A wincing and floating Ochaco peers up and gasps in surprise. “Eeeeek!! A giant bug!!”

Stinkfly waves his hands about frantically trying to calm her down. “Stop shouting!! It’s me, it’s your friendly neighborhood Deku!”

“Deku?” Ochaco pauses and her eyes land on the symbol of the Omnitrix. “Oh, my gosh it is you! It didn't recognize you.” Her face turns green, scrunching up in disgust. “Or that smell.” She turns away pinching her nose.

“Yeah, Stinkfly really lives up to his name.” Stinkfly has to take a double take. “Wait, you’re flying?”

Ochaco grins and spins around showing off the Gyro-Disc. “Yeah, new gear.”

Stinkfly nods approvingly. “Nice, very nice.”

“I know right? And it’s nice to see that your internship’s been doing well, considering the new guy.” She gestures to the new bug-like form.

Stinkfly smiles back. “Ha, thanks.”

… Wait!! They don’t got time for this!!

Stinkfly suddenly begins panicking, yelling out in a hurry. “We need to go!! There’s-”

“Nomus on the loose!!” finishes Ochaco.

“Yeah… How’d you know?”

“One attacked our train.” Ochaco flies forward. “Come on they might need our help.”

“On it!!”

As the two hero course students fly towards the flames, Ochaco takes the time to ask. “So, how could there be more than one Nomu?”

“I…don’t know.”

Ochaco nervously offers up another question. “You don’t think they’re…you know…?”

Stinkfly shakes his head; those Nomu’s aren’t aliens. “I don’t think so, Thirteen and Principal Nezu would have noticed.”

“But…what are they?”

“I wish I knew. But all we need to worry about is stopping them.” Stinkfly’s eyes peer into Ochaco’s. “Are you with me…Uravity?”

Uravity gives her friend a nervous smile accompanied by a big thumbs up. “You bet, Deku.” 

And off they go right towards the center of the disaster.

They both arrive, hovering over the horrifying scene that lies before them.

A city bus is thrown across onto its side, bursting into flames upon impact and several pro heroes go down, thrown back by the explosion.

“RAAAWWW!!!” Shellshock, the snapping turtle-like Nomu, swings his arm, backhanding a pair of pro heroes, swatting them away like flies.

Draco, the winged-lizard Nomu, looks like it swung back around to the battle after losing track of Stinkfly.

“RYEEEEE!!!” The flying monster has a pro hero gripped in his talons; his mouth hangs open and his long thin tongue hangs out, wrapped around a flailing hero’s neck dangling him in the air.

Dholak, looking even more battered and still missing his lance-like limbs, leaps up and slams his elbow into the creature forcing it to break it’s hold over the pro heroes.

Dholak grabs one of the falling pros and Burnin, who must have been nearby, leaps up and grabs the other one, saving them from the horrid beast.

Ochaco is overcome with horror as the Nomus tear through the city street. ‘ _These things are…monsters._ ’ They’re causing so much damage: buildings and homes are on fire, rubble litters the street, several cars are on fire, and even with the large number of pros present none of them seem to be capable of standing up to these things.

But there may be at least one hero that can.

“RAAAWWW!!!” Shellshock roars out, challenging anyone that would dare oppose him.

Gang Orca, dares too, leaping down from atop a nearby building. His razor-sharp claw digs down into the beat’s skull, gauging its face and smashing it down onto the burning asphalt. 

“RAAAWWW!!!” Shellshock screeches in pain, his head nearly buried into the ground, as his shell sparks with the telltale sign of an electrical shockwave.

BOOM!!!

The thunderous shockwave sends Gang Orca and other nearby heroes flying. Shellshock slowly rises up, blood dripping from the side of its skull as the fresh scars fade away that's to his regeneration.

The nearby flames rage even wilder thanks to the whirlwind, becoming so huge that they threaten to swallow up nearby buildings.

A hero with a minotaur like ecstatic, horns and muscles, breaks open a fire hydrant causing a geyser of water to burst out. “Manual! Stop the fire!”

Standing nearby, Manual rushes over. “Yeah. Got it!”

Stinkfly and Ochaco land just in time to see Manual running towards the flames and gushing fire hydrant.

Stinkfly is able to recognize him almost immediately. “That’s Manual, the Normal Hero.”

Ochaco blinks.

“Iida’s at his agency!”

Ochaco gasps and they’re both about to run after the guy but then they overhear his worried voice.

“Why’d you run off by yourself?” Manual is scanning around while running towards the flames, searching for someone. “Where the hell are you, Tenya? Dammit!” He makes it! He points his fingers and the gushing water bends to his will, activating as if it's alive the water redirects itself in midair and begins dousing the flames.

Stinkfly and Ochaco freeze. “Wait, he went off on his own?!”

“What?! Seriously?!” Ochaco’s really worried now. “Oh, that doesn’t sound like him though.”

Stinkfly grinds his teeth, he doesn't like this not one bit. “Something must be wrong.”

“You’re in the way, kids!”

Stinkfly and Ochaco back away as Burnin scolds them, she must not have recognized Deku in his current form, she has her back turned towards them, her eyes focused on the battle ahead. “Get out of here!”

Before they could respond, Shockwave slams his fists down on the minotaur hero, the hero does his best to block the strike, but he might as well be holding back a semi-truck.

Gang Orca rushes in and pulls the minotaur away; with nothing holding them back, Shockwave’s scaly fists crash into the ground.

Up above, Draco flaps his wings generating a whirlwind that’s strong enough to hold off Dholak and the other pros.

Burnin scowls in anger. “We can hold these things back on our own. Evacuate with everyone else.” She runs forward, joining the fight.

She unleashes a burst of flames forcing Draco away from the others.

Stinkfly watches on in horror, not willing to rush in yet, not like it would do any good right now. ‘ _I can’t believe Iida would run off with such a huge disaster right in front of him._ ’ The only reason he’d ignore if there was something far worse. But what?

 _‘Hosu City… Guys who look like Nomu…_ ’ Stinkfly lets out a loud gasp when a terrible thought pops into his mind.

Ochaco spins around when her ears picked up his terror. “What?! What is it?!”

“Iida…Hosu…” Stinkfly shakily turns to her, scared not for himself but for Iida. “Where the Hero Killer attacked…” 

Ochaco’s eyes widen as dread floods in.

Without a word they both take off into the air both shouting. “Let’s split up!”

They need to cover as much ground as they can, because if they don’t reach Iida on time…it may be too late. 

As they take off in different directions, the battle continues to rage.

Burnin jumps back as Draco takes a swipe at her before backing off again. “Dammit. What are these things?”

Shellshock slams his fist down, but Gang Orca takes the blow, holding off the beast. “They’re…” His piercing red gaze locks onto the Nomu’s beady eyes. “Monsters.” 

“RYEEEEE!!!”

Draco swoops up high into the air, he needs a moment to regain himself before attacking again. But before he makes a move, a bit of movement catches his large-reptilian eye. His eyes train on the movement, whatever it is it’s moving away from the battle.

Draco’s eyes narrow as if zooming in, and that when it sees it, it’s Stinkfly. Draco’s eyes narrow, his tongue slides out of his mouth, and his claws twitch as he locks onto the flying bug. “D…ku…” 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Tomura Shigaraki smiles down from atop the water tower, far away from the battle and flames, but close enough to keep an eye on the action. “The Nomu make such great playthings.”

Kurogiri turns to his ward. “Are you not going to participate in the battle?”

Shigaraki grips his bandaged and bloodied shoulder. “Don’t be stupid. I’m still injured.”

Nue smirks marching past Shigaraki. “Sounds like more fun for me then.”

“Hang on you.” Shigaraki glares up at the freak. “This is just a side-quest, a minigame, I’m not risking one of my best units for it.” Shigaraki looks back towards the chaos and destruction. “That’s why I brought those pets with us.”

##########(Flashback)#########

Just before they joined the Hero Killer in Hosu, Shigaraki was left alone within the bar to patch himself up.

With no one else around he turns to the little TV set on the counter. “Sensei, how many Nomu are completed?”

A cold conniving voice responds. “ ** _I’ve finished adjusting the behavior of six of them._** ” responds Sensei. “ ** _Though, they are not as strong as the one from the U.S.J. attack._** ”

“Give them to me.”

“ ** _Why?_** ”

“Because I don’t like that arrogant Hero Killer you brought in. And it’s my right to destroy anything that I don’t like, right?” There’s a deranged crazed look in his eye. “Sensei?”

“ ** _Very well. However, you may only have three._** **_Try to use this as a learning experience._** ”

########(End Flashback)#######

“Haha haha!” Shigaraki grins down at the city like it’s a sandbox where he can reign supreme, destroy anything that he wishes to, all without any harm to himself. “Once this night is over, the world will have forgotten you ever existed, Hero Killer.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Stain keeps his katana drawn over the child. “A child wearing a suit. Who are you?”

Tenya Iida’s teeth grind together as he glares up at the murderer.

Even with the disdain written on the boy’s face, Stain can’t even bother to see him as a real threat. “Run, run away from here. This is not a place for children.”

The scowling Iida props himself up from the ground. “You’re carrying blades all over your body and you’re wearing a blood-red scarf. You must be the Hero Killer Stain! It’s you, right?”

A burning inferno of hate rages behind Iida's usually calm and collected eyes as all that hate, and anger threatens to spill out. “I’ve been looking for you, but I didn’t think I’d find you so soon.”

Stain’s doesn’t like that look, that sort-of look doesn’t belong in a child’s eye.

Iida’s glare hardens. “I am-”

*Shiiing!*

“Your eyes are searing with vengeance.” The end of Stain’s blade stops just between Iida’s eyes, cutting his declaration off, just one move and the knife’ll be through his skull. “Be careful what you say next. If need be, even someone your age could be my target.” That will be Stain’s first and last warning.

Iida’s fist clench and his voice chokes with anger. “Are you saying that…I’m not even a threat to you?” He’s seething with anger despite the bloodied blade hanging just inches from his skull. “You listen to me, criminal.”

Iida begins to rise up off the ground, determined to see this through. “I am the brother of an incredible hero who you attacked.”

The memories of how he always looked up to Tensai fuel his rage.

“He’s the best older brother that anyone could hope for.”

He remembers how Tensai always inspired him, by leading by example…but those days are over ripped away by a monster of a man, staining those memories forever.

“I have come to stop you because he can’t anymore.”

He recalls what his brother asked of him that day: ‘ _“I want you to take the name. For me, Tenya._ ”’ 

“You’re going to remember my name for as long as you live.” Iida stands tall, his glare burning with hatred as he declares himself to the villain. “I am Ingenium, and I will defeat you. That, I promise!”

“Then, so be it.” It appears the predator has found his next prey. “Die.”

Iida’s Engines roar, red-hot steam bursting out of their exhausts, as his leg rockets forward. “FOR TENSEI!!!” He puts everything, everything behind this one strike!

And it’s a miss…

Stain demonstrates some masterful acrobatics, leaping up and over the boy with little effort. “Ingenium. So you’re brothers. I let him live so he could spread the good word.” The spikes at the tip of his shoes shine in the darkness. “Word of me.” The murderer kicks his foot forward, the spikes cutting into Iida’s shoulder.

Iida groans in pain, just before Stain slams his opposite foot down on his head, slamming him into the ground, pinning him down by his face.

The predator leers down at the foolish boy under his boot. “You’re a weakling. Just like he was.”

With a spin of his blade, Stain slams it down, right through the boy’s left arm. 

“Rahhh!!” Iida howls in pain as his blood splurts out from his wound.

“You aren’t heroes. You have no right to be called that. Both of you are nothing but fakes.”

“Shut up, villain.” Iida growls up at the villain, trying his best to fight through the searing pain; not the pain of the sword through his arm but the pain of his loss, his hero’s loss. “You damaged his spine and paralyzed him from the waist down. He’s never gonna be able to work as a pro hero again.”

Iida can recall all those clips on the news about how his brother was always able to lead his sidekicks efficiently even through the worst of it. He saved so many lives. And he was always so caring and sympathetic.

“My brother was incredible. A caring person who saved many lives.” An inspiration for him. “Someone people looked up to.” His burning hatred seeps through boiling up inside of him. “You had no right to take that all away from him!”

##########(Flashback)#########

Iida can remember one particular day in his youth.

The whole family had gathered around for dinner and it was one of the few times Tensai was able to join them.

If he can recall correctly their father seemed so proud and happy for their eldest son. “Tensei. I’m so proud of you. You’ve become independent at a very young age, with many sidekicks following you. That’s no easy feat in these times.”

Tensei Iida offers up an honored but humbled smile. “Nah, they’re not followers. It’s the opposite, Dad. They support me ‘cause I’m not great on my own. They’re just looking out for me. I honestly couldn’t do anything without them. I need their support.” His friendly smile widens. “Of course, I’m working hard so I can return the favor.”

Young Iida peers up at his brother wandering what he could mean by that. 

“I’m not super talented or anything, but if I’m going to call myself a hero, then I have to live up to that title and help people.”

########(End Flashback)#######

But now…now Tensei can’t live up to that oath, he can’t ever be a hero, never again.

“He is my hero.” Even through the hatred and anger, tears of heartbreak leak out from Iida’s eyes. The pain, the pain of his and his brother’s vows having been shattered, taken away from them. “My older brother inspired my dream that one day I could be a pro, too!”

His arm, even with a blade running through it, shakes as he wills himself to make a fist even through the pain and pooling blood. “I won’t forgive you. I’ll kill you!!”

Stain doesn’t flinch, instead he decides that now is the time to tear into this child’s delusions. “Shouldn’t you be worried about saving that guy?” He gestures towards the wounded and paralyzed pro hero, Native, who’s been forgotten by the side of the building.

Iida gasps, freezing in place. 

“So busy with your grudge you forgot about him. You plan on using your Quirk only for yourself. You’re completely blinded by a selfish desire for revenge.” Stain smiles as he holds his sword tighter knowing this will really get to the delusional fool. “You’re about as far away from being a hero as I can imagine.”

With a tug he removes his katana out from Iida’s shoulder spilling more blood across the pavement.

Stain inhales the fresh scent of blood as the bloodied blade rises up towards his smiling jaws. “And that’s why you’ll die tonight.” His long tongue slips out and caresses the side of the bloodied blade.

And just like a curse is casted over Iida, his entire body becoming strained and paralyzed, like some sort of petrification! ‘ _My body…won’t move!_ ’ 

Stain raises his sword, aiming the blade just above the boy’s skull. He will kill. He will spill blood. All in the name of a better tomorrow. “Goodbye, child. May your death bring about a better world.”

Iida trembles before the Hero Killer, a surge of emotions spiraling and clashing within him from, anger, to sorrow, to fear. “ _No, please… Not like this…”_

##########(Flashback)#########

He can see it; Tensei’s inspiring smile. “Knowing you look up to me makes me better. I have to be sure I make you proud, Tenya. Hahaha!” 

########(End Flashback)#######

Iida roars out through the tears, and through the fear, letting his anger take over as he curses the Hero Killer’s very existence. “Say whatever you want to about me!! You’re still just a criminal who hurt my brother!!”

Before Stain could deliver the blow, he gasps! Something’s coming.

SLAM!!!

“STINGER SLAP!!!” Stinkfly’s massive stinger crashes into the Hero Killer’s skull as he spins his body around to deliver a non-lethal blow!

The Stinger Slap knocks the villain away, allowing Stinkfly to touch down and take a protective stance over Iida’s paralyzed body.

Iida, blinks through the tears, up at his savior. “Who’s there?”

A pair of Stinkfly’s eyes swing down at Iida. “Iida…” The bug-creature smiles in relief. “I’m so glad you’re alright.” 

Iida gasps, his eyes landing on the very recognizable Omnitrix. “Midoriya? Is that you?”

The transformed Deku nods. “Yeah, Iida, it’s me.” He takes note of the pain in his friend’s voice, and it breaks his heart to see Iida like this. In pain, broken, and hurt. “Don’t you worry, Iida. I’m gonna save you.”

Although he does have to admit that he wasn’t completely sure that Iida was even going to encounter the Hero Killer. But he’s glad he overthought things otherwise…it might have been too late. 

Stain remains standing, his sword ready, eyeing the interloper with much disdain and annoyance.

Stinkfly eyes the Hero Killer from his many blades to his blood-red scarf. “So, you’re the Hero Killer. You’re even more menacing than I imagined.” He smirks cockily. “And I’ve seen ugly I mean, hey.” Stinkfly gestures to his whole…situation.

Stain scowls, truly he doesn’t understand a good sense of humor. 

Iida struggles to move. “You found him, too? But how?”

Stinkfly doesn’t take his eyes off the villain. “I saw it on TV. They had some stats about the Hero Killer. Most of his victims were found where there weren’t many people. So in order to find you, I need to search far away from the panic. In the back alleys of Hosu City.” Thankfully two pairs of eyes are really good at finding lost things. Especially when they wear shiny white armor.

Stain’s deadly gaze makes Stinkfly tremble. “Let’s go. Back toward the street. We both have a better chance to use our powers in the open.” And possibly gain the attention of some nearby pros.

Iida grunts. “Ugh. I can’t move my body.”

Stinkfly blinks. “Huh?”

“It must be his Quirk.” Iida glares towards the Hero Killer. “Since he cut me, I’ve been paralyzed.”

“That’s the kind of Quirk people on TV said the Hero Killer might have.” Stinkfly turns his attention back to the surprisingly patient murderer. “So cutting somehow activated his power, huh?”

‘ _Wait, is that…_?’ Stinkfly gasps as his eyes land on Native. ‘ _There’s someone else!_ _If it had just been Iida, I could’ve picked him up and flew him away myself._ ’ Dammit, if only Stinkfly was just a bit bulkier he might just have been able to do it.

“Midoriya, please! Don’t get involved.”

Stinkfly peers back down at the shaking Iida, as he tries to will himself to move, tears still leaking from his eyes. 

“This doesn’t have anything to do with you!”

Stinkfly chokes up, those eyes they’re so full of hate and pain. “Iida…what are you saying…?”

Stain’s blade slashes across the ground, the sparks and loud clang draws the boys’ attention. “You showed up to save your friend’s life.”

Stinkfly scowls, planting himself in place, he has no intentions of abandoning someone in need.

“You’ve even made a big entrance. But I have a duty to kill him and this so-called pro. When your friend chose to fight me,” Death lurks within each one of the Hero Killer’s words. “it guaranteed that the weaker of us would be culled. So what will you do?”

The morphed Deku can feel it: the drive, the conviction,…the death. ‘ _He’s…different from all the villains I’ve faced before._ ’ He notices the fire behind the killer’s gaze. ‘ _Those are the eyes of a fanatic._ ’

*Ping.* A pair of Stinkfly’s eyes wiggle around his head and peer down his back. There they see that Stinkfly has his phone out and a Pin of their location. And with one push of a button he sends the S.O.S. out.

Stinkfly is sweating, nervous and scared, just one wrong move and they’ll all be dead. ‘ _Maybe I should have given this plan a bit more thought._ ’ Like bringing a pro along too, or not splitting up from Uraraka. ‘ _I’ll just have to protect these two who can’t move and stall for time…all by myself._ _Maybe I can even force the Hero Killer to run._ ’

Stinkfly raises his claws, his wings stand on end, and his stinger rises up “A new challenger has appeared!” His gaze narrows in on the Hero Killer. “Are you ready?”

Stain glares right back. 

Stinkfly calms himself with a deep breath, no use panicking, he can do this. He’s fought guys way more powerful: Nomu, Nue, Shigaraki, Gang Orca, heck even his own classmates. There’s no way he can lose this, even as Stinkfly. ‘ _Yeah, I’ve got this._ ’

*Bwep!*

“Huh?” Stinkfly immediately looks to the blinking Omnitrix.

And with a few more beeps, Stinkfly disappears and is replaced by a plain faced, green-haired boy.

‘ _Oh…god…_ ’ Between fighting off the Nomus, searching for Iida, and all the talking…Izuku forgot about… “My time limit!!”

Stain is actually surprised, taken back by the sudden blinding light and now that giant bug is gone. But that boy… ‘ _It’s him. He’s one of the children from Shigaraki’s pictures._ ’

“Wahhhh!!!” Meanwhile, Izuku is having a bit of a meltdown. ‘ _Why?! Why now?! This is literally the worst time to time out!! Why does this thing have a time limit anyway? What kind of sadist thought that was a good idea?!_ ’

“Listen to me!”

Deku pauses, peering back down at Iida who called for him. “Stand down. Run away. I told you, this has nothing to do with you.” His eyes narrow, the anger and frustration within him taking over unfiltering his thoughts. “Besides… without your powers…and that time limit…you’re basically Quirkless!!”

That strikes a chord, a chord that hasn’t been touched since…Jr. High. Izuku had…almost forgotten what it felt like. Who knew that even all this time…it would still hurt.

But…this is different. He knows he can be a hero and he doesn’t need someone’s permission to be one. “If you really believe that, then why are you trying to become a hero in the first place?!”

Iida is taken back, he never thought he’d witness the day that Midoriya would actually snap…at anybody.

Izuku’s fists clench, facing away from Iida. ‘ _There are plenty of things I’d like to say, but they’ll have to wait._ ’ He knows Iida didn’t mean for that to cut so deep, but it did. Why? Because in a way he’s right, more than he knows. “But you’re right about one thing Iida.”

Iida frowns confused and concerned. 

“Without my powers, I am just some Quirkless nobody, but…” He glares definitely at the villain and declares! “that’s not going to stop me from saving you!!”

Stain overhears it all, and he’s absolutely astonished by the resolve, the courage, the selflessness, and…the honesty. He doesn’t know much about this boy, scratch that he knows nothing, but from what he can gather this boy has some sort of time limit like him. One that prevents his Quirk from working properly it seems. And yet here he stands, willing to take him on, the Hero Killer, without his Quirk. A true hero in the making.

No wonder he’s on Shigaraki’s radar.

On the ground Iida stares up at Midoriya in awe. ‘ _How…? Why…? Why won’t you save yourself, Midoriya? If you stay, he’ll kill you. You have to run!_ ’

Izuku, no Deku, turns his jade eyes back at Iida.

It’s then Iida can see the terror behind his eyes, the fear that they may not walk away from this, but even so he has the will to stand defiantly in the face of death. Daring to challenge it, daring to challenge the inevitable, the impossible.

“It’s like I said Iida. I’m going to save you!!” Izuku grips his right arm, making sure his new vambrace is nice and secured.

A disturbing smile graces Stain’s lips. “Heh!”

Deku charges, fists at the ready!

Iida shouts after him! “Midoriya, No!!”

Stain’s deranged grin widens. “Good.” He swings his katana up towards the charging young hero.

As if in slow motion, Deku can see the blade slashing through the air to cut him down. ‘ _I have to get past his sword._ ’

Stain sees through him. ‘ _Trying to get in close so I can’t strike him. Smart move._ ’

Iida cries out in anguish, regretting so much!! “No!! If you get cut, you’ll-” 

*Clash!*

Stain’s attack was…stopped. By a…by a… “A shield…?”

That’s right. Ejected out from Deku’s silver vambrace is a buckler! A small shield about 18 inches in diameter. The shield is split into sections meant to fold back up into the vambrace with a simple flick of the wrist. The buckler is silver lined with a black and white trim. And as the centerpiece lies a replica of the Omnitrix’s hourglass faceplate.

And right now this little metallic buckler shield has stopped Stain’s sword dead in its tracks.

Deku swings his arm out, knocking away the sharp blade. “This is my…Omni-Shield!!!” With Stain’s main weapon temporarily out of the way, Deku throws his left fist forward and it slams into Stain’s face right where his nose should be.

Iida…is at a complete loss for words. ‘ _What? He’s actually…fighting without his Quirk._ ’

Deku grins, glad he asked for this piece of gear. He’s been wanting something to use, to protect himself, while the Omnitrix recharges. Plus after what Tokoyami and Tsuyu pulled during the Sports Festival he needed something to protect the Omnitrix too.

Stain recovers quickly and slashes at Deku. But once again Deku blocks it thanks to his newest support item.

Stain pulls out a knife, thrusting it forward, but Deku falls back, dodging the attack. Deku slides forward and as he spins around, he uses his free hand to pull out a roll of capture tape from his utility belt. And with some expert timing he wraps it around the villain’s leg, and with one good tug he’s able to trip him up. Causing him to fall.

Iida gasps. ‘ _That move! It’s like Mr. Aizawa’s capture weapon._ ’ At least in the way Deku used it, that is.

Deku gets back up, releasing the tape. ‘ _Yes! I really can fight!_ ’ He grins, proud of himself and his efforts. “I guess even someone who’s Quirkless can be a hero.”

Woah! Is it wrong that he wishes All Might could see this?

The downed Stain smirks, pulling the knife closer to his smiling maw. His tongue flicks the blade, lapping up the tiniest amount of blood on it.

Deku collapses, his body becoming paralyzed under some sort of curse. ‘ _My body!_ ’ He quickly scans himself for a cut. And there is one, right on his shoulder is the tiniest cut imaginable. ‘ _He must have cut me, and I didn’t even notice._ _One graze is all it took?!_ ’

Stain rises to his feet with both his sword and dagger in hand.

And that’s when Deku sees it, the tiniest amount of blood dripping off the knife. ‘ _No. It’s…the blood! He…he ingested it!_ ’

“You’re not strong enough.” Stain strides forward, turning his back on the paralyzed young man. “It’s not that you predicted my movements. You just blocked my field of vision and maneuvered so that you’d be able to get in a clean shot. But I saw through your plan.”

He stops and offers up one of the creepiest and most heinous smiles Deku’s ever seen. “You are something aren't you? Taking me on without a Quirk. Now only a true resolve of a hero could do that.” He turns away and continues forward, his katana’s blade dragging across the ground sharpening it. “There are countless false heroes around here who are all talk, but I think you’re worthy of staying alive.”

Stain stands just above Iida, leering down at him watching as the hope vanishes within him, his only hope had fallen before his very eyes.

“You’re different from these two. They only use their Quirks for themselves. And even without yours you still chose to resist me.” He glances back at Deku, making sure he's listening. “Hear my words boy, this is the fate of all those that falsely proclaim themselves as heroes.” He aims his sword right above Iida’s head.

Deku’s entire body desperately shakes and struggles to move, to run forward, to help. “Wait, don’t. Stop it!”

The blade lowers, hovering just above Iida’s trembling eye.

The Hero Killer slowly raises his blade, he needs this moment to make an impact, to engrave itself into the boy’s memory, to ensure that he truly becomes a worthy hero, a true hero.

Deku cries out in despair. “Get away!!”

Like an answer to his prayers, Stain leaps away in a panic as a glowing pink ball of energy nearly slams into him. The ball bursts upon impact with the ground, forcing the Hero Killer back and away from Iida.

All three: Stain, Iida, and Deku gasp in surprise. 

“Someone else to get in my way.” Stain grunts in surprise, leaping away once more as a pillar of flames nearly burns him alive. “Today’s been full of distractions.” Being forced away even further, Stain leers up at the duo floating just above his prey.

Up in the air, descending down onto the scene, is Uravity floating down like a guardian angel. To her left she’s got a floating Shoto Todoroki in her grasp. Good thing she’s got him by the right side because nearly his whole left side is ignited with flames.

Uravity releases her Zero-Gravity, dropping them both down into the alley way.

“Midoriya.” Shoto holds up his phone, revealing his S.O.S. message which was just a pin. “You need to give more details in times like this.”

Uravity frowns, her cheeks puffing out in a pout. “Hey, I told you what it was.”

Shoto averts his gaze like it’s nothing to get worked up about. “Either way he shouldn’t send such cryptic messages. Then again, he’s not the type to do that, now is he?”

Iida gasps upon recognition of his classmates. “Todoroki and Uraraka, too?

Deku grins even while paralyzed and stuck to the ground. “I’m glad you two came.”

Iida looks to Deku. “You knew they were here?”

The greenette tries to nod. “I did, Todoroki and I met up when we first arrived in Hosu and I ran into Uraraka not too long ago either.” He tries to offer Iida a kind reassuring smile. “We split up to search for you.”

Iida gasps…he didn’t expect all of them to do that. Not for him. 

Meanwhile, Stain eyes the pink-cheeked girl with interest. ‘ _Her too. She was also on Shigaraki’s hit list._ ’ He won’t have the time to find out why, because right now he must avoid capture.

Leaping up and away onto a fire escape just before Todoroki could freeze him in place with a sheet of ice.

The ice rises on an angle lifting Deku and Native off the ground.

Shoto, alongside Uravity, runs forward to meet the Hero Killer.

“Everything’s okay. The pro heroes will be here any minute!” Shoto unleashes another stream of flames up towards Stain.

The flames miss thanks to the villain’s agile movements, but the flames are so intense that it melts the upper ice away creating a downward ramp that allows the paralyzed Deku and Native to slide down and land just behind Shoto and Uravity.

Stain lands back on the ground and Uravity takes her shot. “Ryou Spheres!!”

The boys’ jaws drop as a pair of energized spheres blast out from Uravity’s palms, racing towards the Hero Killer like a pair of cannon balls.

Stain counters with a pair of throwing knives, the two projectiles clash into each other and the Rou Spheres explode with power, whipping up a powerful whirlwind.

Deku’s in awe. “Woah! Uraraka what was that?!”

Uravity grins as she takes a defensive position between the killer and her friend. “Just a little something I picked up.”

Stain scowls. ‘ _The time will be up for one of them soon._ ’

Shoto stands beside Uravity going her in protecting the others. “You’re just what they said you were.” He aims his flaming left side forward. “But you won’t be taking any more lives, Hero Killer.”

Stain’s scowl hardens in anger.

Uravity nervously smiles up at her combat partner. “This…kinda reminds me of the U.S.J.”

Shoto gives her a questioning look. 

“But this time, you’re using your flames.” Her smile widens as she glares determinant at their opponent. “So, let’s show this villain what we can do.”

Shoto pauses before going along with her optimism. “Of course we will. We will protect them!”

Stain readies his weapons.

“Todoroki! Uraraka!” shouts Deku. “You can’t let that guy get your blood! I-I think he controls his enemy’s movements by swallowing it. That’s how he got us!”

Uravity gags. “Bleh! He ingests blood to…paralyze you? Ewwww.”

Shoto eyes Deku curiously. “So how’d he get you? Why haven’t you transformed?”

“Huh?!” Deku frowns his face turning slightly red. “Oh, well, I sort of ran out of time…”

Ah, that makes sense. Shoto turns and addresses his only aid. “All we got to do is keep our distance.”

Uravity nods before her instincts kick in. “Get down!!” She tackles Shoto, throwing them both down, just as a throwing knife gazes at the scared teen’s cheek, leaving a tiny thin scratch. If she hadn’t acted when she did…

Stain pounces like a predator attacking a herd of sheep. “You have good friends, Ingenium. Or you did!!” He swings his arm forward as if to deliver a killing strike.

Shoto acts fast, pushing Uravity aside and slamming his hand down onto the ground. A small glacier bursts upward intercepting the strike like a shield.

But…all Shoto stopped was the killer’s fist. ‘ _Where’s his sword?!_ ’

A glint above catches his eye. 

Shoto gasps, Stain’s katana spins overhead falling from above. ‘ _He threw it at the same time he threw the knife!_ ’

With his guard down, Stain leaps forward and grabs Shoto by his collar, pulling him in with his long tongue stretched out ready to lap up any blood from the tiny scar on his cheek.

Flames burst out from the teen’s body, forcing the Hero Killer away before he has his own face burned off.

“Out of the way!!” yells Uravity, as she throws a weightless dumpster forward like a baseball.

Shoto swings his body to the side just as the dumpster flies past him.

Stain jumps up, bouncing off the top of the flying dumpster, and pouncing towards them with his blade at the ready.

Shoto unleashes an ice wall but one cut is all it takes for Stain to break through. “He’s strong!”

Stain charges forward but a veil of flames holds him off. As he braces himself from the intense heat, Uravity flies up and over them all before diving back down. “Yahhh!!”

Stain tosses up several throwing knives forcing Uravity to swerve away before she can be impaled. But due to her change in trajectory, Stain has an opening, he jumps up and slams his spiked boot into Uravity’s side.

“Wah!!” Blood splorts out from her side as she falls back down.

Stain leaps at the chance to paralyze another, his tongue lashing out, but a piercing icicle intercepts his path nearly slicing off his tongue.

Uravity lands on the ground with a thud and a groan, she holds her side trying to stop the bleeding. ‘ _He got me._ ’

Shoto stands before Uravity giving her a chance to recover. “Are you alright?!”

“Yeah!” She gets right back up, her fists raised, ignoring the aching pain and blood staining her costume.

“Just stop it.” Iida chokes, unable to move, his frustration and anger choking him as he watches his friends fight his battle. “Why are you doing this? His fight is with me!” He needs to be the one to defeat the Hero Killer. “I inherited my brother's name. I’m the one that should stop him. The Hero Killer is mine!”

Uravity is taken back, appalled by this side of Iida. It’s horrible.

Stain tries to get in close but Shoto greets him with a wall of flames. “You’re Ingenium now? Strange.”

Shoto’s flames dissipate and he generates a wall of ice, the Hero Killer evades and parkours his way around the icicles, but he’s forced back, nonetheless. “The Ingenium I knew before never had that look on his face.”

Iida gasps. 

“You’ve got a dark side. Guess my family isn’t the only one.”

Deku is desperately trying to move, trying in vain to break free of this curse. “Careful, you guys! Uh. Huh?” His fingers, for a moment there…he was able to move them! 

While Shoto holds back the Hero Killer with more flames, Uravity brushes her hand across the broken chunks of ice. The ice chunks float off the ground while Uravity positions herself just behind them. “I’ve got this!!” She throws her One For All powered fist forward, generating a whirlwind strong enough to launch the ice chunks forward like a vertical meteor shower!

Stain proves far more acrobatic and agile, he leaps up using the flying ice chunks as platforms, slicing away at those that threaten to get in his way. “Nice try, but not good enough.”

He lands just before Uravity, swinging his katana up at her.

Uravity practically rockets herself away, One For All instinctually boosting her legs, giving her the speed she needed to escape.

With his partner out of the way, Shoto unleashes a massive icicle wave that crashes its way towards the villain.

Stain jumps right towards the crashing wave of ice, and with just a few slices of his sword, he dices his way through the overwhelming attack. “You blocked your own field of vision against an opponent who’s faster than you. Rookie mistake.”

Shoto glares up at the murderer, his left side flaming up. “Come get me then!”

A pair of throwing knives embed themselves into his left arm, cutting off his concentration.

Stain leaps down towards the boy, his katana raises over his head. “You’re good, kid.” At the last second his gaze turns towards the paralyzed Native. “Unlike him.”

Shoto cries pout as Stain speeds right past him. “Watch out!!”

Stain swings his sword down but at the very last moment the Oni-Shield intercepts his attack, protecting Native.

Shoto blinks “Midoriya?!”

Deku’s back on his feet, his right arm raises above his head, holding back the deadly weapon.

Stain’s eyes widen in surprise. ‘ _He must be type O!_ ’

Before he could retaliate, Uravity swoops in, grabbing him by the collar and smashing him into the side of the building dragging him along it and away from her friends.

Deku catches his breath as Shoto gives him a onceover. “How are you…?”

Deku shakily gets to his feet. “I’m not sure why, but I’m able to move now!”

“So he has a time limit.” 

“No.” Interrupts Native, attracting the boys’ attention. “That boy shoulda been the last one to be freed if that was the case. I still can’t move a muscle.”

At the same time, Stain manages to sneak in an elbow strike, breaking Uravity’s grip and her balance, knocking her to the ground. He lands on his feet as the girl takes a harsh tumble.

“Uraraka, dodge!”

Without a second to waste, Uravity zooms away with the aid of her Gyro-Disc as an icicle trail blocks Stain from getting to her. 

She swings around and lands beside Shoto and Deku.

She gaps catching her breath. “So he swallows a person’s blood to freeze them, talk about nasty.”

Deku nods, flexing his fingers. “Yeah, but I was the one freed first.”

Stain remains silent and still listening in, with interest. These children are really something and he wants to know why.

Deku continues. “I’ve got three different theories on why. 1. His Quirk could be less effective the more people he uses it on. 2. The amount ingested could play into how long it works. 3. There’s a difference based on the person’s blood type.”

Native speaks up from off the ground. “If it’s the last one, my blood type is B.”

Iida adds his in too. “I’m type…A.”

That confirms it for Deku. “And…I’m type O!”

An impressed smile stretches across Stain’s face. “So you figured it out. Bravo. Very impressive.”

It appears his Bloodcurdle Quirk has been identified by one promising young hero. That’s quite the feat, not one of the pro heroes he’s faced were able to figure it out. Yet this boy was able to figure it all out in just a few minutes.

Deku scowls. “It doesn’t really help us to know how his Quirk works, though.”

Shoto grimaces. “I thought we could hurry and carry those two out of here, but it’s no good.”

Uravity trembles a bit, still trying to calm her racing heart. “Yeah, he’s way too fast.”

Shoto’s left side ignites. “Our best option is to hold until the pros arrive.”

Deku positions his right arm forward, holding the Omni-Shield out in front of him. “That’s easier said than done.” Either way, there is still a chance they can all still walk away from this, alive.

Deku stands tall, his shield up in front. “We hold our ground! We force him back! We cover each other! And we’ll win!”

Shoto and Uravity smile, both nodding in agreement. There’s no way they’re going to roll over and give up. They know the villain’s Quirk, they got him outnumbered, and they got him out gunned. They can’t lose, not here, not now. They can win this!

Shoto’s flames glow brighter as he eyes their opponent. “We’re with you Midoriya.”

Uravity floats above them, a pair of Ryou Spheres glowing around her hands. “You can count on us!”

“Right!” Deku grins feeling confident with the knowledge that his classmates, his friends, got his back.

Stain gives them a nasty scowl, his eyes glowing blood red as his tongue lashes out giving him a monstrous aura.

With newfound confidence, Deku cries out his battle cry. “It’s Hero Time!”

*CRASH!!!*

Something fast and big crashes into the ground behind the trinity of young heroes. The impact shakes the ground right underneath their feet, a dust cloud blasts out of the ground, along with pieces of rubble.

The trinity spin around in shock, even Stain has been taken by surprise by his guard dropping from the sudden impact.

“RYEEEEE!!!” A pair of giant wings swing open blowing away the dust and rubble as an ear-piercing shriek fills screeching in their ears.

Draco snarls, his tongue lashing out, as his claws flex and shine under the moonlight. His eyes lock onto the plain-faced boy with his recognizable green-hair and freckles. “D…ku.”

At the moment, all of Deku's confidence and hope for survival washes away as rows of needle-like teeth descends upon him.

“RYEEEEE!!!”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Meanwhile, closer to the raging flames, Gran Torino rockets forward towards the Squirrelanoid Nomu as it scurries towards the helpless couple. “Stop it, you stupid beast!”

Before Squirrelanoid could make it anywhere near the couple an inferno of raging flames engulfs his entire body. “EAAAAAAAH!!!!”

Gran Torino gasps, rotating his body so his feet are facing forward and with a quick blast from Jet he’s able to propel himself away from the raging flames.

“EAAAAAAAH!!!” Squirrelanoid howls into the night sky as the inferno rages and consumes his entire being, putting him through a true hell on Earth. “EAAAAAAAH!!!”

The master of the flames scoffs. “I was looking for the elusive Hero Killer, but this thing will have to do.”

Gran Torino scowls up at the new arrival. 

The fire wilder marches forward. “Thanks, old timer. I’m afraid I don’t know you, but I can handle this from here on out.”

Gran Torino frowns. “It’s you.”

The couple gasp in surprise.

“Whoa, look.”

“Why’s he in Hosu?”

The Number Two Hero, Endeavor smirks as his flames consume the villain. “Hmph. Isn’t it obvious? I came because I’m a hero.”

The flames die out and Squirrelanoid doesn’t look to be in a playful mood. His body searing in pain as smoke emits off of it. “Eaaaaaah.”

Endeavor huffs. “That was only a low-temperature warning shot. But, still, it always KO’s my opponent.”

Gran Torino frowns, if this thing can stand up to the power of the Number Two Hero then they’re really in a pickle for sure.

“Something's not right.” The way Squirrelanoid’s twitching and moving just feels off to the veterinarian hero. “This guy is-”

“Eaaaaaah!” Flames burst out from Squirrelanoid’s back like a raging wildfire!

Gran Torino jets away before he’s burned alive, while Endeavor holds his ground and simply manipulates his own heat to repel the flames away.

He scowls as the familiar flames rage before him. “Your Quirk’s absorption and release, but you still took damage from my flame, didn’t you?”

The flames cut away revealing the twitching and building Squirrelanoid.

Endeavor scoffs. “Not a very impressive power.”

“What’s he doing?” Gran Torino doesn’t like the look of how the creature’s twitching and his muscles are contracting on themselves. “Watch it, Todoroki!”

Squirrelanoid is squatting down, his head held high, looking like he’s about to regurgitate something.

“I think this guy’s got multiple Quirks!”

Suddenly Squirrelanoid’s muscles expand matching the Endeavor’s own bulk, even its tail looks like a spiky bicep now. And with a swing of his arms and tail, he springs himself up into the air.

Endeavor frowns, intriguing. “I see. So that’s how it is.”

Gran Torino frowns and quickly scans the area. ‘ _Those two bystanders got away, right?_ ’ They did. ‘ _Good._ ’

Endeavor raises his hand up, aiming it towards the descending monster, flames dancing out from his palm.

From up above, Squirrelanoid opens his maw and disgustingly his tongue lashes out to form a mashup fleshly net to sprout forth.

Gran Torino races into the sky, breaking through the fleshy net and quickly getting behind the beast. He quickly ricochets himself in midair and Jets himself right back towards the monster. Slamming his boots down on its back and smashing it into the pavement.

“Eaaaaaah!!” Squirrelanoid groans in pain, his back definitely broken after that strike!

Gran Torino scowls down at the villain as it passes out. “Didn’t mean to damage the road. I might be more outta practice than I thought.”

Endeavor, with his ever-present scowl, is impressed. “Huh. Nice work. You’re not bad, old man.”

They can’t revel in their victory as a rumbling thunder is heard in the distance.

The two heroes look to the distance, they can see the glow of flames and smoke rising over the buildings just down a few more city blocks.

Endeavor’s eyes narrow. “That must be where the rest of the heroes are gathered. It’s been some time now; they should've taken care of things by now.”

Gran Torino isn’t so sure, not if there’s more creatures like the one he’s standing on. “We need to tie this guy up. The cops will take care of him from there. Then we can help out.”

Endeavor growls.

##########(Flashback)#########

“Shoto! There’s trouble ahead.” Endeavor and the few sidekicks that he kept with him take off running towards the sirens and screams. “I’ll show you what it means to be a hero.”

As they run, Shoto's phone buzzes, receiving a message.

As they keep moving, Shoto takes a look and stops when he sees who’s it from. ‘ _Midoriya…. All he sent was his location?_ ’ 

“Dammit!!” Endeavor turns around, pissed off by his son’s lack of action. “You should be watching me-Hey! Wait!”

Shoto takes off running, completely ignoring the so-called pro hero.

“Where the hell are you going?!”

Shoto actually responds back as he continues to run back the way they came. “An alleyway at 4-2-10 Ekou Street. If you finish what you’re doing or see extra pros, send them there.”

Endeavor frowns totally lost on what to do. Confused by what would draw his creation’s attention away so suddenly.

“I’m leaving you here to take care of this trouble. I’m sure you can handle it yourself.”

“Huh?” And so Endeavor watches as his own son turns his back on him and takes off.

“My friend might be in danger.”

“Shoto…” 

########(End Flashback)#######

Endeavor scowls down at the four-eyed monster. “Leave him to my sidekicks. They’ll make sure the cops take him.”

“Hm?” Gran Torino peers up at the Top Ranked Hero.

“There’s an address that I need you to investigate for me.”

The Number Two Hero then redirects his attention to the chaos ahead. “I am Endeavor. I can take care of the rest of this myself.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Deku chokes, gasping for air as his life is choked out of him, grappling at his assailant. ‘ _Just…what kind of monster…are you?_ ’ 

Draco’s tongue dangles out from its mouth, his reptilian eyes narrowed in on its prey.

Deku gags as Draco’s grip tightens around his neck, lifting him off the ground and pinning him against the side of the building.

Deku desperately grips the winged-lizard’s arms, trying to break himself free, but the lanky limbs are surprisingly strong, not budging an inch.

Deku shocks, unable to breath, scowling up at the monster. His gaze moves away from the Nomu and to his comrades…and what he sees isn’t any better.

Uravity is down, lying face down on the ground. Her helmet’s been smashed to bits by the creature as it grabbed her head and threw her face first into the ground. She moans, a bit of blood leaking from her forehead.

Shoto is walking with a limp, courtesy of a needle-toothed bite to his leg. He so desperately wants to help Deku but he’s far too busy keeping the Hero Killer away with a wall of flames.

Iida and Native watch on, uselessly and helplessly, still paralyzed due to Stain’s Bloodcurdle.

‘ _Come on…! I gotta…get free!_ ’ Out of desperation, Deku thrusts his Omni-Shield into the creature’s arm. ‘ _Let go of me!_ ’

“D…ku.”

Deku freezes, finally taking a moment to examine the horrid creature.

Despite having him literally in its claws…it’s not attacking, nor does it display any signs of desiring to. Instead it’s…examining him like he’s something familiar.

‘ _What…what is it doing?_ ’ Deku dares not to speak aloud, afraid he may just accidentally instigate the feral creature.

Meanwhile, Uravity struggles to lift herself off the ground and she nearly screams out at the sight of her friend being strangled to death. _‘Deku!!’_

From the corner of his eye Deku spots Uravity getting back onto her feet, she leans back and her fists glow pink with energy.

He ever so subtly shakes his head, If she attacks now, she’ll only be putting them all, especially him, at risk.

Uravity takes notice and hesitates before she powers down. Deku can tell that his actions are a cause of confusion and worry for her, but…this is necessary. He only needs another minute or so before the Omnitrix’s fully recharged. And then they can finally make their counterattack.

If he survives until then that is.

Draco leans in closer his reptilian gaze burrowing into the pair of jade eyes. “D…ku.”

Deku internally gasps. ‘ _Is it…is it trying to say…Deku…?_ ’

That’s…not right. How could it know his hero name? Is it because of the news and the Sports Festival? Maybe it heard it from the League of Villains?

But then again from the impressions Deku’s gotten from these things, they’re just some mindless beasts unable to think for themselves. So…how? 

Deku chokes, staring up at the creature in absolute bewilderment. “Just…what are you…?”

Draco lips part, hesitantly opening and closing as it tries to use the little brain power it has to speak. “De-”

*PEW-BANG!!!* 

Everything, for all of the inhabitants of the battle, occurs in slow motion. A single laserbolt drills right through the Nomu’s exposed brain, frying it to a crisp as bits of blood and brain matter gush out. Its grip becomes lifeless dropping Deku, Uravity watches on in horror, Iida and Native are silent, Shoto is stunned as his flames die out in an instant, and even Stain takes a pause caught off guard by yet another distraction.

Draco’s body collapses onto the ground, unmoving and lifeless. That shot came quick, killing the poor creature instantly. Blood pours out from the gaping hole in its exposed skull, its mouth hangs open with his long tongue sprawled out, and his large reptilian eyes remain open, unmoving and dead.

Deku gaps out in horror at the grizzly sight.

Slowly they all gaze upward towards the source of the lethal shot.

Hovering above like a predatory raptor is a man adoring a high-tech purple suit of armor.

Uravity steps back, disturbed the newcomer's presence, something about them doesn’t seem right. “Who…who is that?”

Deku shakily gets to his feet. “I…I don’t know.”

Shoto eyes remain locked on the intruder, the Hero Killer temporarily forgotten.

As for Stain, well he frowns up at the newest interruption. ‘ _What’s going on? Is this another fake hero?_ ’

The armored killer slowly descends his purple armor shining under the moonlight.

“Rryos m’i tael, eerht asw a stpo fo faifctr.” SixSix scans the humans, his helmet’s sensors locking onto the boy’s left wrist, just as the Omnitrix turns green. “Oudfn uyo.”

Deku stumbles back, the moment SixSix’s gaze locks onto him.

Uravity gulps. “Deku…why are they staring at you?” 

Deku shakes his head, unable to form a response. This person, this hunter, killed that Nomu with one shot! Just who is he?! They’re not a hero, he would know!

Shoto shakes off the fear, enough to speak up. “Midoriya, now might be a good time for a transformation.”

Deku peers down at the Omnitrix and a part of him jumps for joy at the sight of the glowing green hourglass. “Yeah, I think you might be right.”

Deku moves to activate the Omnitrix but as if an effect of his movement SixSix pounces. In a blink of an eye SixSix touches down right in front of the boy, causing him to stumble back.

“Ont dyaot, taans!” SixSix’s claw swipes away the Omni-Shield and Deku’s right arm, and throws the boy off balance, leaving the Omnitrix defenseless.

With a quick swipe of his hand, SixSix clamps a metallic brace around the Omnitrix, sealing it off completely.

“What?!” Deku pulls at the thick brace but it’s locked itself shut making it impossible for him to even see the Omnitrix.

Uravity and Shoto leap into action both rushing towards their friend.

Acting fast, SixSix grabs Deku by his arm, his jetpack roars to life, and off into the air they go, faster than either of the students could have hoped too.

“Deku/Midoriya!!” Uravity, Shoto, and Iida cry out as they witness their friend being abducted.

“Let go of me!” Deku swings his fist up at his abductor, but SixSix doesn’t even wince as his punches bounce off the high-tech armor.

‘ _Who is this guy?!_ ’ There’s so many questions running through the boy’s mind. Why is this hunter after him? What did he do to the Omnitrix? What is he?! Is he with the League of Villains?

SixSix grabs Deku’s other arm, trying to force the boy still. “Eiutq iirmusqng! Ro li’l uct ruoy mra fof.”

Deku snarls back. “What do you want?!”

“Hte Xiirtmno.”

As the two grapple in midair, a swooshing sound grabs SixSix’s attention. Both grapplers look forward, to find that the Hero Killer will not be ignored!

Stain swings his katana right for the intruder’s head.

SixSix is forced to release the boy and block the blade with his own energy blade. The purple hued blade projects out from his wrist, intercepting and blocking the katana, Sparks fly as the blades clash, their strikes so powerful that both are repelled back.

SixSix leers down at the Hero Killer. “Thaw het kufs’c royu bploemr, ddeu?!”

“These constant interruptions.” A deadly rage stirs from within the Hero Killer. “Are nothing but distractions.”

Deku winces in pain, his backside aching from being dropped from so high. But he dares not to move not with the Hero Killer standing so close and another killer hovering just above him.

Stain growls up at SixSix. “I have a duty. A duty to correct this corrupt society. I will remove the cancer that are false heroes.” The bloodlust is thick, Stain thirsts for blood, yearns for death, and he will have it. “I will cut down all those that seek to stop my MISSION!!!” He will bring death to them all whether they're a hero, child, or villain!! 

Unsure about what the red-scarfed monkey is saying, SixSix redirects his attention back to his intended target, lying just before the screaming monkey’s feet.

With a boost from his jetpack, SixSix dives down, lunging for the wilder of the Omnitrix.

Deku gasps at the bounty hunter’s incredible speed.

SixSix reaches down to grab him. But he never so much as lays a finger on Deku thanks to the Hero Killer.

Stain’s katana slices through the air cutting off SixSix’s path, forcing the hunter away.

SixSix leaps back, his feet skidding across the ground.

Deku peers up at the Hero Killer in confusion. Why’d he save him?!

Stain leers down at the boy as his katana remains raised in the air. “You’re worthy of living. Your death will only counteract my goals.” Stain redirects his eyes towards the other villain. “I will not allow that.” 

That doesn’t give Deku any sense of comfort, and before he could maybe question the Hero Killer, Stain leaps up and over him.

Stains wings his blade down at SixSix. “You’re going to die here!”

SixSix quickly jumps back before his head could be sliced in half. “Uyo ntdoulh’s alyp thwi iesnkv!”

SixSix thrusts his hand forward, pointing at Stain, and animated cables eject from his back. The cables lash out and grab Stain’s katana.

Stain tugs at the cables. ‘ _What is this?_ ’ He grabs his knife and with just one swipe he literally cuts himself free. “Your tricks are tasteless.” Stain readies his blades. “Nothing but nuisances.”

SixSix glares from behind his helmet, he’s really not liking this guy’s talk nor the fact that he’s getting in his way.

SixSix stands to the side, lifting his right fist up, and with a bob of his arm his energy blade bursts out from his wrist.

The bounty hunter takes a fighting stance, his blade at the ready, and his free claw hanging forward. “Tse’l aedcn, aeuuitlfb.”

Stain accepts the challenge. “Die!!”

Their swords clash, sparks of energy crackling between their scowling deadly gazes. The two leap back for clashing blades again and again, both moving swiftly with deadly grace and precision. Neither taking the defensive, both desiring the glory of killing the other.

SixSix leaps back and lets out a haunting undistinguishable laugh. “Owh oolc si stih, rradees? AHM nda Nbe Nte lliinasv rea ffiifhtn ti tuo”

“Your words are incomprehensible.” Stain charges in, his katana drawn back. “So, I won’t grant you the right of having any last words.”

“Ndt’o uyp erda wgnis ttha inhtg ta em!” SixSix thrusts his hand out.

*Clang!!*

Stain’s blade is stopped, stuck between SixSix’s talons.

Thanks to his high-tech armor and honed reflexes, SixSix managed to catch the swinging blade with one hand, his claw thick enough to be unfazed by the blade. “I dtol uyo byoeomh. U nat’c chotu isth!”

Stain scowls finding this nuisance’s attempts at speech a good enough reason to kill him. Stain swings his body, the spin proving enough force to break his katana free from SixSix’s grasp. As his body swings around Stain grips a throwing knife and with deadly, he jams the knife into SixSix’s side, piercing through the weakest part of his armor.

SixSix unleashes an inhuman screech as the knife impales his side. “Uyo kcfingu htis! Ttah llaeyr ursth!”

As Stain pulls back the knife, fittingly, purple blood leaks out from the bounty hunter’s wound.

Observing, split up from his friend, Deku remains rooted to the ground watching in both awe and terror as these assassins trade blows. But…the blood…why’s it purple? And then…the realization hits him. That guy’s a…he’s an alien!!

Stain inhales the scent of the oddly colored blood; he eyes hesitantly but in this world of mutation and transformation Quirks there’s always a chance it would affect the color of one’s blood. “I have to admit it, you were a worthy adversary.” He brings the dripping knife closer to his lips. “But your journey ends here.” A with a lick of his tongue Stain activates his Bloodcurdle.

Everyone pauses watching on, waiting for the bounty hunter to inevitably fall over, his body paralyzed and unable to move.

But it never occurs.

“Blgah!” Stain spits out the horrid tasting blood. “What is this?!” He coughs it up, grimacing from the taste.

He glares up at the bounty hunter and is even more shocked as SixSix charges at him, unparalyzed and not on the ground.

Stain leaps away as SixSix tries to tear his claws into him.

The unparalyzed SixSix growls up at Stain. But then he peers back down and notices Deku all alone, without his precious Omnitrix to aid him.

Forgetting the Hero Killer for a second, SixSix rockets forward his claws out and ready to tear into the boy.

But Stain isn’t one to be ignored, he swoops in, slamming his boot into Deku’s side while also swinging his blade down at the bounty hunter.

The blade slams into SixSix’s armored shoulder, knocking him to the side.

Pissed, SixSix leaps back to his feet, and let’s loose a barrage of lasers thanks to his wrist blasters.

Meanwhile, Uravity and Shoto watch on both in disbelief. Somehow that guy was…immune to the Hero Killer’s Quirk!!

“How…?” That one question lingers off Shoto’s tongue, but no answer is ever given.

“Todoroki!”

Shoto turns his attention to Uravity.

Uravity’s scared witless, the explosion making her flinch, but even so she tries her best to remain as calm as possible. “We gotta get Deku out of there!!”

Shoto reels back around towards the combatants. Looking past them, on the opposite side of them, he spots Deku desperately trying to pry the metal brace open. “Without his Quirk, he’s defenseless.”

Using Zero-Gravity on herself, Uravity springs into the air with the aid of her Gyro-Disc. “Make me an opening!”

Not needing to be told twice, Shoto unleashed a crashing ice trail, aiming it right at the combating assassins.

With his back turned SixSix fails to see the attack coming, but his opponent is more than ready to act leaping up and grabbing the fire escape.

SixSix aims his wrist blasters up at Stain but the ice trail crashes into him, slamming him against the wall, freezing him in place, only his shoulders and head are left untouched by the freezing ice. “Wo! Ttas’h ldco.”

With her only opening, Uravity dives in like a falcon and swoops Deku up in her arms. “I’ve got you!!”

Deku smiles, grateful for his savior’s rescue. But the moment is short lived.

“Look out!!” Deku throws his Omni-Shield up and just in time as Stain bears down on them with his sword.

He may have blocked the slash, but the force of the hit was strong enough to knock the young heroes onto the ground, skidding across the alleyway.

Stain touches down above Uravity, his sword hanging above her, just one stab will do her in.

Uravity looks away just as a burning inferno of flames shields her from him.

Stain quickly retreats as Shoto trails his flames after him.

While the intense heat rages, SixSix is busy with his escape. Strangely, a pair of minute arms sprout out from out of his shoulder pads, and each one tosses little flashing grenades down onto the ice. The grenades stick in place, blinking lights blink faster and faster until, Boom! He’s free.

SixSix pushes himself off the wall quickly taking in the situation.

With the Hero Killer busy trying not to be burned alive, SixSix scans the area for his primary target.

And he finds it. With speed that could compete with Iida, SixSix lunges his claws raised to embed themselves into the boy’s flesh if need be. “Reu’oy ym ckiett ot a yydpaa!!”

Acting out of pure adrenaline, Deku swings his Omni-Shield up just in time to uppercut SixSix’s claws away.

SixSix spins his body around and reaches out again, this time he manages to grab Deku by his arm and pull him.

But Uravity is at it again, saving Deku by delivering a quick One For All powered punch right into the bounty hunter.

SixSix’s grip breaks and he slams into the wall. “Ghlarit, v’ei dha ouhgne.”

Pissed beyond belief SixSix jets up into the air, aiming his wrist blasters down. He begins to spin and spin, and he unleashes a rain of laser bolts down at every single combatant.

Stain is forced to dodge and leap his way through the shower of lasers, using his blades to deflect what he can away.

Shoto quickly summons a dome of ice just as Uravity and Deku join taking cover with him.

As the lasers rain down Shoto directs his attention towards the greenette of the group. “Midoriya, it would be great if we had one of your transformations right now.” A laser bolt burns through his dome, but he quickly patches it up with more ice. “Any will do even that, um, little frog guy.”

“Okay, first off his name is Grey Matter.” Deku corrects a matter of factually.

Shoto gives him a deadpan stare, not at all interested in being correct right now.

Deku offers up a sheepish smile, sweatdropping. “Sorry… But no, this thing won’t come off!” Deku shakes his left wrist, displaying the metal brace around the Omnitrix.

Uravity examines the brace. “Can we break it open?”

“Here.” Shoto leans down and grips the brace coating it in ice. “Uraraka see if that will do.”

Uravity’s fist glows bright pink before she slams her fist down on the brace. “Ow!!” She grips her hand, wincing in pain, messaging her aching knuckles. “It’s too tough!”

It sure is, the ice may have broken off, but the brace hasn’t. It doesn’t so much have a scratch.

Deku gulps. “I…don’t think we can rely on One Man Army guys…”

“Dam.” Shoto grinds his teeth as a few more lasers break through. “Does anyone have any idea who that is?!”

Neither Uravity nor Deku need long to understand who he’s referring to: the bounty hunter.

Uravity shakes her head. “I…I don’t know. Maybe…maybe he’s with the League of Villains!”

Shoto exhales. “Alright, so what do we know for certain about this guy?”

Deku hesitantly speaks up. “Well…he seems to be adorning some sort of armor.”

Uravity nods. “He’s got lasers! Oh, and claws. And a jetpack!”

Deku nods in agreement. “Yeah, and for some reason the Hero Killer’s Quirk doesn’t work on him.” Deku’s eyes lock with Uravity’s. “Almost like the guy’s not…from here.”

Uravity’s eyes widen, picking up Deku’s message. That guys an alien?! 

Shoto frowns, eyeing Midoriya wondering why the villain would be after him specifically.

His eyes widen as he peers down at his classmate’s wrist. ‘ _His support gear…just like the U.S.J._ ’ His gaze narrows. A part of him wants to know, wants to know why…but now’s not the time. Answers can come later right now…right now they need a plan.

Hang on, Uravity peers up and listens. “Wait, do you guys hear that?”

Shoto and Deku perk up, listening in.

“I don’t hear anything.” whispers Deku.

“Exactly…”

An intense feeling of dread fills the teens when they finally realize that the lasers have stopped. 

They stay stock still as a deathening silence haunts the alleyway.

But like the calm before the storm, chaos ensues.

Stain breaks through Shoto’s ice barricade, slashing his way through the ice; his tongue out, his eyes beaming with bloodlust, and his katana craving the feel of bleeding flesh. “There’s no place you can hide!”

Deku shoves his way forward, his shield taking the full force of Stain’s attack.

Meanwhile, SixSix flies up and over the crumbling barricade, his wrist blasters aiming down at the young humans.

Acting quickly, Uravity jumps up and with a boost from One For All she tackles SixSix and slams him right into the fire escape. The railing bends back, breaking apart as he’s thrown against it.

SixSix groans. “Mmiatd, ttha swa ggino ot eb os oolc.” SixSix peers down only to be greeted by the sight of rising flames. “Nda tths’a hto!”

The alien flies off, just before Shoto’s flames melt away the fire escape!

As the five combatants duke it out, Iida watches on from afar. He watched as Midoriya regain his mobility, as Draco rampaged, as the hunter descended down on them. Oh, how did things become such a mess…?! He knows why, after all he’s the reason for it. If only he wasn’t so…so stupid…if he hadn’t given in to his anger maybe just maybe…his friends wouldn’t be in danger. None of them should have had to fight these villains, to fight against death. 

Iida’s body shakes in frustration, still unable to move a muscle. He’s never felt so helpless, so useless as much as he does now.

‘ _Look at them… They’re giving it their all, fighting to save me…_ ’ His fists would be clenching if they could. “The Hero Killer’s supposed to be mine… None of you should even be involved in this… _”_

But how does he expect to do that? He can’t even stand let alone fight…it’s pointless. All he can do is watch in silent misery as Midoriya is kicked away by Stain.

With the space he needs to run free, Stain leaps up and lunges towards Iida. He hasn’t forgotten about him; he’s just been waiting for the window to strike.

Stain jumps back just before Shoto’s flames could reach him. ‘ _Iida…_ _I’ve been worried about you ever since your brother was attacked._ ’ Shoto noticed that terrible sad and angry look Iida had on his face back when they all departed for their internship. ‘ _I recognize the face of someone who’s drowning in resentment. And I know just how narrow your field of vision can get when you long for justice._ ’

Shoto recalls how he too had to face his own resentment. Shortly after the Sports Festival he gathered his courage and went to go visit his mother in the mental hospital. He never mentioned it to anyone, not even his siblings, it took a lot for him to do it. He was terrified in fact, that she would become upset and disturbed just by seeing him. Which is why he stayed away for so long. But he did go, and they spoke for hours. That day he told her about his life with his father, U.A., his classmates, and who he’s become.

‘ _She cried and apologized. She forgave me. Faster than I ever imagined._ ’ And for the first time in years Shoto was graced to see her smile once again. ‘ _She told me to move forward. That nothing was holding me back, and that doing so would be her salvation._ ’

Shoto launches a barrage of ice pillars at the villains.

‘ _If I hadn’t spoken to her, I would have never been able to choose my old man’s agency for my internship. I couldn’t bare being near him._ _I haven’t forgiven him. I doubt I ever truly will._ ’

Deku jumps away before SixSix could grab him, Uravity slams down between them and throws a solid punch into the bounty hunter.

Shoto tries to hit the hunter with a stream of ice. ‘ _But I chose him, so I could learn what it takes to be a Top Hero with my own eyes and ears. I had to know._ ’

His old man’s a scumbag. But a scumbag with the judgement and instincts of a Number Two Hero. And he can acknowledge that.

The ice missed so Shoto launches a jet of flames at SixSix. _‘It’s so simple. But I still needed someone to show me._ ’

Specifically it took Midoriya to show him: “ _‘It’s yours! Your Quirk, not his!’_ ”

‘ _Just a few words. Two short sentences._ ’ And a good beating. To show Shoto the errors of his way.

And now he wants to pass that lesson on, he will help Iida realize his mistakes, before it’s too late. Like it was almost too late for him.

Iida sobs, lying helpless on the ground watching the battle rage on in front of his eyes. As he watches these heroes risk their lives for others.

For some reason Stain’s harsh words from earlier stab through his heart once again. “ _‘Shouldn’t you be worried about saving that guy?’_ ”

And then he recalls Midoriya’s courage. “ _‘Without my powers, I am just some Quirkless nobody, but…that’s not going to stop me from saving you!!’_ ”

And of course Shoto’s conviction. “ _‘We will protect them!’_ ”

Their reasons for taking action are so noble and true, but what about him?

“ _‘I’ll kill you!!’_ ” Those were Iida’s words; those were his actions. The Hero Killer had every right to call him out the way he did. Some hero he’s turning out to be… 

“You have to run…”

Shoto wheels around to be greeted by the sad sight of a sobbing Iida. It's clear that all this fighting has really shaken him up, filling him with horrid misery and torment.

Iida chokes back his sobs. “I can’t…watch this…” 

Shoto scowls, as he unleashed more flames into the battlefield. “You wanna make your brother proud?!”

Tears spill out as Iida gasps in surprise.

Meanwhile, Stain thrusts his sword forward aiming for Uravity’s heart. 

Shoto launches an ice trail. “Then stand up and be Ingenium!!”

Stain is grinning like he’s enjoying the challenge, he pulls away, and leaps up and over the predictable ice trail. He cuts and breaks his way through the ice like a rampaging beast, letting loose a blood curdling howl as he descends upon the dual-haired teen.

Shoto doesn’t dare take his eyes off the raging monster. “Become the hero he wanted you to be!!” Flames erupt out from his left side.

Iida tries but fails to blink away the tears as he remembers his very words he dared to proclaim before this whole mess ever occurred. “ _‘I am Ingenium, and I will defeat you. That, I promise!’_ ”

Shoto unleashes a raging inferno, but Stain basically dances his way through the flames with deadly precision and grace. His movements are so quick and agile that he remains unaffected by the intense heat.

 _‘Stain The Hero Killer. I took my brother’s name so that I could teach this villain a lesson. But I was so consumed with revenge, that I forgot about what really mattered. I was too focused on myself to help anyone else._ ’ Iida sniffs.

And now his friends and classmates are going to pay for selfish desires and actions. 

##########(Flashback)#########

“You wanna be a hero too, Tenya?”

It was a regular old day for a young Tenya Iida, visiting his brother’s agency after school had let out for the day.

Young Tenya nods, moving his arm up and down in a chopping motion. “Yes! Like you! A cool one!”

Tensei smiles having just finished removing his armor. “With robot arms?”

Young Tenya blinks up at his brother. “There’s something I wanted to ask you, big brother. What drives you? Why did you choose to become a pro hero in the first place?”

“Hm.” Tensei ponders as he carries his heroic costume over to a nearby electronic locker. “Well, our grandfather and parents were all heroes. So everyone kind of expected I would be one, too. Staying in the family business and all that.” Tensei turns, gesturing for Iida to hand him his helmet, which he quickly does. “Plus, it made sense to me.”

Tensei smiles down at his helmet, admiring the many lives he’s saved while wearing it. “I think the coolest people in the world are those who do things for others. I wanted to be the kind of guy who helps people in trouble.”

Young Tenya is a bit confused. “Then why not work as a police officer or something?”

Tensei deadpans in annoyance. “Aren’t you listening to me? Think of what I’m saying.”

Tensei chuckles, patting his little brother’s head. “You take things at face value a little too much.” He offers up a proud smile. “But you’re a hard worker, and definitely smarter and more athletic than me back when I was a kid.”

Looks away as something crosses his mind. “Wait a second. That’s my secret.” His grin widens, a grin that will inspire Tenya far into the future. “Knowing you look up to me makes me better. I have to be sure I make you proud, Tenya. Hahaha!” 

########(End Flashback)#######

“‘ _Both of you are nothing but fakes.’_ ”

Tenya hisses, sobbing as his hand slowly begins to mover ever so slightly. ‘ _You spoke the truth, Hero Killer. These three are different from me._ ’

Stain leaps from ice pillar to ice pillar before they’re melted away by Shoto’s intense fire.

‘ _I’m immature._ ’ His shaking worsens, desperately trying to move. ‘ _I can’t hold a candle to them._ ’ His hand shakily clamps shut, forcing a fist. ‘ _But still…_ ’

Stain access across the ice trails almost as if he can fly. He shifts his body to the right evading a stream of flames, racing faster towards the source of the dual elements. “Ice and fire.”

Shoto scowls. ‘ _Just try and dodge this, villain!_ ’ He fires off yet another stream of ice.

Stain doesn’t evade or leap away, instead he charges head on, running alongside the edge of the ice trail. “Hasn’t anyone ever told you, you rely on your Quirk too much? Makes you a careless fighter.”

Deku and Uravity watch on from afar, strike in fear, but SixSix blocks their path preventing them from getting anywhere near their classmate.

Shoto unleashes a veil of flames, hoping to stop the Hero Killer, but he might as well have done nothing because Stain cuts his way through the burning inferno like a demon from the pits of hell itself. His katana swings forward ready to slice through the boy’s flesh, the blade just less than a second away from chopping off his entire arm. 

So much occurs all at once, appearing in slow motion allowing them all to witness the events.

Shoto gasps as the blade inches closer to his shoulder. ‘ _He’s a monster._ ’

Both of the space cadets yell out. “Todoroki!!”

‘ _If I don’t stand up right now,_ ’ Iida’s Engines’ exhausts glow, humming to life, as he slowly begins to rise. ‘ _I’ll never be able to be as good as them,_ ’ His sheer will and determination are driving him forward, as his engines hum and he looks towards the inevitable catastrophe. ‘ _I’ll never live up to my brother's name!!_ ’

‘ _Damn it._ ’ Even while in motion and focused on another target, Stain can see that the boy is back on his feet. ‘ _My Quirk timed out._ ’

“RECIPRO BURST!!!” Ingenium rockets forward with newfound power, moving so fast that even XLR8 would be impressed.

He swings his foot down right onto Stain’s weapon, breaking it apart with a single kick, saving his classmate.

His feet barely touch the ground before he jumps right back up and delivers a devastating roundhouse kick right smack into the Hero Killer’s head.

Stain throws his arms in the way, but it does little to nothing to stop the force of the bow, shoving him away.

Stain hisses as he comes to a stop just before the side of the building. ‘ _He’s fast!’_

Deku and Uravity gasp in surprise, astonished beyond belief.

Even SixSix was impressed with the level of speed and power. “Eeslf keil moes rraacchte eeemndvlopt tjus ccurorde.”

Deku and Uravity slip past the bounty hunter, rejoining their comrades.

Deku smiles in relief. “Iida!”

As does Uravity. “You’re okay!”

Ingenium keels over, breathing heavily as he tries to catch his breath.

Shoto blinks, grateful he’s still in one piece, but more focused on Ingenium. “You’re free, too? Guess his Quirk isn’t as great as I thought it was.”

“Todoroki… Midoriya… Uraraka…” Ingenium chokes back a frustrated sob. “This has nothing to do with you. I apologize.”

Deku frowns. “Come on. Not this again.”

Tenya shakes his head. “I’m okay. And I won’t let you three shed any more blood for me!” He glares towards Stain.

Blood drips from Stain’s hand, the force of the kick causing more damage than they had thought. “It’s no use trying to pretend you’re a hero now.” He drops his broken sword and grips a pair of sheathed daggers. “A person’s true nature doesn’t change in just a few minutes. You’ll never be anything but a fraud who prioritizes his own desires.” Stain is filled with unholy fury and disgust at the mere sight of the diluted child. “You’re the sickness that’s infected society and ruined the name “hero.” Someone must teach you a lesson.”

Uravity cowers back a bit, wondering what exactly the Hero Killers trying to get at.

Shoto scowls. “You’re a fundamentalistic lunatic. Iida, don’t listen to this murderer’s nonsense.”

“No.” Ingenium casts his eyes down in shame. “He’s completely correct. I have no right to call myself a hero…at all.” Blood drips down from the wound on his shoulder, sliding down past his shiny white armor and all the way to his tightening fist. “Even so… There’s no way I can back down. If I give up now, then the name “Ingenium” will die!”

Ingenium takes a racing stance, and not to be out done, his allies stand beside him ready to fight on with him.

Deku throws the class president a smile. “It’s good to have back to your senses, Iida.”

“Midoriya…”

“Now come one let’s show them what we can do.”

Ingenium grins. “Right.”

Uravity begins to hover in place. “I’m ready.”

A bit of flames dance off Shoto’s left side. “Like we have much of a choice.”

SixSix stands ready for a fight, his wrist blasters humming with power.

Stain too prepares, unsheathing a pair of serrated daggers.

Deku glares ahead, his eyes jumping from one opponent to the other. “We need to keep these two focused on us.”

The other three throw him a worried look.

Deku Ingenium) “They’re targeting us, we can use that to keep them off balanced. Give the others openings to attack”

Uravity chirps up. “So, a sort of divide and conquer.”

“In a way. Todoroki, Uraraka you two will strike when their guards are down while Iida and I keep their attention.”

Shoto frowns. “You want us to take a pretty big risk.” He sighs. “But it’s as good a plan as any.”

Stain growls, he may admire the boy’s heroic spite, but when it comes to interfering with his goals none shall be shown mercy. “Pathetic.”

“Aghtril, m’i irdet fo het hsti.” SixSix unleashes a barrage of lasers. “Ied ied ied!!”

Shoto quickly jumps to the front of the group. He slams his foot forward and a massive ice wall shields them from the laserbolts.

Uravity stands back, her fist glowing with the power of One For All, and then she takes that fist and slams it into the ice wall. The ice wall bursts forth, breaking apart, causing all the ice chunks to fly forward like a surprise avalanche!!

SixSix hastily fires a rain of lasers back at the ice chunks but it’s for not as few manage to strike him, throwing him back. “Tno bda.” SixSix spins his body around, his feet digging into the ground. “Tbu wno ts’i ym urtn!”

SixSix tosses out a few flash grenades, the explosive roll across the ground, stopping at the children’s feet.

Deku screams out as a grenade bounces off his red shoe. “Everybody move!!”

A few of them scream as they each dive away in separate directions, splitting them up as the bombs go off in spectacular fashion. The blast catches Deku and Ingenium off balance, knocking them down.

With his speedy target down, Stain moves in, making a beeline right for Ingenium.

Deku throws himself in the way, his Omni-Shield out and ready.

But Stain is done with the games, he leaps up and over Deku taking him by surprise, but his knives are aimed right for his true prey. “No!!”

Stain’s knives glint under the moonlight, he’s more than ready to drench them in blood.

But that’ll have to wait, as Ingenium jumps up to meet him. His Engines roar giving him the boost he needs to deliver a spinning kick right into the villain’s side, throwing him aside.

Deku cheers “Nice hit!”

They don’t have much time to celebrate as SixSix flies up above the alley way, running down a shower of lasers at them, Deku in particular.

While Deku shields himself with his gear, Ingenium calls out to Shoto. “Todoroki get me up there!”

Not missing a beat, Shoto slams his hand against the side of the building, ice shoots upward, protruding out of the wall as it climbs up making an icicle ramp.

Ingenium doesn’t bother to wait for it to be completed, his Engines firing him up the ramp.

As he reaches the end of the ramp, he leaps as far as he can. “Don’t you dare hurt my friends!!” Ingenium wraps his arms around SixSix tackling him.

“Tle og fo em!”

Ingenium’s got SixSix’s arms pinned, and his jetpack struggles to carry them thanks to Ingenium’s jostling.

Down back on Earth, Stain leers up at Ingenium as he struggles to hold onto the flying bounty hunter. ‘ _There’s too many of them, I need to take some of them out._ ’

He scans the battlefield, his eyes landing on a stain of blood, dripping from the girl’s side. And there on her head is another cut of fresh blood.

His eyes gleam with bloodlust and he charges moving like a creature of the night.

Uravity gasps as Stain looms over her, his tongue lashing out ready to lap up any blood he can.

“Uraraka!” Deku throws himself in the way.

Stain’s Quirk doesn’t have that strong of an effect on him and Stain’s made it clear that he won’t kill him, so he can afford to be on the defensive to give his friends the chance to use their Quirks since he’s unable to. Hence why he’s so determined to make himself a human shield.

“Don’t be a fool.” Stain grabs the Omni-Shield, throwing the boy’s arm down and jamming a knife onto his shoulder.

“Gahh!!”

“Deku!!”

Deku collapses, holding his bleeding shoulder as Stain looms over him, the knife hanging in his hand, dripping with his blood. “Just because I won’t kill you doesn't mean your immune to my attacks, child.”

Deku grips his bleeding shoulder. “Yeah, I think I got your point.”

Stain sneers, annoyed by his antics, he takes the blade up to his mouth and is about to lap up the blood when Uravity jumps in and slaps the knife away. “No you don’t!!”

Stain hisses. “Stupid girl.”

He throws his fist forward, it connects and Uravity stumbles back the side of her face aching in pain.

“And what is it you’re after?”

“Huh?” Uravity blinks through the pain wondering why the villain’s trying to talk now of all times.

Stain scowls as he raises his blade. “Everyone who seeks to become a so-called hero has a reason. Is it power? Respect? Fame?” Stain’s eyes narrow. “Or is it for money?”

Uravity chokes.

Stain growls, he notices her reaction, and a burning age threatens to spill out. “Only flames claim to be heroes, when in fact only desire to enrich themselves. Pathetic!” He swings his blade forward. “Those types of heroes are by far the worst.”

Uravity backs away, trembling. ‘ _No…I…yeah I want money, but…it’s for my parents not me!’_

Deku stands back up, gripping Uravity’s arm. “Don’t let him get to you.”

Uravity looks to Deku and she’s grateful for his intervention, but she can’t stop how she’s feeling.

Deku’s grip tightens “You are a hero alright?!”

“Huh?”

“A hero is someone who risks their life for others! And you being here right now is proof of that!”

‘ _He’s right…_ ’ Uravity smiles. “Thanks, Deku.” 

Stain wields his dagger and runs in swiftly.

Shoving Uravity aside, Deku bats away the knife with his shield, but Stain grabs him by his head and slams the boy’s face into his knee.

“Gah!!” Deku pulls away, his nose bleeding and possibly broken.

“Get away from him!” Uravity pounces her hand stretched out but Stain moves away before she could get a grip on him.

Deku wipes away the blood before it could be used against him. ‘ _No good._ ’

Stain jumps away but then runs right back at Uravity who is able to hold him off with a whirlwind thanks to One For All.

There’s a crazed fantical look in his eyes, burning with a righteous fury, making Deku fearful about their chances of survival. ‘ _His fighting style has completely changed!_ ’ He’s becoming more frantic and reckless.

As Stain regains his balance after being blown away, he’s forced to brace himself as a massive icicle slams into him.

Deku wheels around towards the source of the ice. “Todoroki! Where’s Iida?!”

Shoto peers up and Deku follows his train of sight only for his jaw to drop. Ingenium’s still up in the air, wrestling with SixSix!!

Not waiting to see what happened Deku brings out, what he probably should have used from the start, his hoverboard!

He throws the hoverboard out and it immediately expands, hovering in place as Deku jumps on and takes off into the sky!

Uravity awes at the cool piece of gear, and Shoto eyes the familiar item intriguingly, he’s seen that same one before somewhere.

Up above Ingenium loses his grip on SixSix, but he doesn’t fall far as Deku swoops in from underneath catching his classmate atop the hoverboard.

Ingenium gasps in surprise, as he looks down to see both him and Deku flying over the alleyway on a strange device. “Midoriya?! Where’d you get such a thing?!”

Deku actually chuckles. “Would you believe that it was a gift?”

“Yhe uyo!”

Deku and Ingenium turn their attention to SixSix. “Veig em hte Xiitrmno ro li’l nru oyu hhrutog.” His energy blade projects pops from his armor, giving the children the hint about his intentions.

Both Deku and Ingenium glare back at the villain, refusing to back down.

SixSix gets the message and charges forward, his plasma blade out in front of him like a lance.

Deku and Ingenium share a look, nodding in a silent understanding, as they too race forward atop the hoverboard.

It’s a game of chicken as the two opposing sides fly right towards each other. SixSix resides himself for the inevitable clash determined to come out on top with his prize, the Omnitrix. Just a few more moments and he’s run the boys through, claiming it for himself and his employer!

But things are never that simple.

Deku swerves the hoverboard up and over SixSix, circling around him as he whizzes past.

SixSix spins around, swinging his arm and the blade upward, but Ingenium dives down and delivers a devastating kick into SixSix’s arm.

Sparks and pieces of his armor snap apart, the energy sword fades away as a result. The kick had done some major damage to his wrist blaster and energy sword, making it unusable. “Ttah swa eeexpnsiv!”

SixSix quickly aims his only working wrist blaster at the falling Ingenium, but then something fast slams into the back of his head.

SixSix spins out of control his head dazed and aching as a crack forms across his helmet.

“Iida!” Deku zooms past SixSix, having just driven his hoverboard into him, he dives down and manages to grab Ingenium’s arm. “I’ve gotta ya.”

Ingenium sighs in relief as he hangs from the air. “Thank you, Midoriya.”

Deku circles his hoverboard down and drops Ingenium back down on Earth, releasing his arm, before the greenette zips back into the air.

With his back turned, the Hero Killer makes his move racing towards Ingenium while he’s not looking!

Shoto blocks his way and blasts a wave of flames at the Hero Killer while Uravity lands by his side ready to aid him in any way that she can.

“Idiots!!” Native, still paralyzed, yells out. “The hero killer is only after me and that kid in the white armor. Stop fighting back, just get out of here!”

“I don’t think he’d let me run even if I wanted to.” Shoto keeps his eyes locked on the villain even through the raging flames, the killer evades them by perching himself atop a nearby flagpole protruding out from the side of the building. “Something clearly changed in him. He seems rattled.”

Stain leaps off his perch and away from the flames, landing back into the alleyway.

Shoto fires off another ice trail at the agile Hero Killer. But once again the Hero Killer is proving to be an elusive adversary, slicing his way through the icicles with inhuman precision and speed.

‘ _His Quirk alone isn’t especially powerful. The issue of blood type makes it unpredictable and it doesn’t last long. Plus, he has to get in close if he wants to use it._ ’

The Hero Killer’s bloodthirsty eyes lock onto the four of them as he parkours across the ice trails and walls, slicing his way towards them.

‘ _It must be difficult for him to take on multiple opponents at once._ ’ Just as the Hero Killer makes it to the end of the icicles Shoto greets him with more flames, but he leaps away running along the wall to take them on from the side.

‘ _He’s desperate, trying to kill Iida and this other hero before the pros show up._ ’ Shoto scowls up as the killer descends down towards them, his daggers glinting with death. ‘ _Such tenacity._ ’

Uravity rushes in. “Ryou Spheres!!” She throws a pair of energy spheres right at the Hero Killer.

Stain grunts in response as the spheres blast into him head on, throwing him back.

“Gah!” Stain grunts in pain as his back is slammed against the building, and he prepares himself for the fall, but it never occurs, instead he remains floating in midair. ‘ _Zero-Gravity?_ ’

Ingenium and Shoto awe at the sight, they may have seen these Ryou Spheres earlier but now they can really take in Uravity’s newest move set.

Shoto blinks. “I guess your internship’s been productive.”

“You have no idea.” But right now she needs to be productive in a different way, by stopping Stain.

And so like a pitcher, Uravity winds up and pitches another Ryou Sphere up at her target.

But even while under the effects of Zero-Gravity Stain maneuvers his body and kicks himself off the side of the building, throwing his daggers forward and with one slash he actually cuts the Ryou Sphere it half! The two halves veer off, blasting into the building instead.

Stain aims his daggers down, preparing to run the girl through.

The three hero course students prepare to defend themselves.

“Oh, no you don’t!!” Deku beats them all to the punch, as he slams into the Hero Killer with his hoverboard, stopping him from getting anywhere near his friends.

Uravity lets out the breath she’s been holding. “Thanks, Deku.”

Deku smiles but a laserbolt pierces the ground between them.

Deku frowns. “Don’t thank me yet.”

The two peers up to spot that SixSix has bounced back from being rammed into.

Deku looks to the other two. “Uraraka and I will take care of him, you two focus on the Hero Killer.”

Shoto nods before redirecting his attention. “Make sure neither of you do something reckless.”

The two take off with Uravity shouting. “No promises!”

Deku and Uravity rise into the air to greet their alien foe.

SixSix growls, he is well aware of these two’s partnerships with the Plumbers. “Llyainf eertsmand pu? Oemc ot ndha veor hte Xiirtmno?”

Deku lowers his fists trying to appear as non-threatening as he can while still being on guard. “I know why you’re here.”

“Od oyu?”

“You want the Omnitrix.”

SixSix nods. 

‘ _So he can understand me._ ’ Too bad Deku can’t understand him. But if they can communicate maybe he can get the bounty hunter to rethink all this and leave. “Listen you can’t win, you’re outnumbered. And the heroes, the protectors of this world, will be here soon.”

“Wtha hte eegnrsav rea cinmg?”

Deku frowns; he really has no idea what this guy is saying. Even so he’s determined to at least try the peaceful route. “I know who sent you, you don’t have to do this.”

“Ehay, i iankd od.” SixSix flexes his claws, crouching like he’s about to pounce.

Uravity frowns. “I don’t think he wants to talk.”

“Yeah.” Deku sighs, but hey at least he gave it a shot.

His eyes cast down to his left wrist, where the Omnitrix is still locked up tight in a metallic brace. ‘ _Heatblast, Feedback, or literally any alien would be great right now…_ ’

But there’s no helping it, the only way this thing is coming off is if Deku chops his own arm off. And he’s not willing to go that far.

“No, other choice.” Deku leans forward on top the hoverboard. “You ready, Uraraka?”

She nods.

“Lainf ourdn, tsar!!” SixSix rockets forward, his claws out to tear apart the space cadets.

Meanwhile, back down in the alleyway, the two other hero course students are clashing with the Hero Killer. Ingenium races in to deliver quick strikes at the Hero Killer who paries Ingenium’s armored kicks. But before he can counter Shoto forces him back with an ice or flame barrage.

They keep at this with Ingenium delivering quick kicks and punches before speeding away only for Shoto to take over.

‘ _They’re trying to keep me off balance._ ’ Stain leaps away as flames race by. ‘ _Not giving me any openings to strike._ ’ He blocks a harsh kick aimed at his head. ‘ _Smart, but not good enough._ ’ His tongue lashes out as he thrusts his knife forward.

Back up in the air, SixSix fires a stream of lasers forcing Uravity and Deku to split away from each other.

“Odlh tllis!” SixSix keeps firing the lasers at Deku firing and firing until finally he lands a hit!

“Ahhh!!” Deku cries out, collapsing atop the hoverboard, as a laserbolt pierces through his shoulder; the wound scabbing over under the intense heat.

SixSix pounces, his jetpack roaring, as he races forward, however, Uravity dives down from above slamming into the villains’ back.

“Ahhh!!!” Uravity screams out in anger as she slams SixSix back onto the ground! “I’m not going to let you hurt anyone else!”

Stain wheels around, and through the flames he spots the girl standing over the intruder. His eyes narrow before he springs forward, deciding to take her out in order to give himself a better shot at finishing off the others.

“Hero Killer!!” Deku races down, gripping his shoulder. “Stay away from her!!” He’s almost there, he can stop him!

Stain can read his movements like a book, he digs his boots into the ground, skidding to a screeching halt. But as Deku races past, having just missed his target, Stain swings his serrated dagger out. Grinning as the blade digs into the boy’s flesh.

“AAHHH!!!” And Deku goes down!! Crashing hard onto the ground as his feet give out from under him.

“Midoriya/Deku!!” cry out his classmates.

SixSix saw the whole thing play out, not missing a beat, he springs off the ground, shoving Uravity aside as he rockets forward. His claw swings down and sinks into the boy’s arm before he slams him into the wall.

Deku fights off the urge to scream out in pain as SixSix’s claws dig into him.

SixSix grabs the metal brace, pulling Deku’s arm and straining it. “Fi i ehva ot, li’l utjs pri ti ffo oruy ddae bdyo!”

Deku chokes, trying his best to free himself from the bounty hunter's killer grip. “Y-you…c-can’t have it…”

“All those that interfere…” Stain lunges towards SixSix, thrusting his blades down. “will perish!!”

SixSix wheels around, and grabs the blades stopping them in their tracks. “Nto’d uyo evha ainghtyn tteebr ot od?!”

The two assassins struggle to break through the other, but even while fighting off another opponent SixSix keeps his grip on the poor boy, pinning him in place.

As Deku tries to break himself free a bright flicker of orange light shines in his eye. Peering over his eyes widen and he thrusts the Omni-Shield over his face, covering himself.

A burning inferno swallows up SixSix making him break his hold over the boy and the blades as he releases an inhuman squeal of agony! “HREHRE!!! HREHRE!!!”

The flames consume his entire being burning and melting away bits of his armor, the crack on his helmet grows and grows!

Shoto keeps it up. “We have to finish this!!”

Uravity immediately takes action, she races right towards the flaming bounty hunter, her body glowing with the power of One For All. She flies right into the flames, her tailwind causing such a gust that it extinguishes them all, as she tackles the screeching SixSix by his waist and carries him upward.

With the interruption out of the way, Stain turns his attention back to his true targets. He sprints forward, blades out at his sides.

Shoto quickly casts a veil of flames holding him off for now.

“Midoriya!” Ingenium rushes to Deku’s side. “Are you alright?! Ehhh!” Ingenium gasps at the sight, Deku’s just dripping in his own blood.

Both his shoulders are wounded, his arm is scarred, and his thigh is bleeding! But even so Deku wills himself to get to his feet.

“That’s enough! This is too much.”

“No, not until we’re all safe.” Deku locks eyes with Ingenium. “We’re heroes, it’s what we do.”

“Ehhh.” Ingenium gasps in surprise, but he quickly saves face and nods in understanding. They can rest when this nightmare’s all over.

Not too far away, Stain leaps off the side of the building and over the flames intending to kill off the ice and fire nuisance.

A wounded and kneeling Deku, intercepts his path, while atop the hoverboard, shielding Shoto. 

“You never learn!!” Stain thrusts his weapons forward, knowing full well the boy will try to defend himself!

Deku spins the hoverboard forward, using it to bat the knives away. But Stain was prepared; he grabs another dagger and slashes it around. But then again he wasn’t prepared for this, before he can cut into the boy, Ingenium races in and slams his foot right into the killer’s face.

Stain is thrown across the alley way, his body bouncing off the ground like a ragdoll before he smashes into the wall.

Up above, Uravity is wrestling with the alien in midair both throwing kicks and punches at each other before trying to grapple and throw down the other.

“Ryou Sphere!!” Uravity pitches her strongest Ryou Sphere yet, it fires out like a cannon ball, racing faster and faster until… BAM!!! It blasts itself right into SixSix’s head.

“HREHRE!!!” A part of SixSix’s helmet breaks away and a metallic grey eye with three red pupils poke out.

Meanwhile, the feral looking Stain is back on his feet, he looks disheveled and exhausted, but even so he’s still burning with a sense of righteous fury and he will not rest until blood paints this battlefield red. “RAAAHHHHH!!!”

This is it, if any of these young heroes want to live to see tomorrow. Now is the time to end it.

Pillars of ice fire off the ground thanks to Shoto, but Stain is done with it all! Cutting and smashing through the pillars like they’re not even there!

Up in the sky above, SixSix growls and hisses before he charges right for Uravity who’s entire body glows with an intense mysterious power.

And then, All Might’s successor moves like a beam of light, racing through the air at such an incredible speed, only appearing as a pink streak in the sky to those watching below.

All three of the boys grin in anticipation. ‘ _Go Uraraka!_ ’

SixSix has no time to react, all he sees through the crack in his helmet is the meteor strike of raw power surging towards him.

“MERCURY SMASH!!!”

Her fist SMASHES into SixSix’s head, his helmet shattering to pieces, and his purple blood spewing out of his horrid jaws as he’s thrown across the city block and out of sight.

At the same time, Stain breaks his way through the last of the ice pillars, standing high above them all, he jumps descending down towards his targets like a bird of prey.

“RECIPRO EXTEND!!!” Ingenium rockets forward, his Engines blazing with blue flames!

“Quirkless Dash!!” Deku flies forward as well, pushing his hoverboard to its limit, even through all the pain and agony he stands up atop the platform, his Omni-Shield out and ready.

Ingenium basically flies across the battlefield moving like he’s never had before. _‘If I just…’_

Deku races in from the side moving just as fast as Ingenium. ‘ _If I just…’_

Stain sees it all, as he descends down, they rise up to meet him, he’s only got one blade in hand and there’s not enough time to defend himself!

Both Shoto and Uravity smile at the sight. “Go, guys.”

Ingenium swings his leg up! ‘ _...use my leg…_ ’

Deku prepares his Omni-Shield. ‘. _..use my arm…_ ’

Stain is in awe, the resolve burning within these future heroes is a true sight to behold.

Ingenium’s leg slams into the Hero Killer’s side, while Deku’s Omni-Shield smashes into the side of his skull. ‘ _...that’s all I need to beat this guy!!_ ’

Stain’s head is thrown to the side spewing blood from his mouth, and his grip over his blade breaks.

“Gah!!” Deku’s arm screams in pain, blood dripping out from the gashes courtesy of SixSix, losing his balance and sliding off the hoverboard.

As the three combatants begin to fall, Shoto spots them from below. ‘ _They managed to land two attacks._ ’ Flames burst off his body. ‘ _My turn!_ ’

Almost as if he can sense the danger, Stain’s eye pops open and he manages to snatch his dagger right out of midair. And with crazy speed he swings it around and takes a slash at his target trying to cut off his head!

Ingenium throws his head back, and not a moment too soon, as the blade cuts away part of his hair. “I will defeat you, Stain!! Because you are a criminal!!”

“Don’t let him get away!!” Shoto screams out as he launches out a pillar of flames.

While still falling from such a height, Ingenium’s Engine gives him one last burst of power, he swings his leg up and smashes it into Stain’s ribs, propelling him upward. “And I am a hero!!”

Stain groans in pain something is most certainly broken! But that’s a cake walk compared to the burning flames that finally are able to consume his entire being!

The flames give away, and Stain gasps for air, his entire body covered in burns and is even smoking as he continues to fall.

Uravity, having finished off SixSix for now, swoops in and using her Zero-Gravity she grabs the boys and drops them all off just behind Shoto.

The two collapse immediately as she takes Shoto’s side.

“Stand up!” orders Shoto. “Keep fighting!”

Uravity stands down. “Wait…”

The others have a look. Lying there on the ground like a corpse, is the Hero Killer; unmoving, his face lying down on the street, his body covered in burns.

Izuku leans back, still a bit on edge. “He’s gotta be knocked out after all that… Right?”

Shoto sighs, finally calming down. “Then, let’s restrain him and get him to the street.” He turns to the only other person standing. “Maybe we can find some rope.”

Ochaco nods. “Yeah.”

Izuku chimes in. “And…we should probably take all his weapons, too.”

“Good idea.”

Shoto brings up a good point. “What about that other guy?” He means SixSix.

Ochaco sighs. “I flung him like across the city block…I’m sure he’s not getting up anytime soon.”

Izuku adds the following. “We’ll be sure to let the heroes know when they get here.”

Meanwhile, Tenya can’t take his eyes off the Hero Killer’s still form. He can’t believe it, they won, they beat him…it’s finally over.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Meanwhile, Shellshock is still going strong and has even taken out a few pro heroes. Thankfully their comrades were able to pull them to safety before Shellshock had a chance to finish the job.

Flames surge across the road, as Shellshock sinks his claws into a flaming car, he swings his body around and launches the flaming projectile at a pair of pro heroes. “Raaawww!!”

The duo leap behind Shellshock and immediately begin to throw shurikens at him. “He’s too damn strong!” And they aren’t too bright, as the shurikens harmlessly bounce off the Nomu’s strong shell. “Crap!”

The minotaur-like hero charges in. “Everyone attack at once!”

“Right!” Yell out several other heroes and sidekicks.

Gang Orca sets down an injured hero before noticing the others’ foolishness. “No, wait!!”

Shellshock releases a thundering electrical field that blasts his attacks away like one would swat at flies.

Gang Orca scowls as do Burnin and Manual.

Manual frowns as he continues to dose the ever-growing flames. “This isn’t looking too good for us!”

Burnin grins trying to give an air of confidence. “Ha! Naw this just means it’s more fun.”

“RAAAWWW!!!” Shellshock spins and spins before tossing a flaming car right for them.

Manual and Burnin gasps, but Gang Orca leaps to the front and generates an ear-piercing sonic blast that tears through the flaming car.

The car shatters, breaking apart before it could reach them. However, a few pieces of large shrapnel fly right back thanks to the sonic blast and embed themselves right into the beat’s flesh.

“RAAAWWW!!!”

“Alright, you got him!!” cheers Burnin.

“No. I didn’t.”

Manual’s worried now. “What?!”

Shellshock tears the metal right from out of his body and his wounds immediately heal themselves.

“Seriously?!” cries Manual.

Gang Orca glares at the beast as it continues to roar and fend off the other pros. “Its regeneration is the key issue, if we can’t figure out a way to get past it this battle will only continue to rage on.”

Manual fearfully looks over to where the flames haven’t reached, a corner where they’ve been positioning their wounded comrades. Amongst them is Dholak. His lance-like legs were ripped away, his uniform is charred and burned, and he’s been knocked out cold; courtesy of that Draco-like villain.

Speaking of, the thing vanished from the battlefield a while ago and there’s been no sign of it since.

Manual gulps. ‘ _I really hope someone else took care of it, if not…_ ’ Oh, god, he doesn’t want to even think about the destruction it’s havocking if it’s still loose. 

“Ugh…” Gang Orca shakily falls to his knee much to the others’ surprise.

Burnin gasps. “Are you, alright?” 

“No.” Replies Gang Orca, peering at all the surrounding flames. “This heat…it’s far too much for the likes of me.”

“Here, I got ya.” Manual aims his fingers at the gushing fire hydrant and the water snakes it way over towards the killer whale, drenching him.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.” Manual’s always happy to help in any way that he can. “But what do we do about him?”

Gang Orca looks towards the rampaging beast before responding. “Manual, can you keep the water trained on me.”

“Huh? I sure can!”

“Good, then do it.”

Burnin eyes Gang Orca quizzically. “What are you going to do?”

“Whatever I can.”

Before they know it, Gang Orca charges in right through the flames and rubble, his claws honing in on the monster.

“Hey wait!” shouts Manual. “Dammit!!” He gives up on trying to call him back and instead gets back to dousing the brave hero with water to keep him hydrated.

“Prepare to face your end!!” Gang Orca roars out as he slams his claw into the monster’s skull.

“Raaawww!!” Shellshock’s head is thrown to the side, due to the heavy impact.

Gang Orca grabs the Nomu’s head and slams it against his own. *SKREEEEE!!!*

He unleashes a sonic pulse at point blank range.

“RAAAWWW!!” Shellshock is propelled back, his entire body becoming stunned, his earring and his eyes are dazed thanks to the attack.

Gang Orca smirks, but it's short-lived as Shellshock begins to move again, it would seem as if he can repair his nervous system allowing him to move.

“Haha ha! My turn!”

Gang Orca spins around to see that Burnin had followed him into battle, she leaps forward and produces a burst of flames that crash into the monster’s chest.

“RAAAWWW!!” The flames grow around the beast, consuming it and veiling it from view.

“Haha!” laughs Burnin. “Guess I was too hot to handle. Hehe!”

Gang Orca eyes the flames warily, he closes his eyes and lets out a soft hum. His echolocation picks up on something…something…alive!!

From afar even Manual sees it. “Watch out!!”

“RAAAWWW!!!” Shellshock bursts out from the flames, totally unfazed, as he charges right towards the sidekick.

“No!!” Gang Orca steps in the way using his body to shield her. “I’ll DEVOUR YOU!!!” His jaws open wide ready to tear into the monster, to rip him to shred if he must!

Just then, a flaming fist slams into the beat’s arm, slamming the massive creature aside.

All the pros, even Gang Orca, stare in awe of their newest comrade.

Manual gasps. “Endeavor!” 

Yes, the Number Two Hero has finally arrived on the scene and he doesn't look all too thrilled to be there.

Gang Orca frowns, disappointed that his kill was taken right from under him. “Finally decided to show up?”

Endeavor glares at the killer whale, not willing to provide an answer right now. Instead he focuses his attention on the horrid black-scaled beast.

“Raaawww.” Shellshock’s arm is completely busted, the outer skin having been burned away revealing the grotesque muscles underneath. “Raaww!!” In just a few seconds Shellshock’s entire arm straightens itself, the skin regenerating almost instantly, before charging forward.

Endeavor’s scowl deepens. “So, you can regenerate. Well, then…” He charges in clashing with the beast head on.

“Raaww!! Shellshock’s massive beak lunges for Endeavor’s head.

The Number Two Hero grabs the monster by its neck, holding it off. “Let’s see you come back from this.”

From out of his hands, a blazing inferno erupts out and swallows up Shellshock’s entire skull. “RAAAWWW!!!”

Burn, and burn, the flames burn as the Nomu screeches in agony. The heat becomes so intense that they turn blue in color!!

Shellshock isn’t even resisting at this point, the searing hellish pain way to great. His roar dies down as his own vocal cords turn to ash.

Endeavor releases the beast, it’s head completely gone replaced with a smoke pillar of ash, as it collapses to its knees and falls back its heavy body shaking the ground confirming that it won’t harm another being ever again. 

Endeavor smiles down at the charred Nomu. “Incinerated cells can’t regenerate.”

And with that, the battle is finally over.

Endeavor turns to Gang Orca and the other pros, and smirks. “What? Never seen a pro hero at work before?”

Gang Orca scowls, biting his tongue and is just happy it’s done with. And the other heroes look to be feeling the same way.

In fact, Burnin appears to be the only one in a good mood. “Haha! Way to go boss!”

“Alright.” Endeavor turns to address them all, gesturing to the flames. “Any hero whose Quirk isn't suited for this, go help on Ekou Street in District Four.”

Gang Orca perks up. “Another Nomu?”

“Nomu?” Endeavor heard that name before…yes, the U.A. attack. “I don’t know. Just do it.”

Gang Orca nods. “On it.”

“Wait!” Manual rushes forward in a panic. “What about the other one?! And that bug guy?!”

Endeavor raises an eyebrow. “What are you talking about?”

“There was another villain, one with wings, and a guy that looked like a big bug was fighting it! They disappeared a while ago and neither have come back.”

“Midoriya.” 

Endeavor and the others look to Gang Orca. “That was my intern, but I haven’ had any contact from him since he went after the lizard-winged Nomu.”

Endeavor frowns. “Alright, here’s the plan.” Endeavor points at Gang Orca. “You and I are heading out, if there’s another one of those things running loose than we need to exterminate it ad quickly.” He turns to the others. “The rest of you get moving put out these flames and head out to Ekou Street!”

“Yes, sir!!”

The sidekicks and heroes get to work, Manual leading a group to extinguish the fires while Burnin leads the rest away.

All the while Gang Orca and Endeavor take off for the nearest rooftop, where he can use his echolocation to try and pinpoint a monster flying about in the city.

‘ _Midoriya…what have you gotten yourself into?_ ’ 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Izuku grimaces at the sight of all the weapons, knives, and daggers they found just on the Hero Killer’s person. They even went back and got a hold of his broken katana, adding it to the little collection they laid out on the side of the road.

Izuku sits back on the hoverboard allowing it to do all the work while Shoto makes sure the Hero Killer himself is tied up tight. Thankfully Ochaco was able to find a few pieces of rope in a nearby dumpster. “ _‘Who would throw this out?! What a waste!’_ ” She had said.

Izuku peers down at his legs, as Native patches him up. “Are you sure you can move now?”

Native nods. “Yeah. I think I’m good as new now.”

“You sure?”

Native nods, offering a soft smile. “Hey, now. I should be more concerned about you. You’re the one that got the most hurt back there.” He finishes up with the bandages. “At least let me do this for you.”

Izuku smiles, grateful for the act of kindness those wounds were really hurting him. After the flood of adrenaline left his system, he realizes just how much pain and exhaustion he’s in. He can’t so much as move his legs or his arms, just grateful they were able to recover his hoverboard for him to act as a floating chair. His left arm feels especially heavy thanks to the weight of the still locked up brace.

“Thank you very much.”

Native leads Izuku out of the alleyway. “I should be thanking you.”

Shoto finishes up with his knot. “There that should be good.”

“Todoroki.” Tenya gestures for the rope. “I can drag him from here.”

“Are you forgetting your arms are messed up?”

“Easy now.” Ochaco cuts in, placing a hand on Stain, making him float ever so slightly off the ground. “Come on guys, let’s all just be happy it’s over.”

Shoto nods. “Right.”

And so they follow Native and Izuku out of the alleyway, not wanting to stick around what was their battlefield.

As they head out Izuku’s eyes trail over to the forgotten corpse that was Draco. He turns away not wanting to see any more death than he already has today.

“I have to apologize.”

Izuku, looking for a distraction, looks to Native to continue.

Native frowns, feeling regretful and ashamed. “I’m supposed to be a pro, but I was useless back there.”

“No.” responds Izuku, his voice exhausted after all the shouting and yelling during the battle. “I don’t think any one person could take the Hero Killer on. Now with that weird Quirk of his.”

Ochaco cups her hands together fearfully. “Don’t forget we also had to deal with that other villain, too.”

Izuku nods. “Yeah, he was something…” Next chance he gets he needs to contact Thirteen and let them know about the alien bounty hunter. Hopefully, wherever he is, he stays down. He should, considering he took Uraraka’s Mercury Smash to the head.

Izuku eyes the floating form of the Hero Killer as Shoto pulls him along. “But the Hero Killer was…something else.” 

Shoto frowns, not failing to notice how Midoriya’s trying to veer the conversation away from that high-teched hunter. ‘ _Midoriya…_ ’ But anyway he can get some answers out of him later. “The four of us barely won against him, and even then, it was because of his own mistakes. He was getting riled up and desperate lashing out at anyone he could.” Shoot looks over to Tenya who's been unceremoniously quiet and somber. “Then he wasn’t able to block Iida’s last Reciproburst or Midoriya’s assault.”

And with that the group makes it the main road, finally free and safe.

Native looks to the children, taking the lead. “Right, let’s get him to the police as fast as we can.”

“Ehhh?!” An unfamiliar gasp grabs all of their attention. “What are you doing here, girl?!”

Ochaco gasps her eyes widening in pleasant surprise. “Gran Torino!”

Gran Torino stands just on the opposite side of the street and he doesn’t look all too happy to see her here of all places.

Ochaco frantically waves her arms about. “I was only-Gah!!”

In a split second, Gran Torino Jetted his way across the street and ended up slamming the bottom of his boot against her face. “I thought I told you to stay on the bullet train!!”

Izuku’s, Tenya’s, and Native’s jaws drop in shock as they witness Ochaco get kicked in the face by some elderly man.

Shoto remains independent, his face calm and collected, showing no reaction or emotion. “Who’s this?”

“Ow…” Ochaco rubs her nose as Gran Torino lands down on the ground. “This senile old man’s Gran Torino, the hero I’m interning with.”

Izuku’s eyes pop open. ‘ _Gran Torino…?_ ’ He’s never heard that name before. ‘ _And he was All Might’s teacher?!_ ’ He would have never guessed just by looking at him.

Ochaco finally stops rubbing her aching nose. “How’d you even know where to look?”

The fuming Gran Torino manages to keep his cool long enough to respond. “I was told to come here by someone else.” He frowns. “I have no idea what’s going on, but I’m glad you’re not dead, at least.”

Ochaco chuckles. “Yeah, me too. And…” She bows. “I’m sorry. But I felt like I had to help.”

“Tch.” the old man huffs as the girl bows in shame. ‘ _Jeez, this side of her reminds me of…Nana._ ’

“Around the corner!”

The group turns at the sound of oncoming people.

Izuku perks up. “Who’s that?”

Shoto recognizes the leader. “That’s Burnin.”

Burnin jogs over a group of four other heroes trailing behind her. “Hey little Todoroki! Your dad told us to come here so here we are!”

Ochaco looks to Shoto for clarification, “Wait, is she…?” 

Shoto is quick to reply. “She’s one of my dad’s sidekicks.”

The heroes stop before the group, one of them with a skinny head speaks up. “We were told to come and help here, but…” 

One of the heroes seems a bit confused here. “Children…?”

Another one chirps up. “Those injured look bad. I’ll call an ambulance right away.”

The fourth hero gasps as his eyes land on something very important. “Hey, look!”

Burnin follows his line of sight. “Woah! Is that…that Hero Killer?!”

“What?” Gran Torino gasps, finally peering around the dual-haired teen to spot the villain himself.

The hero calling the ambulance calls out. “I’ll get the police on the line.”

And so the heroes tend to the kids’ injuries, as they wait for the police and ambulance to arrive. In the meantime, Ochaco releases her Quirk and the heroes take over the duty of watching over the villain.

After ensuring Izuku’s all patched up, the hero offers him a hand. “Can you walk?”

Izuku shakes his head. “I don’t think so. I’ll just hang on to this for a little while.” He pats the hoverboard to reinforce his point.

The hero turns to Shoto. “And you?”

“Only minor injuries.”

Meanwhile, Burnin finishes up bandaging Ochaco, patching up her side and forehead. Other than that she’s fine.

All the while Tenya was watching, watching his friend’s wounds get patched up, wounds that he’s responsible for. If he wasn’t so selfish none of them would have been in danger of losing their lives.

“Hey, you’re bleeding badly.” One of the heroes calls Tenya out as he marches towards his classmates. “The ambulance will be here soon, but until then…”

“You guys…” Tenya stands before the three young heroes, and the moment they turn to look at him, he bows, tears threatening to leak out. “You were all hurt because of me. I’m truly sorry.” He chokes back a sob, his body trembling in regret and sorrow. “I was just…so angry. I couldn’t…see anything else.”

“I’m sorry, too, Iida.” Izuku’s eyes soften in regret. “You were going through so much by yourself. But I didn’t do anything about it… Even though I’m your friend.”

Tenya whimpers, tears streaming down his face. Even after all this Izuku still considers him a friend.

“Hey, pull yourself together.” Shoto the ever tactful speak ups. “You’re the class rep.”

Ochaco smiles. “He’s right, Iida. No need for tears, okay?”

Tenya sniffs, rising back up. “Right.”

And so it’s all done with. After speaking with the pro they found out that their battle with the Hero Killer and SixSix probably lasted for about fifteen to twenty minutes. But for the four of them…it felt like they were in that alley forever.

Something in the sky catches Gran Torino’s eye, something just jumped off the ledge of that building just down the road.

Wait, is that a-?! “Get down!!”

Everyone jumps in surprise, but no one takes action not sure why the old man’s yelling out when all the danger has passed.

“HREHRE!!!”

Burnin looks up at the sound of the inhuman howl. “What is that?!”

Before any of them can process what’s happening, metallic razor-sharp claws latch onto Izuku.

“HREHRE!!!” It’s SixSix and he’s just as monstrous as the Nomus!

His true face is just horrifyingly ugly, with pale-yellow skin, robotic eyes, and protruding jaws lined with jagged fangs. But somehow in some way he managed to survive Ochaco’s Mercury Smash! And now he’s here to finish the job he was hired to do.

“Midoriya!!/Deku!!” The kids yell out as SixSix rockets away.

“Hey! Let go!!” Izuku tries to resist but the exhaustion and pain is too great, he might as well be hanging limply in the bounty hunter’s grasp.

“Him again?!” shouts Shoto recognizing the broken, charred armor.

“He’s getting away!!” Before Ochaco could take off Gran Torino snatches her arm, stopping her. “What are you-?!”

“Hold on, we don’t what that thing’s capable of.” Gran Torino scowls up at the bounty hunter. ‘ _Shoot. What that thing even doing exposing itself like that?!_ ’

And so if the heroes refuse to make a move, then it might as well be him. *Shiiing*

*Clang!*

A knife digs into SixSix’s jetpack, sparks flyout as SixSix loses height. “Hrehre!!”

Freed from his bonds, the Hero Killer Stain rushes forward moving with inhuman agility. His eyes glowing red with righteous fury and bloodlust.

“The word “hero” has lost all meaning in this society!!”

As SixSix falls with his prey, Stain leaps high into the air, pouncing onto the bounty hunter’s back.

“The world is overrun by fakes and criminals like you who chase petty dreams!!” He brings his knife down, stabbing it into SixSix’s jetpack and through to his back.

“HREHRE!!!” SixSix’s grip breaks away and he drops the boy, reeling in pain, and trying to keep his jetpack from going out of control.

Stain leaps down and grabs Izuku by his collar, hoisting him down to the street. Meanwhile, SixSix is spiraling uncontrollably in the air, the sparking jetpack throwing him around in every which way direction before rocketing him away and out of sight. As he disappears a loud thundering roar of an explosion meets their ears. Other than that there is no clue of what befell the bounty hunter.

Stain‘s feet skid across the ground, as a limp Izuku braces himself across the ground before they come to a full stop. “You must all be purged…”

Izuku shakily peers up, gasping for air, in sheer terror of the Hero Killer. He can feel it, the bloodlust, the rage, the…the…the-

Stain sighs, drool and blood dripping from his mouth as a deranged grin is plastered to his face. “Everything that I do…” He reels around still holding onto the terrified boy. “Is to create a stronger society!”

No one dares to make a move, no one dares to speak a sound, in the presence of the Hero Killer.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Hey, hey, hey, what the hell?!” Shigaraki glares through his binoculars, watching the Hero Killer drag the struggling boy behind him from atop the water tower. “What the hell’s going on? Where are my Nomus? And what was that thing? It wasn’t one of ours!”

“This is not fair!!” The binoculars crack and Decay away in his palm. “Why’d he have to go steal the spotlight? And why are those brats here?!”

Kurogiri remains silent, not wanting to anger Shigaraki any further.

Nue watches on as well, silently, smirking at the sight of his ex-friend be scared shitless.

Shigaraki throws his head back in anger. “I’m so mad, I don’t even know what to say! This is a mess!”

Nue smirks. “Isn’t that what you wanted?”

“Grrr.” Shigaraki has to hold himself back from turning the abomination into dust. “Shee. Why do things never go the way I want them to?”

And so they watch on, Shigaraki’s nails dig into his neck. Scratching away in irritation. Wishing so badly to kill the Hero Killer, the brats, and all those damn heroes!

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

The heroes remain stunned, they’re all in a state of shock and horror as Stain marches closer and closer, dragging the boy along as a trail of blood from his opened wounds trails behind the poor defenseless lad.

“Did he just save that kid?”

“He took him hostage, idiot.”

“He…he killed that guy with no hesitation.”

“Did he though? There’s a chance he might still be alive.”

“Doubt it.”

Burnin readies her Quirk. “Everyone be on your guard; we’ve got a fight on our hands!”

“Why are you all standing around like fools?”

The heroes look over to find Endeavor marching towards them all, Gang Orca following him from behind. After sending out a city-wide sonar they didn’t pick up anything, but that explosion sure caught their attention.

Endeavor marches closer. “Is there a villain, did it come this way?” Endeavor stops noticing something quite intriguing. “Hold on. Don’t tell me that man is-”

Izuku continues to struggle but it’s useless, as the Hero Killer holds him down.

Stain’s bloodthirsty gaze finally lands on the Number Two Hero, his red eyes narrowing with hatred and disgust as his mask falls away. “Endeavor.”

Endeavor’s fist ignites as a huge excited grin forms on his face. “Hero Killer!!”

Gran Torino can sense it as can Gang Orca! “Wait, Todoroki/Endeavor!!”

“Huh?” Endeavor doesn’t appreciate the interruption, is it because of the boy? Ha! If anything he’s just a bonus target.

Stain finally realizes the boy, slowly redirecting all his energy and hate to the Top Ranked Hero. 

Izuku scowls up at the villain but his fury quickly washes away and is replaced by a petrifying fear. Stain’s face…is like that of a skull, with no nose and red glowing eyes, but what has the boy so scared is the **killing intent** pouring off of him.

“You false hero!”

Like a man possessed by the angel of vengeance, Stain his eyes glowing just as brightly as the moon, knowing glowing red due to the smoke and haze in the sky. “I’ll make this right.”

The **killing intent** is so potent that not just those familiar to it can sense, but they all can. Shoto, Ochaco, Tenya, Gran Torino, Gang Orca, the heroes, and even Endeavor can feel it. It’s like the grim reaper himself has descended down to Earth and he has a deadly grip on their hearts. Just one move from them is all it would take for their lives to come to a tragic and bloody end.

“These streets…must run with the blood of hypocrites!” Stain roars out making even Gran Torino stumble back in fear. “Hero!! I will reclaim that word!” He takes one last stomp forward, blood dripping down his maw, his eyes glowing blood red under the red moonlight, and the **killing intent** holds the helpless cowards in place. “Come on!! Just try and stop me, you fakes!!”

Endeavor gasps, his flames dying out under the Hero Killer’s maddening gaze.

Stain’s too far gone, to mad with bloodlust, his eyes shake with exploding fury. “There is only one man I’ll let kill me. He is a true hero. ALL MIGHT IS WORTHY!!!”

The **killing intent** explodes forth, swallowing them all up whole, like an inescapable flood. They brace and shield their eyes, some even collapse in fear, not wanting to witness their own demise. Not wishing to die by this demon’s hand. the hand of this demon.

*Cling*

The sound of his knife falling to the ground is all it takes for the **killing intent** to wash away/ Just like that the flood is over, and everyone is able to breathe again. As the Hero Killer Stain remains stock still, unmoving, but still standing a huge derange grin still plastered to his face, like he was frozen in place.

Endeavor is the first one to snap out from under the curse. “I think…he’s out cold.”

And so Ochaco collapses, as do Tenya and Shoto, even the usually fiery Burnin loses the feeling in her legs. As a grip of death finally releases their hearts.

Gran Torino lets out a heavy sigh, a breath he didn’t even know he was holding.

Izuku…well he might as well still be under the effect of that killing intent. His mind is still reeling in the fear and death that befell them all. The Hero Killer Stain…is truly nothing like they’ve ever faced. And it’s short of a miracle that they are even alive to witness his convictions.

Stain hadn’t so much as ingested any of their blood, he didn’t paralyze them with his Quirk, but his resolve. And so in that moment of death, they dare not have moved, none of them were able to bring themselves to stand against him. Only the Hero Killer had any fight left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well…that was Ch.35 Killing Intent. What’d you guys think? Was it what you were expecting? I tried my best with this one I really did. And hey this ended up being a 90-page long chapter! Woah! And I was able to finish it in a week! But that being said I think I need to take a short break or at least take my time to write up the next chapter. I’m not burnt out; I just need to take a small break from posting. Heck I’ll probably be back within two weeks or so. Anyway I hope you enjoyed Ch.35 and I hope to have you guys back for Ch.36.
> 
> *So, Deku fighting Stain without his powers was always intentional, I knew I wanted it to be that way since the very start of me writing this story. I wanted to show what Deku is capable of without the Omnitrix, and I thought this was the best time to do it. And giving him the Omni-Shield in my opinion was fitting.
> 
> *Speaking of, Omni-Shield is what I decided to give Deku. I thought it fit him the best, and I didn’t want to give him anything too crazy.
> 
> Before you ask, yes, I did consider giving him the proto-tool but I’m saving that for later. Also before you all start throwing suggestions at me, thanks but they are not needed. I know what I want to this with this. Also, this Omni-Shield will be treated like Deku’s costume in manga/anime, it will receive upgrades as the story goes on. As of now you can consider this Omni-Shield as Version 1. In any case what did you think of it?
> 
> *Another thing I wanted to do from the very start of the story was to have SixSix, Stain, and the young heroes face off all at the same time. I didn’t exactly know how I was going to go about it, but I did it and I think it turned out really good.
> 
> *Also fun fact about SixSix, all of his text and dialogue is an anagram. Every word he speaks has been scrambled to hide what he’s actually saying. Kudos to those that figured it out. I thought it would be a fun little joke especially when you see what it is, he says. 


	37. Stained

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of the Hosu Incident.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is Ch.36 I hope you like it. It’s a lot like Ch.18 Exposition Ex Machina in the sense that it stays close to the anime and has a lot of info dumps and explanations. I tried my best to make it interesting, so I hope it proves to be enjoyable.
> 
> *And hey no glitch this time! Isn’t that great?!
> 
> *Below is an Opening Theme generated by “Drag0n5on” please check it out, it’s very well written.

“Okay, can you hear me in the studio?” A field reporter grips her headset as she peers down at the flaming city below the helicopter, her cameraman sits by her side, his camera trained on the destruction. “I’m reporting to you live from the skies over Hosu City. It’s unclear what’s happening below but take a look!”

The camera zooms in on the plumes of smoke and the glow of the flames.

“Large clouds of smoke and fire are rising from different locations in the area. Is this due to a series of accidents? Or have villains taken the streets? Currently we have no info on the situation here,” She turns to look at the camera as to directly address the audience. “but our station will continue reporting as this breaking story unfolds.”

“And cut!” The cameraman cuts the feed, lowering his camera as they both resume observing the flames and smoke.

Without taking her eyes off the chaos, the reporter delivers very direct orders. “Don’t you dare stop filming.”

The cameraman hastily gets his camera back up and rolling, aiming down at the flaming Hosu City.

And then she sees something. “Wait… What in the world? Look.”

The cameraman doesn’t see it. “Uh? At what?”

“Right there.” The reporter points her finger. “Check out the building with the water tower on top. Zoom in!”

It takes him a minute, but he finally spots the water tower and zooms in on three figures standing atop of it. “There’s people--three of them!”

That’s odd. “Bystanders? How did they get up there?” And what are they doing there of all places?

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Tomura Shigaraki peers through his binoculars scanning the city for the Nomus.

Even from here he can see Draco’s dead corpse lying in a pool of its own blood.

The sight makes him scratch at his neck in irritation.

He keeps scanning, watching as police and a few heroes put Squirrelanoid in restraints before hauling it away.

His scratching increases.

And finally there’s the Shellshock Nomu who’s smoking corpse is being collected by the no-good heroes, they’re even retraining the body in case the regeneration somehow kicks back in.

His nails threaten to break through his own skin, especially as he homes in on one last sight. Or at least he tries to. Even from atop the water tower Shigaraki isn’t able to see what had become of that freaky jetpacked mutant. That guy or whatever it was tried to haul off with that brat before getting his ass done in by the Hero Killer. Just what was that guy? And why did he kill his Nomu?!

Out of frustration the binoculars Decay and break away in his grip.

Shigaraki doesn’t even turn to address Kurogiri or Nue. “We’re leaving.”

Kurogiri’s mass begins to expand. “Are you satisfied with the results, Tomura Shigaraki?”

“Depends on tomorrow’s headline, moron.”

And just like that the three members of the League of Villains vanish within a black void. With nothing to show for their efforts other than meaningless destruction and chaos.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

  1. _Lyrics_
  2. Scene



(Play “ **Sora ni Utaeba** ” by amazarashi)

<https://youtu.be/2ieT6Vh7jZE>

  1. _Kyojitsu wo kirisaite souten wo aoide tobitatta tokoshie_
  2. Izuku crashes into the ground hard before getting up and running forward only for the process to repeat over and over again.
  3. _Sora ni utaeba_
  4. Izuku is breathing heavily as he struggles to get up.
  5. _koukai mo iyaou naku_
  6. Suddenly a hand lands on his shoulder catching him by surprise.
  7. **D**. _Hitsuzen hitsuzen narubeku s*** naru mirai da sore yue, agake_
  8. He looks up to see Ochaco smiling at him. Slowly he returns the smile and gets up. The two charge forward together and deliver twin punches forward destroying the screen.
  9. _(Instrumental)_
  10. The title appears across the screen as multiple planets surround it.
  11. _Shinkirou namida no kawa wo kogidashite ikuseisou_
  12. Izuku is helping out around Gang Orca's agency while getting into shenanigans with the other residents. Gang Orca gives them an order which they all roar out too.
  13. _Sayonara yukazaru wo enai nani wo ushinatta tote_
  14. Ochaco patrols the streets with Torino passing by Charmcaster causing the two girls to stop and turn to look at each other.
  15. _Wasurenai_
  16. Shoto looks down at his left hand as images of his mother appear behind him.
  17. _kuyashisa mo_
  18. He fades revealing Izuku as he recalls memories with Henzu and the day on the roof with All Might before ending on his conversation with Tenya.
  19. _kutsujoku mo_
  20. Tenya looks down as he grips his fists.
  21. _Mune ni kazatte_
  22. His eyes look upward revealing his hatred as his hero costume comes on.
  23. _Kyojitsu wo kirisaite_
  24. Tenya charges forward and sends a kick that Stain blocks.
  25. _souten wo aoide_
  26. Shoto jumps into the air and sends an eruption of flames towards the Hero Killer
  27. _tobitatta tokoshie_
  28. Above them Ochaco dukes it out with Charmcaster who smiles at her sinisterly.
  29. _Sora ni utaeba_
  30. On another roof Izuku battles Sixsix before leaping backwards to dodge a blast from the bounty hunter.
  31. _koukai mo iyaou naku_
  32. He looks up and glares at a gallery of villains.
  33. _Hitsuzen_
  34. Tomura and Henzu look at him and snarl.
  35. _hitsuzen_
  36. Vilgax simply narrows his eyes.
  37. _tachikiru ni wa mabushi sugita_
  38. The Omnitrix glows as Izuku selects a transformation.
  39. _mirai e,_
  40. He smiles as he slams his hand onto the watch.
  41. _Agake_
  42. The watch activates, and everything is engulfed in a flash of green
  43. _Instrumental 1_
  44. It shows Class 1-A and 1-B preparing for battle ending with Katsuki blasting the screen.
  45. _Instrumental 2_
  46. Izuku walks forward as he brings the Omnitrix up and grips his fist.
  47. There’s a flash of green that fades to reveal Izuku standing along with his class with the shadows of his transformations on the wall behind them.



[Illustrated by **Drag0n5on** ]

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**Ch.36 Stained**

*Knock. Knock*

The door to the hospital room slides open and Ochaco Uraraka sticks her head in cautiously. “Morning. Is it safe to come in?”

The three inhabitants of the hospital room peer up from their beds and welcome her in.

Izuku Midoriya sits up on his bed. “Yeah, you can enter.”

Ochaco pulls back the door, just like the rest of them she’s adorning the hospital gown as well, but unlike them she was able to get her own room. But after a restless night worrying about Stain, the Nomus, and her friends she couldn’t hang out in that quiet space by herself any longer.

Tenya Iida gives a curt nod in greeting. “Uraraka.”

She graciously returns it. “Iida.”

Shoto Todoroki sits off the side of his bed. “Did you sleep, Uraraka?” 

Ochaco shakes her head, frowning as she grips her arm. “No, not really.”

“I figured. Me neither.”

Izuku sighs. “Yeah, same…”

This morning is so warm and sunny allowing for a calmer and more peaceful atmosphere, the total opposite of the night before. And even though the hospital beds are rather comfortable, a goodnight’s rest had eluded them all. How anyone expected them to actually get some rest is just idiotic.

Thankfully the only reassuring fact about the events from last night was that by some miracle there were no fatalities of citizens or heroes. Of course there were still a number of those, especially heroes, who were injured but fortunately no injuries were life threatening. Even Dholak, who had been taken down by Shellshock at one point, is going to make a full recovery. Heck his elongated limbs are already starting to grow back after being ripped off. So that’s reassuring.

But it’s hard to celebrate a victory after coming face to face with the…with the Hero Killer. 

Izuku leans back in his bed trying his best not to let his wounds bother him too much. “Thinking about that fight now, we did something pretty amazing.”

Shoto nods, solemnly. “Yeah, I agree.”

Ochaco frowns sorrowfully, remaining silent but agreeing with them fully. What they did was amazing but not because of their flashy moves or teamwork, but the fact that they actually managed to survive such an encounter.

Izuku continues. “After everything that happened back there, it kinda feels like a miracle we’re even alive.” Especially when you consider the fact that Izuku was forced to fight without the Omnitrix.

Peering down at his left wrist, Izuku is sad to report that the doctors were unable to remove the brace. It is still firmly attached to his arm and preventing any access to the Omnitrix. They had tried various power tools and such but gave up in favor of letting Izuku rest for the night before trying again later today.

But even so it’s a bit frustrating and sad to know that a lot of their wounds and pain could have been prevented if he didn’t let that bounty hunter get an upper hand on them. “Without One Man Army, I was an easy target.” Evident by the bandages around his leg, and shoulders. “They…any of them could’ve killed me if they really wanted to.”

Shoto looks down at his own bandaged arm and leg. “Yeah.”

Ochaco silently worries, gently rubbing the bandages around her head and waist.

Shoto averts his eyes towards Tenya. “I’m impressed by you though, Iida.”

Tenya remains silent, sitting atop his hospital bed with both his arms in casts, Stain’s blade had done quite the number on his shoulder that’s for sure.

“The Hero Killer was actually trying to murder you, but you stood tall.”

“That’s not true.” Tenya can’t even look them in the eyes, instead his vision falls downward in shame and regret. “I was…a fool…I…” His voice fades away unable to speak anymore of, his guilt and shame choking him up.

Feeling the air of sadness, the others stew in the silence not wanting to upset their friend any more than he already is.

“Then again you weren’t the only one being targeted, weren’t you?” Shoto isn’t speaking to Iida, but rather to Izuku.

And just like that all the attention has shifted towards the nervous greenette.

“Wha?! What me?!” Izuku points at himself, even though he knows full well he’s the one Shoto’s referring to.

“Yeah.” Shoto’s eyes narrow in suspicion.

Izuku gulps worriedly. He understands exactly what Shoto’s getting at, but…can he afford to say anything? Can he tell him or even Iida for that matter about…everything? 

“That guy the one in the high-tech armor…he was after your support gear, wasn’t he?”

Izuku’s breath hitches and so does Ochaco’s as the realization of what Shoto’s getting at finally crosses her mind. As for Tenya he just looks more concerned with the fact that Midoriya was also a target.

“It was just like back then.” Specially Shoto’s referring to the U.S.J. and how Tetrax demanded to know the whereabouts of the so-called Omnitrix. “That guy was after your watch too. You even kept his hoverboard. What’s with that?”

Okay Izuku’s really in a bind here. The hoverboard, okay easy it was a gift or something, but…the rest of it. God will Shoto even buy anything he says. Heck would he even believe the truth?! Oh, man… 

“Tell me Midoriya.” Shoto looks Izuku straight in the eye and says. “Why are all these villains targeting you?”

Izuku…doesn’t know what he can say for himself. Every option just…doesn’t seem like the right one. On one hand he can tell Todoroki about it all, there’s no other way to explain why villains would be after the Omnitrix unless he explains what it is and that means…alien. But the other option is to…well, lie and honestly Izuku feels even guilty referring to his powers as a “Quirk,” and now if he tries to lie, he essentially has to pull something right out of his ass and hope it’s believable. Somehow knowing himself, he’d mess that up, wouldn’t he?

Then maybe…maybe he should tell him. How much harm could it do? Heck it might be nice to have someone else around that knows, someone else that can help both Ochaco and himself deal with it all.

“Todoroki-”

The door sliding open cuts Izuku off. “Oh, so the injured youngins are awake.”

Izuku jolts up in surprise, his mouth clamping shut.

Ochaco spins around and nearly screams out in shock, her heart racing in anticipation of Deku’s response to Shoto. “Gran Torino!”

All four of the U.A. students turn their attention to the doorway where Gran Torino and Manual have entered.

Iida quickly takes notice of the other hero. “And Manual too.”

Shoto leans back, letting his interrogation go for now, now that there is an audience.

Izuku is grateful for it, letting out a sigh of relief. Honestly, he’d be much happier putting this conversation off for as long as he can. Plus he doesn’t want to disobey Nezu or Thirteen, last thing he needs is to be scolded for going behind their backs.

_‘Oh, sweet salvation!’_ Thank goodness the heroes arrived, though, to save him from it all.

“YOU MORON!!!”

“Ahhhh!!” Okay, maybe the hero’s arriving wasn’t his sweet salvation after all.

“I SHOULD DEVOUR YOU MYSELF!!!”

Gang Orca rushes into the room and before anyone could process it, he’s up and over Gran Torino and Manual, and then as he reaches the boy instead of greeting him with concern or compassion, he goes about it a different way. Without a hint of concern, Gang Orca slams his foot right onto the bed, smashing it in half and launching the poor injured boy right up into the air. He doesn't get far as Gang Orca’s massive claw catches Izuku by his face!!

Izuku’s friends yelp out in shock. “MIDORIYA/DEKU!?!”

But they’re all drowned out by the mighty predator of a pro hero. “WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY FOR YOURSELF!?!” Gang Orca roars out so loudly it undoubtedly had woken up the entire hospital.

Izuku cries out as his body hangs limply in the air. “I’m sorry!!”

“THAT’S NOT GOING TO CUT IT!!!”

Gang Orca shakes him around like a rag doll, a rag doll that just so happens to scream, a lot.

“Ahhhh!!”

In a way this is just Gang Orca’s way of expressing his concern while making sure Izuku learns his lesson.

Ochaco isn’t sure whether to step in or not, would it look bad if she tried to stop a top ranked hero?

“Idiot.”

She jolts, a shiver running down her spine as Gran Torino glares up at her.

The fuming Gran Torino scowls. “I could yell at you for hours right now.”

“S-sorry.”

Before anyone else receives any more “punishment”, a calm and rather cherry voice manages to calm them all down. “Now now, these young students have been through a lot and I think they’ve all earned a nice long rest.”

Everyone’s attention turns back to the door, where a little white chimera of a mouse, dog, and bear is smiling up at all of them.

“Principal Nezu?!”

It sure is, Principal Nezu waves his little paw up in a friendly hello. “Haha! Yes, it is me! How delightful, isn’t it?!”

While Principal Nezu enters the room, Gang Orca mercifully releases Izuku from his death grip, thankfully dropping him on a not-smashed up hospital bed.

Izuku takes in a nice breath of fresh air, bathing in the relief that his face isn’t being squeezed in. “Wh-what are you doing here?!” He pauses realizing how rude that sounded, especially towards an adult authority figure. “If you don’t mind me asking.”

Nezu adjusts his little tie as he climbs up onto a nearby hospital bed. “Well, I am your principal, and you are my students, as such I am required to be here as well.” He stands atop the bed and gives the student a cheeky look. “Especially when my students find themselves in quite the pickle.”

Said students have enough sense to look ashamed, being called out like that.

“I just had to make sure everything was alright and to make sure no consequences befall to you all.”

Wait, Ochaco caught that. “Consequences?” What is he talking about? And why does she feel so nervous all of a sudden?

“Yeah.” Gran Torino turns away and looks towards the entrance. “Your visitor can explain more”

“Visitor?”

And sure enough there is someone else there at the door, in fact he was there when Nezu first arrived, but he waited patiently allowing the principal a moment to make his own presence known.

Gran Torino goes ahead and introduces the unfamiliar face, the unfamiliar dog-like face. “This is Hosu’s chief of police. Kenji Tsuragamae.”

Tsuragamae is a very tall, sturdily built man with the head of a beagle. The area around his eyes and his ears is a dark brown, the two sides separated by a tan line which runs down his forehead, widening at his muzzle, which is flecked with pale brown. He has a large, black nose and dark eyes, and, although the rest of his body is of normal human shape, his skin appears to be the same tan color as most of his face.

He wears a suit, consisting of a dress shirt, and waistcoat, over which he wears an unbuttoned black blazer and matching dress pants underneath. He has a belt with a large buckle and a black and white tie that resembles a dalmatian’s coat.

Izuku lets out a small gasp in surprise. _‘Tsuragamae? The-The Chief?!_ ’ Of all the visitors it’s the Chief of Police?!

Ochaco, Tenya, and Shoto all stand up to greet him, giving the man his respect. Izuku tries to follow suit, even with his injuries. 

Tsuragamae is quick to stop him. “No, please, stay seated, woof.”

Izuku is more than a bit thrown off by the Chief’s tic. ‘ _Woof?!_ ’ Is it just like Tsuyu’s ribbits?

Tsuragamae takes a moment to examine the young heroes. “So, you’re the U.A. students who brought down the Hero Killer, huh?”

“We are.” replies Shoto. ‘ _The police chief came all this way. And the principal, too. Why?’_ Something’s up and he’s got a feeling that it’s not anything good. 

Tsuragamae dives right into it, he is a busy man after all so he can’t always have the luxury of making pleasantries. “Stain has some serious injuries. Severe burns and several broken bones. Right now he’s in under strict guard, woof.”

The students silently sit in an ever-growing sense of worry, just where is the Chief of Police going with this?

“Here’s a lesson you should have already learned. When Quirks became the norm, the police force sought to maintain the status quo. They decided we wouldn’t use Quirks as weapons.”

Tsuragamae looks to the three pro heroes currently present. “That’s when heroes came in. They could do what we couldn’t, if they were licensed, of course, woof.” And as it stands none of these children have those, they’re not even close to owning one yet. “It would be impossible for the police to condone the use of deadly Quirks. After all, we’re here to stop such harm from being done. The only reason pros can use their powers now is because of the strict code of ethics that the early heroes chose to abide by.”

And with all due respect, the students weren’t exactly restraining themselves with their Quirks during their battle. They all saw the aftermath, the destruction, blood, and damage they had done not only to the Hero Killer but to the battlefield that was an alleyway.

Tsuragamae continues. “That’s why it’s against the law for uncertified people to use their Quirks to cause injury. Whether you were up against the Hero Killer or not, none of you had the authority to harm the villain.” His frow narrows. “Either of them.”

Izuku squirms in his seat, not liking the fact that the Chief of Police is aware that another villain, a bounty hunter, was part of the battle.

“That means the four of you, and your supervisors: Endeavor, Manual, Gang Orca, and Gran Torino should receive hash punishments for this gross abuse of your powers.”

This all seems to rub Shoto the wrong way, making him upset and resulting in him speaking up. “Now wait a minute.”

Everyone turns their attention to the upset scared-faced teen.

“If Iida had not stepped in, Native would’ve been murdered. And if not for Midoriya, both of them would be dead.” And now the authorities want to punish them for saving lives?! Shoto’s not having this, not at all. “No one else even realized that the Hero Killer was in Hosu. Are you saying we should’ve just stood by and watched people die?”

Ochaco gets up from her bed, blocking the path between Shoto and the Chief. “Calm down, Todoroki.”

And just like that Shoto snaps at her instead. “And what about you?!”

Ochaco wobbles back not expecting such an outburst.

“Don’t tell me you’re okay with this!”

Tsuragamae is surprisingly calm while a boy with the capability to freeze or burn any of them alive snaps out at them. “So it’s okay to break the law as long as it goes your way?”

Shoto scowls upset by Tsuragamae’s jab. “But sir, isn’t it a hero’s job to save people?” Let’s see the hound turn this logic back on him.

Tsuragamae closes his eyes in exasperation. “This is why you’re not a full-fledged pro yet. It’s obvious U.A. and Endeavor haven’t been teaching you near enough.”

Okay now Shoto’s taking this personally, not for Endeavor’s sake but for U.A.’s.

“What a shame.”

“You damned mutt.” Shoto marches ready to confront the jerk head on.

Tenya quickly calls him out. “Todoroki. Listen, he’s right.”

Izuku and Ochaco both look like they want to jump in and stop him before he does something stupid but with their injuries and worry, they remain silent and stunned.

Thankfully, Gran Torino steps up, blocking the boy’s path with his hand up.

“Stop there, kid.” It works, Shoto actually takes a moment to stop. “You’ll wanna hear him out till the end.”

With the go ahead, Tsuragamae continues on. “What I’ve said is the official stance of the police department.” And with that his tone changes, as he humbly scratches the end of his sniffer. “But any punishment would only be necessary if this went public.”

The students are…confused, to say the least.

“If it did, you’d probably be applauded by citizens everywhere. But there’s no way you could escape from being reprimanded.”

Basically in the eye of the public, they are wonderful heroes in the making, but they could potentially have their future careers cut short thanks to the strong arm of the law and justice system. And…it would take a miracle to get out of it unscathed. 

Tsuragamae however is ready with a way to avoid all the drama. “On the other hand, we could say Endeavor saved the day. Stain’s burns would support this story completely, and we could pretend you weren’t involved, woof. Thankfully, there were very few witnesses. This could be the last you heard of any punishments.” However, there is a bit of a catch sadly. “It would mean no one would know about you, though. You’d receive no acclaim at all. The choice is yours.”

Tsuragamae offers them a kind smile. “Personally, I know where I stand.” He gives them a big thumbs up of encouragement. “I don’t wanna damage any promising young careers. Not for a mistake like this.”

Manual sheepishly smiles in the background, his eyes welling up with tears. “Either way, we’ll need to take responsibility for being negligent as supervisors.”

A pang of guilt pierces Tenya’s heart, especially after Manual went out of his way to try and steer him from making a mistake, only for him to go against the pro’s back and do it anyway.

And so gathering his courage he gets up and marches forward until he stands in front of the man he wronged, and bows. “I’m sorry. I should’ve listened.”

Manual lightly chops the boy’s head but does so more as a friendly gesture than one of anger. “Yeah! You caused us a lot of trouble. Remember that, and don’t do it again.”

“Sir.”

“But…” Manual smiles softly in relief. “I’m glad to see you’re alright.”

Tenya wasn’t expecting such kindness, but he accepts it, smiling back.

Ochaco bows as well, she’s just as guilty of running headfirst into danger as Iida is. “I’m sorry too.”

Izuku bows his head too. “And…I apologize as well.”

Shoto, not wanting to seem ungrateful, bows as well, more as an apology than out of respect. “Me, too. We’ll leave it to you.”

And there’s their answer, it’s really a no brainer. Besides they can live without the credit, and just be happy that they can walk away without causing any more trouble for anyone.

Tsuragamae understands. “I know it’s not fair. You won’t enjoy any of the fame and praise you probably would’ve received otherwise. But at least…” He bows, out of respect for these fine young heroes. “allow me, as the chief of police, to thank you.”

Shoto admittedly feels a bit abashed right about now, here he was calling the Chief out on not standing with them, only for him to look like the real fool. “You know. You could've started with that.”

Ochaco chuckles. “Oh, come now. Just admit it.” She playful smirks at the dual-haired boy. “You overreacted.”

Shoto turns his head away not meeting her gaze, but Ochaco’s pretty sure she can see his ears glow red.

Izuku chuckles at the two as do Tenya, but more or less they’re just happy they can put all this behind them now. Without any worry of it ever coming back to bite them.

So that’s it no one outside this room will ever know what they did, and that’s fine. They’ll always know and that’s all they’ll ever really need. The praise and recognition are definitely something they can live without.

Principal Nezu looks like he has something to add. “There is, however, a potential caveat.”

“What?” And just like that the students are thrown for a loop. What else could there be to discuss? They thought it was pretty clear.

Tsuragamae rubs his forehead as if this is going to cause a headache. “Technically speaking only three of you broke the law, the other did not.”

Ochaco blinks. “Wait…”

As does Shoto. “One of us?”

Tenya is at a loss too. “…Didn’t?”

Izuku’s head tilts to the side. “But who…?”

… After a brief moment of silence the realization crashes down on the students like a wave. “You mean Midoriya/Deku/Me?!”

Tsuragamae nods. “Correct, woof.”

Izuku is shocked, shocked because it doesn’t make any sense, Didn’t he break the law too?! “But how?! Why?!”

“Weren’t you listening?” Gang Orca frowns, disappointed with the boy’s incompetence. “The law states that an unlicensed individual can’t use their Quirk against others. And you…” He draws off as if waiting for Izuku to finish the thought.

Which he does. “Oh, I never used my Quirk!!”

“You’re just now realizing this?” deadpans Gang Orca.

Gran Torino snickers, leaning towards Ochaco. “This one’s not too bright, now is he?”

She chuckles sheepishly in response.

Shoto, however, keeps the ball rolling. “What does that mean? Why is Midoriya exempt from this rule?”

Everyone looks to Tsuragamae for a further in-depth explanation, which he graciously provides. “It’s as Gang Orca said, Izuku Midoriya did not breach any codes of conduct, he didn’t misuse his Quirk, nor did he use lethal force against the villains.” Tsuragamae sighs. “Not to mention he technically had permission to confront the villain.”

The students gasp. “He/I did?”

The other three quickly snap at Izuku after hearing his obliviousness. “How could you not know?!” 

“Eh?!” yelps Izuku.

Gang Orca goes ahead and clarifies. “It was during the start of the attack. As some of you may be aware, but a hero can grant permission to individuals to use their Quirks based on situational circumstances.”

Gran Torino looks up at Ochaco, addressing her. “Which is what I technically have you do back at Dathomir City.”

Oh, that would explain why the police never said anything about it back then, because Gran Torino must have told them that she had the go ahead. “So, it’s like I had a permission slip and you signed it.”

“Exactly!”

Gang Orca nods, agreeing with the metaphor. “I ordered Midoriya to pursue a villain. But from a more legal standpoint, I technically gave him permission to not only use his Quirk but to confront a villain. In other words…”

Shoto’s eyes widen. “Midoriya didn’t break the law but was following it.”

“See the cool one gets it.”

Ignoring that comment from his mentor, Izuku pipes up. “But…why?” Everyone turns to him, waiting for him to finish. “Why does that matter?” 

Principal Nezu mentally prepares himself for the childrens’ reactions. “Because…it could mean you can receive the credit for…defeating the Hero Killer Stain.”

…

“WHAAAT!?!”

Tsuragamae has to cover his sensitive dog ears in response to the sudden screams of surprise. “Yes, sort-of speak there is a third option available to us.”

Everyone, especially the students listen intently to the man’s words.

“We of course can’t allow the news that you three participated in the confrontation, that part still stands, woof. However, that does not apply to Mr. Midoriya and as such …” He looks the young man right in the eyes as he states. “he can receive credit for fighting off the Hero Killer.”

Another jolt of surprise and shock course through the kids, some out of delight and others not so much. 

Tenya is first to let his feelings show. “That’s wonderful! Well done, Midoriya!” Seriously no joke Tenya’s happy for the greenette this could be so great for his career and he’s more than proved his worth.

Ochaco is in full agreement. If anyone deserves it, it’s Deku.” Sure it would be nice if they got some of the credit too, but who cares?! Deku did get the most injured and did the most out of all of them, he’s more than earned it, it’s rightfully his to take. 

Shoto feels similarly even though he doesn’t really express it. “I agree.”

Principal Nezu smiles softly at how quickly his star students are so willing to give their dear friend his dues. “My my so quick to support your friend, friendships truly do grow when they’re put to the test.” His eyes meet Gran Torino’s. “Don’t they?”

Gran Torino smiles back, knowing full well how true that statement is.

Gang Orca slams his hand onto Izuku’s back. “Well congrats, kid.” Is that a hint of pride in his voice? It sure is. “Look at you at the start you were nothing but a shrimp, and now you’re a big bad fish of the deep.”

Ochaco claps her hands together in celebration. “Congrats, Deku!” Her cheering ends abruptly when she notices that the one, they’re praising isn’t joining in on the celebration.

And everyone else has seemed to notice it as well, quieting down, hoping for Izuku to explain why he seems so quiet and solemn.

Izuku takes a shaky breath before finally addressing the room. “This is a really big honor and I thank you for the opportunity.” he chokes up, his eyes averting away as if thinking over his answer one last time. “I’m sorry, but…I rather not receive any credit.”

And with that all thoughts of celebration and pride wash away and are replaced with concerns and questions.

Tenya chokes. “Midoriya…why?”

“It…just won’t sit right with me.” Izuku looks to Tenya, then to Ochaco, and finally to Shoto. “We all defeated the Hero Killer…I can’t in good conscience take all the credit that you guys also deserve.” He shakes his head to show how much he can’t accept that fate. “I can’t, it wouldn’t be right.”

Shoto scowls, disappointed with Izuku’s choice. “Don’t be stupid.”

“Todoroki!” admonishes Ochaco, he could use a little more tack, but he continues anyway. 

“We don’t care about the credit, but don’t throw this opportunity away.”

“He’s right.” nods Tenya. “Think about your career, here. This would be great for you, especially after we all leave U.A.”

Shoto is quick to add in with full seriousness. “Don’t waste it.”

Izuku looks from one to the other, and from their eyes he can tell just how serious they are about this. “Todoroki, Iida…”

“Yeah.” Ochaco nods, remaining firm on this as well. “For once Deku, it’s okay to be a little selfish.”

“You guys…” He’s really lucky, isn’t he? Just a year ago he could count the number of friends he had on one hand…and now. It’s so nice. But…he can’t do it; he can’t deprive them of their victory too. “I’m sorry but…I can’t.” He addresses Tsuragamae, knowing that he has the power to truly decide this. “That’s my final answer.”

The other three slump in their seats, disappointed by Midoriya’s choice but they can respect it…maybe. 

Tsuragamae, however, accepts the answer. “Very well.”

Izuku nods appreciating the respect. “Thank you.” He bows symbolizing how truly grateful he is.

While his back is turned his so-called friends quickly share a few whispers between each other making sure Izuku doesn’t notice their shenanigans.

“Well, I must certainly have to say.” Tsuragamae looks to Principal Nezu. “Your school’s done well in raising this one.”

Nezu smiles proudly. “Yes, we have.”

Tsuragamae bows his head at Izuku as well as his friends. “I can respect your decision, woof, and might I add what an honor it’s been to meet the next generation of heroes. I’m sure you’ll make us all very proud.”

Izuku smiles back. “Thank you, sir.”

Off to the side, Gang Orca huffs. “Damn, the kid’s so damn noble.” Despite what he says he’s still proud, maybe even more so now.

Tsuragamae turns towards the door, before gesturing for Manual to follow. “Now come along Manual you can help me get a head start on the reports.”

“Of course.” Manual goes ahead and follows him out, but before he does, he throws one last wave to the U.A. students. “Take care, heroes.”

Tenya smiles. “Yes, we will.”

Manual’s grin widens as him and Tsuragamae make their way to the exit.

However, before they can actually make their leave Shoto nearly jumps out of his seat as something important resurfaces in his mind. “Hang on, a minute!”

Everyone stops, waiting with bated breath for the young man to air his concern.

“What about that other villain, the one that was targeting Midoriya?”

And like that the air has shifted, becoming deadly serious and foreboding.

“That villain in the high-tech gear was…after Midoriya. How come?” Shoto’s eyes narrow with suspicion. “And why have you all refused to even bring it up.” Throughout the whole discussion they only ever really referred to the Hero Killer, but not that darn assassin.

Both Izuku and Ochaco intensely tense up as worry courses through them, making them pale and frozen in place. It’s one thing if he gets answers but it’s another if it’s pro heroes and the Chief of Police!!

The two look to Majister Nezu for help but the little chimera just smiles on, oblivious to their plight.

Their worry only worsens as Tsuragamae turns back around to address the young man’s questions. “Ah, yes. In truth, we thought it best not to concern you with the details.” He frowns, his eyes narrowing with seriousness. “We didn’t want to cause a scare after all.”

Both of the space cadet’s eyes widen. A scare? Oh, no. Did…did he find out? Oh, god, what do they do? How’d the police even find out? 

Shoto blinks. “A scare, sir?”

Tsuragamae continues “According to our databases, you all encountered an international assassin who goes by the alias SixSix.”

It’s safe to say that both space cadets are at a loss, blinking like they’ve just seen the Chief grow a second head. An international assassin and he was on their database?

Izuku’s eyes drift down towards the little mouse/bear/dog man. ‘ _No, he did something._ ’

Shoto frowns, confused. “Why would that scare us?”

And so Tsuragamae goes ahead and explains. “We believe that SixSix was targeting Mr. Midoriya…because he was hired too, by the League of Villains.”

Izuku and Ochaco gasp while sharing a concerned look; does the League know about aliens? And how did they even get in contact with one?

“Yes, I know, it’s quiet the shock isn’t it, woof?” asks Tsuragamae. “But that’s only our theory, as far as we know, SixSix is apparently known for taking on hired work, namely assassinations, from other villains. And considering he attacked while suspected members of the League were present in Hosu, well it’s safe to say that’s why he attacked.”

Izuku and Ochaco blink. ‘ _Oh, so…_ ’ Their eyes trail over to Nezu. ‘ _that’s how he was able to hide his true nature._ ’ 

Gran Torino goes ahead and throws in his concerns. “And from what we know about the U.S.J. attack and the Sports Festival, they got it out for you kid.” He elbows the side of Izuku’s leg, making the boy jolt a bit with worry, like he has a guilty conscience. 

Shoto is quiet, allowing all this information to swirl around in his mind before sinking in. “Makes sense, actually.”

The space cadets silently scream out in shock. ‘ _He’s buying this?!_ ’

Well why wouldn’t he? As far as Shoto knows they couldn’t understand SixSix because he was a foreigner. He probably has a lot of connections which is how he had the tech that he did. And if it was the League who hired him, then it makes sense they would target Midoriya, it was thanks to him and his Diamondhead form that they were able to defeat them back at the U.S.J. and that Shigaraki seems like someone who would carry such a grudge.

Shoto nods, coming to terms with the reasoning, before turning to the boy in question. “It was thanks to you that we were able to hold them off back at the U.S.J. And you ranked high in the Sports Festival as such, they probably see you as a threat.”

Izuku cowers away a bit out of nervousness. “You…think…?”

Tsuragamae nods in agreement. “Sound reasoning, and that’s what we believe to be true as well.”

Principal Nezu offers up a comforting smile to the space cadets, to anyone else it seems like he’s trying to be gentle with them but to them they know it’s a cocky smile, a smile that read: _I’ve got this covered you noobs_. “Which is why we didn’t want to bring up the bounty hunter. We didn’t want to cause any more stress for you students as it is.” He frowns with concern. “You’re all so young, there’s no need for any of you to be targets. That’s why we will also be withholding the knowledge that any of you were targeted.” In other words the media should not know about that little detail.

Tsuragamae cuts back in. “U.A.’s already in a bit of heat after the attack, adding on the fact that an assassin was hired to kill their own students could amplify the League’s credibility and statues.”

It makes sense though, the League’s already done enough damage as it is. Adding more fuel to the fire that is the panic and fear that’s surging through Japan won’t help matters.

Principal Nezu smiles over at Shoto. “I hope this has answered your questions, Mr. Todoroki.”

The dual-haired teen frowns, he nods accepting the explanation, but not before throwing one last subtle look of suspicion in Midoriya’s way.

“But I don’t think there’s any more need to worry.” Principal Nezu grins up at the students. “The assassin failed, the Nomus are in custody, and you defeated the Hero Killer. I doubt they’d try anything again any time soon, not after the great heroics you all demonstrated.”

Half of the students present visibly relax but as for the other two…they have the feeling that things wouldn’t be that simple. When considering, well, everything.

With no other questions it seems, Tsuragamae has no other reason for sticking around. “If there aren’t any more questions, I’m afraid I must take my leave.”

Nezu waves him off. “Farewell, Mr. Tsuragamae.”

The Chief politely returns the gesture. “Farewell, Principal Nezu.”

With one last nod of approval to the students and other heroes, Tsuragamae leaves. Manual follows him out, waving goodbye.

Principal Nezu turns to address the greenette. “Now as for you.”

Izuku nervously backs away in his seat, a bit nervous by Nezu’s facade of a kind smile. 

“How would you like to have One Man Army back?”

Without even thinking, Izuku shouts with joy. “Very much so!”

“Haha! Well come with me, I got a little something that should fix our little issue.” Principal Nezu taps the pesky metal brace, the one he intends to remove to free the Omnitrix.

Gang Orca goes ahead and grabs a nearby wheelchair and sets it down for the boy, as he grabs it the other students quickly crowd together and speak with hushed tones. “Don’t overdo it, kid. Can’t have you be taken down by a slippery floor.”

Izuku chuckles as he lowers himself down onto the wheelchair, after getting himself situated Izuku looks up expectantly at the killer whale.

Gang Orca raises an eyebrow at him. “What? You expect me to do it?” He’s almost offended that Izuku would even consider he’d stoop so low as to be an escort. “Don’t get so high and mighty just because you received some praise.” With a huff Gang Orca marches off.

Izuku chuckles figuring its Gang Orca’s way of caring. “Where are you off to then?”

“I won’t be far; I’m going to check on Dholak.” Gang Orca smirks. “Got to make sure he didn’t kick the bucket.” And with that he leaves as well.

“Haha…” Izuku really hopes that was a joke.

Meanwhile, the other students break away from their little huddle, giving Gran Torino the opening to grab Ochaco’s attention. “Alright, now time for you to go too.”

Ochaco blinks down at the elderly pro hero. “Me?”

“Yes, you.” Gran Torino gestures for her to follow him. “Come on the doctors want to have another look at your head.”

That’s odd, the doctors said there was no need to worry, she did get a concussion. So why do they want to check on her? “Why? Are they worried about something?”

“How should I know?” Gran Torino shakes his head as he wobbles his way to the door, before he leaves, he throws a cocky smirk back at her. “They probably want to make sure there’s no brain damage. Although it might be too late.”

Ochaco pouts as she leaps up to her feet. “Ha ha very funny.”

“Hahaha!”

And so she follows him out, throwing one last look to her fellow classmates who nod back before she shuts the door behind her.

She follows behind Gran Torino down the hallway until they arrive back at her own hospital room. He moves aside to allow her to enter first, she does, stepping forward and gripping the handle before sliding it open.

Her eyes widen like plates as she finds who’s standing beyond the threshold. “Um, what are you guys doing in my room?!”

Izuku’s entire face turns bright red, steam even rises from his forehead when he realizes that he’s in her room!

Principal Nezu stands beside him, looking rather amused and proud of himself. “So we can talk of course.”

“Talk?” Ochaco realizes that Nezu must want to discuss the true nature of SixSix, but… Her eyes worriedly shift down towards Gran Torino, the non-Plumber of the group. “Do you mean privately or-”

Gran Torino doesn’t even let her finish that thought. “Stop trying to be subtle, kid. You’re not good at it.”

The brunette cowers back, feeling dejected and even more nervous.

“Besides this concerns me too.”

“Huh?” What…?

Ochaco looks to Izuku to see if she heard the hero right, and if she’s going by his shocked face that she totally did hear him correctly.

Not bothering to address it, Principal Nezu goes ahead and turns the spotlight onto Izuku. “Now then.” He places a soft paw atop the metal high-tech brace.

Izuku frowns, it's a fool’s errand to try and open the brace, “Good luck, the doctors tried everything.” They tried smashing the brace, slicing it open with a buzzsaw, they even tried to melt it at one point, and they all failed.

Principal Nezu snickers, not at all surprised by the doctors’ results. “Oh, did they now? But I have something they don’t.”

Izuku awes, becoming intrigued: could Nezu have brought along some sort of cool high-tech piece of alien technology?! Oh, he can only assume it's something amazing and complex.

Nezu traces his paws across the surface of the brace, as if feeling for something. When his paw makes it just before the start of Izuku’s hand, Nezu has one lone finger press into the side of the brace for a few seconds.

Everyone remains silent, not trying to interrupt the odd scene, Izuku and Ochaco shrug at each other not sure what he’s doing.

*Beep.*

From the brace, a circle illuminates and swirls around Nezu’s paw, mechanical sounds can be heard from within the brace and then.

*Clang!*

The brace pops open, releasing Izuku’s wrist and falling to the ground. From off the floor the brace shifts and folds in on itself until powering down completely.

The confidently smiling Nezu bends down and props up the folded piece of alien tech for them all to see.

There's only one thing the students can say. “Eh…?!”

“Hahaha!” Nezu bursts into a mad laughing fit, greatly amused by their dumbfounded expressions!

Ochaco’s mouth hangs agape in complete disbelief and denial. “How?!”

Nezu calms down enough to explain. “It’s like I said, my dear. I have something you humans don’t, my intelligence! Hahahaha!!”

Ochaco and Izuku face fault in response, feeling a hard jab to their pride as intelligent humans.

As Nezu laughs his ass off, Gran Torino hobbles forward, his old eyes trained on the shiny coat of the Omnitrix, with much intrigue. “So, that’s the Omnitrix. Hm, it doesn’t appear like much, but that’s usually the case when it comes to level 20 tech.”

The space cadets take a double-take. ‘ _What did he say?!_ ’

“Imagine it, that little device can transform its host into any alien.” Gran Torino smiles in awe of such a device. “Now that’s fascinating.”

Almost instantly the space cadets’ breath hitch, they both freeze in place, paling in worry.

Izuku chokes, giving a nervous smile to seem like everything’s normal. “Alien…?”

Ochaco joins in on the play-dumb act. “What are you talking about…?”

“Oh, give it a rest!” Gran Torino has officially lost his patience with these two, snapping at them. “I know all about you…” He smirks teasingly at them both. “space cadets.”

Finally, the realization of what Gran Torino knows sinks in.

“Hahaha!” Both the old man and Nezu bursts into laughter in spite of the kids’ stunned expressions.

Ochaco is ready to burst out in surprise. “You knew?! You know about aliens?!”

Gran Torino scowls. “No, I’m just into crazy conspiracies. Of course I know!!” 

“Then why didn’t you say anything?!”

“It wasn’t important.”

“Huh?!”

“You came to intern with me to better hone your skills, not to do so-called Plumber work.” He frowns with disapproval. “That’s such a terrible name.”

Ochaco nods, sadly agreeing with him. “I know right…”

“Wait, so…you’re a Plumber too?” Everyone turns to look at Izuku who’s finally been able to process it all.

Izuku slowly turns to address the little chimera. “I thought you said there was only really you and Thirteen?”

Gran Torino quickly jumps in. “Nezu wasn’t lying, kid. By all means, I’m not one of you.” It’s true he never officially became a Plumber. “I’m just your average pro hero, who just so happened to find out about aliens a little late into his career and has been lending a hand here and there.” he ponders the best way to say this. “I’m more like a substitute-Plumber, stepping in whenever Nezu or Thirteen needs a hand.”

“But…why?” asks Ochaco. “Why didn’t you say anything?!”

“Because…I wanted to see your reaction when you did find out.” replies Gran Torino. “And it's great, haha!” 

While Ochaco tries to understand what’s so funny, Izuku is a bit more concerned with another potential…issue. “Wait, um so…”

Everyone quiets down, the worry in the boy’s voice is obvious, and so they are more than willing to grant him a moment to speak.

“So you know all about aliens and the Plumbers and us, right?”

Gran Torino nods. “That is what I said, try to keep up.”

“Right… But…you’re also All Might’s mentor, correct?”

Gran Torino briefly eyes Ochaco, figuring that she must have been the one to tell the boy about that little fact. “Yes, I am.”

Izuku cups his hands together, wriggling around in his seat uncomfortably. If Gran Torino was All Might’s mentor, then… “So um like…does that mean…All Might knows too?”

Gran Torino doesn’t even hesitate to respond, speaking with full confidence. “No. I’m not sure how much Nezu has said but we never divulged that information to All Might.”

The man’s too absorbed in his work, adding on other worldly people into the mix and he’ll work himself to the grave trying to be their Symbol of Peace too.

“Actually I might have, but All Might was away training in America, and when he returned, he was far more…concerned with other important matters.” Gran Torino closes his eyes trying to hold back those harsher times. “And as such we chose not to tell him until the time was right, but by the time things settled down well he became the Number One Hero and he took on the great burden of being the world’s Symbol of Peace.”

The knowledge of aliens would only drag him down, he would willingly force it upon himself to bear the aliens’ burdens, after his injury he can barely keep up the facade for Japan let alone an entire universe. It’d be too much, and although they can be sure All Might would have accepted and done well…they couldn’t in good conscience knowingly subject him to those burdens. 

Izuku looks very satisfied, sort-of glad he doesn’t have to worry about All Might finding out how he really got a “Quirk.”

While Izuku takes it in, Ochaco throws Nezu a condescending look of suspicion. “So, is there anyone else we should be made aware of? Like anyone that knows about aliens and the Plumbers.”

Nezu smiles up at her. “Of course.”

“Are you going to tell us?”

“Eventually?”

“You just like being the smartest person in the room, don’t you?”

“Hahaha, am I that easy to read? Haha!” She should have figured that she wouldn’t get a straight answer out of him.

“Okay, but can you at least answer me this?”

Nezu stops laughing, becoming serious and intent. “I already know, allow me to guess that it has something to do with Mr. Tsuragamae’s report on the bounty hunter.”

“Yeah! What was that?! I thought the guy, um, SixSix was an alien or something?!”

Gran Torino scowls. “He is.”

Instantly Izuku and Ochaco listen with eager ears.

Nezu explains. “What Tsuragamae said about SixSix was nothing but a fabrication of ours. Thanks to One-One we were able to tamper with the police’s database and come up with that little alibi.”

They were able to create fake files and data that highly suggested that SixSix was an international assassin with a mutation type Quirk. Those fake files are so detailed that they list off a birthday of June 6th, he’s a Gemini, he’s from Brazil and speaks Pirahã hence why the kids couldn’t understand him, and they even fabricated a fake news article about SixSix breaking into I-Island and stealing his high-tech weapons.

Ochaco’s jaw drops in amazement. “Oh, wow, you guys sure worked fast then to get things covered up huh?”

“Not quite, actually.” states Nezu somberly. “Just a few days ago, SixSix actually managed to sneak into Plumber Base.”

The space cadets let out a surprised gasp. “No way?!”

Ochaco immediately recalls how she tried to call up Thirteen, back when she got the Charms of Bezel, during that call One-One mentioned Thirteen was preoccupied… Was it because of SixSix?

Nezu continues. “I’m afraid so, Thirteen managed to stop him before he could tamper with anything.” Nezu ponders for a moment before looking up at Izuku. “It’s possible he was searching for the Omnitrix, thinking it could be there with you.”

Izuku frowns with worry. “So how did he find me? I thought we were jamming any signals that can track the Omnitrix’s frequency.”

“We are and from what we can tell our system hasn’t been compromised. If anything SixSix used more old-fashioned means of tracking, you down.” Social media, camera security, news outlets, are all still viable means of tracking individuals. Plus the boy did save a city from a villain so he was on the news recently enough for SixSix to see it.

“However, this still greatly concerns me.” The air of cheeriness and confident wisdom surrounding Nezu vanishes, taken over by a sense of foreboding. “It would seem Vilgax is well aware that the Omnitrix is still here on Earth. And as such he’s sending more agents to try and retrieve it.”

None of Nezu’s explanation takes long to sink in, especially for Izuku. So SixSix was really after the Omnitrix, the one of a kind device stuck to his arm. “So, it was because of my…it’s partly my fault for putting my friends in danger.”

“Stop that.” scolds Gran Torino. “That’s not going to help us one bit, I can promise you that.”

“But-!”

“No!” snaps the veteran pro hero. “This is in no way your fault: you didn’t ask for the device to attach to you nor did you know a bounty hunter would be after your sorry ass.” Gran Torino looks the boy in the eye and states. “You are an unfortunate victim, that in no way means it's your fault, but the fault of others that seek power and selfish goals.”

That was well said, so much so Izuku is at a loss for words because of how right they are. He shouldn’t have to blame himself, he’s alive and so are his friends so there’s no need to despair not now.

Gran Torino smiles, nodding in approval at the sight of Izuku’s understanding expression. “I have spoken.” And like that the discussion is done with.

Ochaco peers over at Nezu and asks a very important but simple question. “What do we do?”

“For now, we remain calm and levelheaded.” replies the Majister/Principal. “Getting all worked up and in a panic won’t do us any good. However, we should be far more vigilant against future encounters. But that’s a job for us to figure out.” Nezu states reassuringly gesturing to himself and the other pro hero. “And as it stands, I’m expecting some news that should help us with such a feat.”

Izuku tilts his head. ‘Help? _What kind of help?_ ’ He can’t help but wonder.

“I’m sure you have many more questions, but I need to make sure the police don’t come across anything they shouldn’t.” Nezu gestures for Izuku to follow him. “Mr. Midoriya, I think it best you come along as well, you should get some much-needed rest.”

“Right.” Izuku wheels forward as he does; he gives Ochaco one last wave. “I’ll talk to you later, I guess.”

“Yeah.” replies the brunette.

And so Nezu leads Izuku out of the room and back to his own to rejoin with Tenya and Shoto, leaving Ochaco behind with her current mentor. 

With everything she just learned about these secrets there’s still one last secret on her mind; One For All. “Hey, Gran Torino?”

Gran Torino turns to her. “Yes?”

“Can I ask you something…about One For All?”

He wasn’t expecting such a question, but he’s willing to hear her out.

“Well I guess it’s more about who knows about One For All.” 

Gran Torino frowns, uncertain where this conversation is going.

“As far as I know the list is you, Recovery Girl, Principal Nezu, All Might, and me.” Ochaco averts her eyes, feeling shy and slightly self-conscious. “But I was wondering if I could add someone else to that list?”

Gran Torino doesn’t even have to guess who it is. “You mean Midoriya, correct?”

Ochaco nods. “Yeah, well, he’s really smart, he’s given me so much advice, and he’s even introduced me to a bigger world…or universe I guess.” Deku’s been an amazing friend; he saved her life multiple times now, helped her figure out the best way to harness her power, and has trusted her with his secret. And here they are hiding one last secret from him. “And it sort of feels wrong to hold this secret from him.”

Gran Torino frowns, not daring to interrupt her, she’s clearly going somewhere with this. “So, I was kind of wondering if I could tell him… about it…?”

Gran Torino doesn’t answer, not right away at least, pondering her request. “What’s your mentor have to say about this?”

“He’s…hesitant…”

“Hesitant?”

“Yeah, he really didn’t want me to say anything to Deku, he seemed really concerned when I almost let it slip out once.”

Gran Torino frowns, he can’t help but wonder why that is… Perhaps he should give Toshinori a long overdue call. 

Remaining quiet, the old pro hobbles his way over to the open window, peering out into the bright blue sky. “Well to be honest I don’t think you really need my permission. Ultimately, it’s up to you. One For All’s yours now it’s up to you on how you choose to use it. Or who you want to share it with.”

Ochaco smiles a bit, feeling a bit more confident.

“Just remember this.” adds Gran Torino. “One For All is kept a secret for a reason, the more people know the more likely it’s integrity will be at risk.” There’s an air of sadness and regret around him even as the warm sun shines down on them and birds chirp just outside the window. “Those who bear the knowledge of this long-kept secret become targets themselves. Not just by those that would seek out this power but by those who are threatened by it.” He peers back at the poor naive young woman. “Sometimes a little secrecy is necessary to keep those we care about safe, even if it hurts us in the end…”

Ochaco understands it's like Deku and his Omnitrix; the more people know, the greater the risk of those who’d desire that power will come to seek it out. But she can trust Deku, she knows she can.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

A few hours have gone by, but Izuku can move around without a wheelchair. But after being checked up on for the hundredth time, Izuku finally managed to get a few minutes alone, taking a stroll through the large hospital for a change of scenery from his shared room.

And that’s how Izuku’s found himself in the main lobby where patients and visitors can gather at the various tables, desks, and couches while enjoying the large windows looking into the nearby woods and gardens.

Izuku specifically enjoys the view of all the flowers, fluttering insects, and songbirds. It really helps him to be at ease just by watching nature at work.

On a nearby couch, their backs to Izuku, are a pair of high school students; one in particular is plastered to his phone with much interest. “Whoa, they arrested the Hero Killer! Awesome.”

His friend gasps in delight. “Seriously?” 

“Yeah!”

Izuku smiles, delighted about the news. It appears the police finally released a statement about the Hero Killer and how he was arrested. And it doesn’t matter if it is Endeavor receiving all the credit, as long as that villain is behind bars then he’s happy.

“Who took him down?”

“That’s the thing, it was a kid!”

And like that all of those warm fuzzy feelings disappear as Izuku freezes in place.

“No way!”

“Yeah, he’s a high schooler too.”

“What?!”

Izuku refuses to turn around, but his vision is blank as all of his senses are focused on his ears and what those boys are saying. _‘They…they can’t be talking about me!’_ He knows for a fact he told the Chief of Police not to credit him that capture.

The students continue to awe. “Yeah, he was the one from the Sports Festival. You know the one that can turn into those crazy looking monsters.”

“Really? It was him?”

He props up his cellphone. “Yeah, it says it all right here: U.A.’s Rising Star takes down Hero Killer.”

Izuku is in full on panic mode, he wheels around and spots his face on the screen!! _‘IT IS ME!!!_ ’ But how and why?! That wasn’t what they discussed!

While Izuku has an episode, many other patients and visitors have crowded around the two boys, they’re all very interested in the news.

“Amazing! I can’t believe a kid stopped him.”

“Well he does go to U.A. and he fought against those League guys so it’s really no surprise.”

“He’s so cool!”

“Deku, huh?”

Izuku slowly steps away, his face trained on the wall while his back is turned towards the others, trying his best to seem like part of the background. He doesn’t want to deal with anyone until he knows exactly what’s going on, so for now he just needs to sneak his way back to his room.

When he thinks he’s far enough away, Izuku turns around to try and make a run for it, but there’s a little hiccup in his plan. Specifically, there’s a small human blocking his path.

A small boy with dark marks around his brown eyes and messy, blond hair. Is smiling up at him with awe, his sharp shark-like teeth grinning up at him just-like Izuku would grin up at pro heroes.

Izuku backs away a bit, if he doesn’t play his cards right this kid could end up giving him away. “Um, hello, there…”

He played the wrong card, because the boy immediately bursts out in excitement. “Woah, you’re the guy that stopped the Hero Killer!! You’re Deku!!”

Izuku pales, the little shit gave him away!! With much trepidation, Izuku shakily turns back around to have a look at the lobby.

The entire lobby has fallen under a harsh silence with all the inhabitants focused in on him. And so they stand still as Izuku stares at the large crowd while they stare right back, neither sure of how to react.   
And then like moths to a flame, a mob of fans and admirers swarm the poor body in an instant, surrounding him and swarming around him each wanting to give him praise and hear how he defeated the Hero Killer.

“Oh, my gosh it’s really you!!”

“Woah!! It is!!”

“How’d you beat the Hero Killer?!”

“You’re so cool!!”

“Hey, wait!! Give me a minute!” Izuku struggles against the jostling mob but there’s too many of them, there’s just no hope of escape, they won’t let him. And it doesn’t help that they’re all screaming in his ears.

“I wish we could have seen it!!”

“Which form did you use? Was it that flaming guy?”

“Can I have your autograph?!”

“I bet All Might’s teaching is paying off, huh?!”

“You’re amazing!!”

“Are you single?!”

Izuku tries to shake them off, but it’s no good. And so with little to no options he grips this last hope. ‘ _Come on Omnitrix, help me out! Big Chill would really be handy right about now!_ ’

And with a slam of his hand, a flash of green light swallows him up while blinding the massive mob, forcing them to flinch and back away. They soon recover their vision; they are surprised and disappointed to find that their hero has vanished even while surrounded by all of them.

“What was that?!”

“Where’d he go?”

“I think he activated his Quirk.”

“Then where is he?”

“Maybe he’s invisible.”

_‘Or maybe he’s under you.’_ Grey Matter scowls as he scurries across the floor, weaving in and out between the people’s feet, trying his best not to be spotted or stepped on. ‘ _Man, the first time I use this thing in days, and it gives me the wrong guy._ ’

Maybe it's mad at him because it missed out on the action the other day? Ha! Yeah, right this thing can’t even think.

Thankfully Grey Matter’s luck holds out and allows him to make it to the nearby elevator. He had to climb up the wall to activate the button, but he did it and after being nearly run over by a wheelchair Grey Matter makes it to his hospital room. Thankfully the door is already slid open, and as he gets closer, he finds that Ochaco is there chatting with Shoto and Tenya. They’ve all been healed up for the most part, but Iida’s arms are still bandaged up as is Ochaco’s waist.

“Guys!!”

The three U.A. students spin around, they search for the source of that little voice before they finally land down on the tiny Galvan. “Deku/Midoriya?”

The tiny alien glares up at them in annoyance, he’s expecting a certain response.

Ochaco knows what it is and rolling her eyes she says it. “I mean Grey Matter.” Curse Deku and his need for his aliens to be called their names.

Grey Matter grins, nodding in approval before leaping up onto the nearest bed. “You guys are never going to believe this!”

The three blink at him, they have no idea what he’s talking about, so they wait for him to explain.

“Mr. Tsuragamae, he went against his word!” shouts Grey Matter. “The phone, the news, everyone knows about the Hero Killer! And they think I stopped him!!”

Judging by their expressions, they now understand what he’s talking about. But unlike him they aren’t reacting, they haven’t yelled out nor do they seem remotely upset or even surprised.

“Why aren’t you guys freaking out?! Huh!!” It hits him hard, they betrayed him! “You did this. You guys went behind my back.”

It’s not a question, it’s an accusation, and these three are guilty and they’re not even trying to hide it. Ochaco laughs sheepishly while Tenya turns away as to not to make eye contact, and Shoto well he just looks as indifferent as always, like an adult witnessing a whiny child’s tantrum.

Ochaco tries to explain herself. “Well, we thought you deserved it.”

“But I said-!”

“We’re well aware of what you said.” Interrupts Tenya, pushing up his glasses, trying his best to seem knowledgeable and cool. “And we recognize your reasoning, but we elected to ignore it.”

“Traitors!!” snaps the morphed Izuku. He turns and leers up at Shoto and his guilty, indifferent, face. “And what’s your excuse.”

Shoto doesn’t even hesitate to respond. “Consider it a thank you.”

“THANK YOU!?!”

“You’re welcome.”

Grey Matter shakes his head in disapproval, glaring at each of them like he’s someone to be feared.

“I am sorry Midoriya, I really am but,” Tenya’s eyes cast down, an air of shame surrounds him as a sad frown adorns his face. “I merely wished to show you my appreciation, for everything.”

Grey Matter’s scowl softens, he knows Iida means well, but still.

“Afterall you were a real hero, unlike me.”

Grey Matter frowns with worry.

The air of shame and regret veils over the speedster as he recalls the night before. “When I came across the Hero Killer, I stopped thinking rationally. The first thing I should’ve done was call Manual. But I got lost in my own anger.”

##########(Flashback)#########

“So busy with your grudge you forgot about him. You plan on using your Quirk only for yourself. You’re completely blinded by a selfish desire for revenge.” Stain smiles as he holds his sword tighter knowing this will really get to the delusional fool. “You’re about as far away from being a hero as I can imagine.”

########(End Flashback)#######

“I hate him so much, but I can’t deny he spoke the truth. That’s why I need to become better, not my skills, but I need to work to become a better hero. To embody what a hero truly is. Only then can I forgive myself for what I did.”

Grey Matter frowns in sadness, remembering how he had a chance to talk to Iida on several occasions about how he was doing after his brother was attacked; but he never made any headway. _‘Maybe…if I’d been a better friend back then…’_ He shakes his head. ‘ _No. Stop it. He’s already accepted what happened. It would be selfish to make this about me like that._ ’ Iida’s trying to make things right and if he feels like this is a step forward in the right direction then so be it.

Grey Matter springs up onto Tenya’s arm, grabbing his attention. “Iida, I feel the same way.”

Tenya’s eyes widen.

‘ _I know what it’s like to feel like you brought nothing but trouble._ ’ Grey Matter looks up at Tenya, refusing to let him look away. “Let’s become better heroes. Together.”

Tenya nods, agreeing to the promise.

Grey Matter nods back in approval.

From the side Ochaco and Shoto look from the pair to each other.

Ochaco offers up the dual-hair teen a confident smile. “I guess that goes for us too.”

Shoto smiles back. “I guess it does.”

Tenya offers an apologetic smile down at the little creature, “We are sorry we went behind your back, please believe it wasn’t an easy decision.”

Grey Matter sighs, waving it off. “It’s fine. I can’t honestly stay mad at you guys. What’s done is done.”

So he might just have to accept it. This is not what he wanted but it’s here and there’s no way he could turn back time to fix it. Sure Izuku would have been much happier if they all got the credit.

But the reality is this: as far as the public knows, **he** defeated the Hero Killer Stain. And that’s just how it’s going to have to be.

Hopefully the unwanted attention won’t come back to bite him later. He can only hope.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Now, our continuing coverage.” Two news anchors appear on the giant screen hanging over the city block, and immediately grab the attention of parents who peer up at the large screen with interest. “Three villains were captured in the Hosu riots. Their identities and motives are yet unknown.” Pictures of all four Nomus appear: you have the U.S.J. Nomu along with Squirrelanoid, Draco, and Shellshock. “Based on their distinctive appearance, however, and the presence of three people our reporters filmed nearby, many are speculating they’re connected to the League of Villains that attacked U.A. High last month.” Two more photos appear one is hazy, but you can make out three figures standing atop a water tower and the other photo is of the arrests made at the U.S.J.

The woman news anchor takes over. “The Hero Killer Stain claimed many lives. In fact, he has more victims than any other criminal since All Might burst into the scene.”

“With his arrest, everyone in the country can rest a little easier tonight.”

A certain young man eyes the screen silently in the background before he moves on, splitting himself from the crowd.

“There was reportedly another villain on the scene but there’s been no confirmation of this as of yet.”

As of this moment the same story is being broadcasted all across Japan.

From the looming mountains.

“The seriously wounded Hero Killer is currently receiving treatment at a villain hospital under heavy police guard.” The news echoes out through a little radio. “Officials are awaiting the recovery of several of his victims before further investigating the villain’s motives.”

To the silent suburbs.

“We’re back talking about the man who has surely left his mark on Japan, if not the world.” Speaks the podcast. “The Hero Killer Stain. Why did he do it? What did he hope to gain? Don’t be shy, we’re taking calls and wanna hear your thoughts.”

And to the dark corners of the cities.

“I’m coming to you live from Ekou Street in Hosu City.” announces a reporter off the TV in the corner of the bar. “Last night, just after 8pm, the Hero Killer Stain was arrested by the young Hero Student, Deku, on this very blo-” The TV goes dark, powering down.

Kurogiri puts down the remote, Shigaraki’s already mad as it is, he doesn’t need the TV to add more fuel to the fire.

Tomura Shigaraki eyes the newspaper in his hands with disdain. “He’s all they’re talking about.” He crumples up the newspaper in anger. “What about my Nomus?!” He tosses the trash aside; it rolls off the ground before stopping at a towering Nue’s feet.

Shigaraki hisses in anger as he recalls his own proclamation.

##########(Flashback)#########

“Haha haha!” Shigaraki grins down at the city like it’s a sandbox where he can reign supreme, destroy anything that he wishes to, all without any harm to himself. “Once this night is over, the world will have forgotten you ever existed, Hero Killer.”

########(End Flashback)#######

“Not only have they not forgotten, but we didn’t even make the front page.” Damn, you, Hero Killer!!

Nue remains quiet peering at Shigaraki before turning his attention down at the crumbled ball that was the newspaper. The paper slowly unravels revealing a photo the U.A.’s Rising Star on the front page.

Nue snarls, his jagged teeth barred as a tendril slides down and pierces the paper, the conductor at the end sparks igniting the paper, and Nue watches as the boy's face burns to ash.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Of course because of the news, many other heroes have taken it upon themselves to take action.

“It’s possible some villains were inspired by what happened in Hosu.” And that seems like a good enough reason for Best Jeanist to go out on patrol. “That means they could be feeling bolder. This may just be a patrol but keep your guard up.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Katsuki Bakugou trails behind him as they patrol the city streets.

Bakugou has not been having a good time in Best Jeanist’s agency. Just the other day the pro hero spent an hour combing Bakugou’s spiky hair patting it down until it was “smooth and sleek.” He did such a good job that Bakugou’s now stuck with his hair combed down, and the more he thinks about it the more stupid and annoyed he feels.

Best Jeanist eyes the boy, he needs to teach him something important before their time runs out. “Here’s a question for you. Patrols are mainly meant to deter villains from committing any crimes. But they also have a secondary purpose. What is it?”

Without hesitation Bakugou replies with a maniacal grin. “If we see some bad guys, we can beat ‘em up on the spot.”

“Incorrect.” Honestly Best Jeanist should have seen that coming.

A group of high school girls spot the top ranked hero. “Hey, it’s Best Jeanist!”

“Thank you so much for keeping us safe!”

Best Jeanist waves back at them, causing the girls to gush and squeal in delight.

Best Jeanist continues. “The answer is: to remind people who we are. Our presence gives the public a peace of mind.”

Bakugou growls in annoyance.

“This helps weave a tapestry of trust between the protectors and the protected.”

Bakugou scowls. “I think you just like getting recognized.”

“Hey!” A little kid with his two other friends points up at Bakugou. “I’ve seen that blonde guy on TV before!”

Bakugou frowns. ‘ _Great he saw the Sports Festival too._ ’

“Yeah, an ooze villain caught him, and he almost cried like a baby!” The boy’s friends snicker at the teen’s expense.

“What did you SAY!?!” Bakugou wheel around, his hair exploding out back into its usual spiky self!

His yell and explosive nature immediately terrifies the children, as they quiver, and tears threaten to spill out. 

Bakugou grimaces, not expecting them to start sniveling.

A disappointed Best Jeanist watches on. “Have you forgotten everything I’ve taught you? Talk with them like a pro.”

“Yeah, fine.” Bakugou marches over to the kids. “Listen up!” He leans over them, and the kids backway in fear. “I wasn’t helpless. I was just coming up with ways to fight him. Sometimes a hero has to pretend he’s been caught. You really think I would lose to a villain?” His scowl intensifies. “You’ll eat those words when I’m the new Number One Hero!! YOU DUMB KIDS’LL NEVER LAUGH AT ME AGAIN IF YOU KNOW WHAT’S GOOD FOR YOU.”

“Wahhhh!!” The boys scream out in terror as tears and snot stream down their faces.

‘ _He has too much pride._ ’ chides Best Jeanist. ‘ _It would be one thing if he channeled all that passion toward becoming a hero, but at this rate, he could turn out quite poorly._ ’ He watches as Bakugou stands there dumbfounded as the children continue to wail.

“So, then, what do I do with him?” 

Eventually Best Jeanist was able to calm the little boys down enough and send them on their way. And afterward he was ready to bind Bakugou up in strands of string, but instead he led the boy away. Ending the patrol now would only upset him further, what he needs is guidance.

Bakugou sulks as he follows behind the pro hero. “Damn, snot nosed brats.”

Best Jeanist stops, turning around to face the young man in the face. “Tell me.”

Bakugou stops, uncertain and wary of the pro hero.

“What’s the cause of your unraveling?”

The ash-blonde scowls. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Ever since the news of the Hero Killer’s Arrest you’ve been far more irritated and explosive than usual. Care to explain?”

Bakugou huffs definitely. “No.”

This entire time he’s been observing the boy’s reaction to certain things: he knows he’s prideful, especially in relation to his Quirk and skills, probably due to his upbringing. He even did some personal investigating and found out that both him and Midoriya went to the same Jr. High. And so with some background information and a look into Bakugou’s current state, Best Jeanist can confidently say he knows the real issues that are eating away at the boy. 

“Fine, then I will. The cause of your unraveling is that your classmates have begun to rise above you.”

Bakugou’s eyes widen, his head snapping at Best Jeanist in surprise.

He really did figure this boy out. “I always make sure I’m updated on all major crimes and resolutions by other heroes.” he flashes his phone displaying the most popular news outlet. “U.A.’s Rising Star takes down Hero Killer.” He continues rolling through the site. “He also saved an entire city from complete annihilation at the hands of a bug villain too. Then there’s also this.” He holds his phone up again. “Hero Student, Uravity, defeats Wicked Witch. And if I’m correct, she’s also the one that won the Sports Festival” His eyes narrow at the boy. “the one that beat you.”

Bakugou scowls, turning his head away in rejection.

“You can feel it, your pride is tearing at the seams trying to understand how they’ve already surpassed you.”

That's it, the mad bomber finally snaps. “Those losers won’t surpass me again!!”

“As I thought, you feel insignificant, inferior to them.”

“Ha!! There’s no way Deku’s better than me!”

Best Jeanist’s eyes narrow, examining the boy and taking in his every word and reaction carefully. “Humor me, but what do you think it means to be a hero?”

“What? It’s being the strongest, the one that always wins, duh.”

“Really? Then by that definition, you aren’t a hero.”

Bakugou snarls, not appreciating the jab at all.

“No, a hero is someone who uses their talents and skills for the sake of protecting others. Which is something your…friends have stitched into their very beings already.”

Bakugou’s teeth grind together, but he manages to bite his tongue.

“During the Sports Festival you displayed magnificent control over your Quirk, you’re in peak condition, and you have a brilliantly strategic mind even able to use your classmate’s Quirks combined with your own.”

Bakugou throws the hero a confused look. “So? A hero has to be able to win all on their own.”

“Do they?”

“Huh?”

Best Jeanist displays his phone again. “This Deku didn’t defeat the bug villain all on his own, his mentor and the police all participated in the search and gave the boy the chance he needed to save the day. Uravity worked together with her mentor to defeat a pair of villains that attacked Dathomir City. And I doubt that she was completely alone in the Sports Festival, if anything she used those around her to help drive herself forward.” She listened to her friends’ advice, encouraged them and they in turn encouraged her, and as a result she came out on top. 

Bakugou doesn’t like it, this guy is questioning everything he believes in. But if he’s so right then how can he explain this. “What about the Hero Killer? Deku beat him all on his own.” It hurts to say Deku did something so amazing, but if his beliefs are true then by logic Deku couldn’t have been alone in that fight!

“I’m…not so sure.”

“What?” Not sure about what, exactly?!

“If you read the article then you would know that some of your other classmates were caught in the crossfire. But what the article doesn’t mention is how your classmates supported and encouraged Deku through his battle. To keep him alive and aware, to help drive him to victory.”

Bakugou scowls, this guy really does have an answer for everything.

“My point is this, your friends’ understanding of what makes a hero is different from yours.”

“What does that have to do with anything?!”

“It has to do with everything.” responds the top ranked hero. “They seek to protect and aid others, you seek your own goals. They are willing to work together, you are not. And they are willing to seek out and listen to those around them, and you…” He trails off wanting Bakugou to finish the thought.

“Could care less…”

“Exactly.” That’s the core difference. “But there are things between you three that are similar.”

The blonde straightens up, surprised and intrigued.

“You all have the same drive to become the best, that is both an admirable and a worthy goal.” He watches for the boy’s reaction. “You have talents and skills but in order to become better than you are now you must be willing to work with and for others. Do you understand?”

Yeah, believe it or not he does understand. He doesn’t like it though. But…he’s supposed to be the best, he should be the one receiving all the praise and glory, but he’s not. If he wants to get better than…then he really needs to understand how he should better himself. 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Uh! Midoriya wrote me back!” Eijirou Kirishima stares at his phone while in the Fourth Kind agency’s locker room. “That location he sent was in the middle of the action in Hosu. That’s why he messaged us; he was calling for backup. Man am I glad I reported it.” He grins amusedly. “But then again not like he needed it!” He saw the news, and woah what Midoriya did sure was manly! 

“Hey!” chides Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu noticing the cellphone. “Put that down before Fourth Kind sees you. We’re gonna be late.”

“One sec. I wanna reply.”

*BONK!!!*

Fourth Kind snarls down at the two rockheads as his fists lodge themselves into their heads. “What did I say about punctuality?!”

The two cry out. “Right. Sorry, sir!”

“Come on. Time to patrol.”

“Yes, sir!”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Uwambi is seated as she watches the newest commercial reel advertising new hair-care products. She was of course the main star, but she pulled some strings and allowed her two interns to participate in the commercial as well. Although if one was paying attention, they could tell that both Yaoyorozu and Kendo look hella awkward while being on camera, clearly neither of them expected to be on TV.

As the commercial ends Uwambi immediately begins praising it. “They sure put that together fast. This is just the first cut, so it’ll be another month before it airs. It needs lots of CGI.”

Her two interns stand to the side, feeling awkward and a bit at a loss here.

Itsuka Kendo tries to lighten the mood. “So weird. We’ll be on TV.”

Momo Yaoyorozu looks sick, almost like she’s ashamed by the commercial. “We’re heroes. This is just what it takes to be a pro.”

Then again, it looks like her classmates are making far better progress in that regard compared to her. The news has exploded with both Uraraka’s and Midoriya’s adventures: saving cities and arresting the Hero Killer. And, where was she? Shooting a hair commercial of all things.

And that’s not the only source of her frustration.

Yaoyorozu reaches into her belt and pulls out a tiny shard, given to her upon request from Midoriya. ‘ _I still haven't made headway in this either…_ ’

And she’s been trying to make out this crystal’s composition but it’s proving far more complicated than expected. She has an entire notebook dedicated to making out the crystal’s molecules and structure.

But maybe just maybe this can give her the boost she needs to get better.

While Yaoyorozu ponders about her progress, Uwambi gets up from her seat. “So, how ‘bout we go patrol.”

Both girls gasp in surprise, looking to each other as if to ask if they heard her correctly, before they both light up and chase after her. “Yes!”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Shota Aizawa is outside at U.A.’s courtyard, nearest the running track. His attention is currently focused on his phone, specifically the news of his students’ “escapades.”

As he reads through the reports, he can hear the sound of running footsteps. Looking up briefly he adjusts the binder in his arm. The binder reads “All-American Dream Plan: The Patriot Version.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Just inside the U.A. building a phone call is trying to get through to a certain hero.

*A PHONE CALL IS HERE!*

*A PHONE CALL IS HERE!*

Inside the teachers’ office area, Yagi Toshinori reaches for his phone. 

*A PHONE CALL-!*

He answers it. “Yes, hello?”

Sitting just across from him: Present Mic, Midnight, and Cementoss all stare at him in bewilderment. ‘ _That can’t seriously be his ringtone._ ’

Toshinori springs out of his seat, fear in his eyes and a bit of blood spits out the corner of his mouth when he hears who’s on the other side. “Wha-?! Hi, sir!” He’s panicking, shaking in his boots as Gran Torino scolds him.

“You coulda warned me about Ochaco Uraraka.” chides Gran Torino from the hospital payphone. “I know it probably couldn’t be helped, but thanks to her, I’m getting a pay cut and my teaching license is being suspended for six months.”

Toshinori can tell he’s mad, grateful he’s several cities away.

“Her tendency to jump into situations without thinking is just like yours, Toshinori.” And hers, too…

Toshinori is sweating buckets, becoming more nervous as Gran Torino speaks. His coworkers watch on in concern and confusion, wondering who it could make even the Symbol of Peace this terrified.

“I humbly apologize, sir.” Toshinori covers his mouth to keep the call as private as possible. “It’s because of my insufficient teaching.” He looks like he’s going to hurl. “I can’t believe my protege caused you so much trouble.” He wobbly hurries for the door. “Oh, man this is bad.”

The others watch him take his leave, wondering if they should ask if he’s alright or not.

“Well, I don’t care about my teaching license anymore.” states Gran Torino. “You’re the only reason I got it. And that was so I could keep my promise to your predecessor, Shimura.”

Toshinori strolls through the empty school hallway, whispering into his phone. “And I truly appreciate all you did for me. It’s only because of your wisdom and guidance that I’m the Number One Hero today.”

“If that’s true, then why don’t you ever visit me?”

Got him. “Well, it’s just that my new life as a teacher keeps me so busy.” Shit, even Toshinori knows the old man won’t ever buy that excuse.

“I actually called to talk about the Hero Killer.” And with that the conversation becomes deadly serious. “I saw him only briefly in person but in that short amount of time, he shook me to my very core.” That killing intent was…overwhelming like a demon rising up to the living plane. “There is such hatred inside of that man.”

Toshinori makes it to the empty teacher’s lounge. “I can’t believe he was able to frighten someone like you, Gran Torino.” He shuts the door after making sure no one sees him entering. “He must have already been tied up, so what scared you?”

“It probably stemmed from his fanatic ideology.” Gran Torino thinks back to the Hero Killer’s convictions and proclamations. “There was something very intimidating about his obsession.”

Toshinori takes a seat on the couch listening intently to his old mentor. 

“I’m not trying to praise him or anything, but he’s got the same determination as you when it comes to your “Symbol of Peace” thing. There’s similarities.”

“What do you mean?”

“To put it simply, you’ve both got charisma.” And that’s the problem. “As the investigation continues, his ideology and opinions will be all over the media. Everyone will wanna know his motives. The age we live in, for better or for worse, is one of suppression. There will be people across the globe who are influenced by these new ideas.” And that’s truly terrifying because it means anyone literally anyone could be inspired to take action, to try and become the next Stain.

“If that’s true, and he inspired copycat villains, they’ll probably strike out on their own. Heroes will be able to stop ‘em, just like they did last time.” That’s at least what Toshinori thinks after all a child was able to stop the real Hero Killer, so surely more can be handled.

Gran Torino isn’t so optimistic. “That’s where the League of Villains comes in.”

Toshinori gasps; caught off guard, it never even occurred to him. 

The veteran hero isn’t surprised, Toshinori was never the quickest to pick up on these kinds of things. “The Hosu incident suggests that Stain and the League are connected somehow.”

Toshinori thinks back to Shigaraki, Kurogiri, the first Nomu, and of course that Nue fellow he fought.

“That means….the League will go from being thought of as a bunch of juvenile delinquents that attacked U.A. to being recognized as a group with an ideology.” They have a goal and reason to believe in, and rally behind. “In other words, these new converts will seek them out. Even if each individual is insignificant, if that evil gathers under one banner, it’ll swell to unstoppable proportions. If the villain in charge knew this would happen from the beginning, then he is a brilliant strategist.”

Toshinori’s worry and anguish grows and grows as Gran Torino continues to speak and explain the horrible outcome this could all amount to.

“He’s steadily getting rid of any obstacles one by one, trying to create conditions that will favor his own purpose.”

Toshinori’s frustration and worry begins to spill over, he hates to admit but if Gran Torino thinks so then it just might be true. “When I heard from Tsukauchi that Nomu had multiple Quirks, I had a bad feeling.” He clenches his fist, gripping his pants to try to keep himself calm. “What if he’s back?” What if he’s been back?

“You’re concerned it could be the man who killed Shimura, my sworn friend, your master, and the previous holder of One For All. The man who opened that hole in your stomach.” Gran Torino’s right he’s absolutely right, and unfortunately, that isn’t a good thing. “You’re afraid the villain named All For One is on the rise again.”

He hit the nail on the head.

“For him to’ve survived such injuries, though… I don’t wanna imagine it’s possible.”

Gran Torino breathes, he doesn't want to admit it either, but if that man is alive then there’s something that must be addressed and soon. “Toshinori. That child looks to you for guidance, she trusts you full heartedly. You should find the time to tell her everything concerning you and One For All. Be honest. She deserves to know the truth.”

Toshinori understands he does, but…what if it scares her? One of his hopes for his successor was that they’d never have to deal with that terrible terrible evil, All For One. 

“You need to trust her with everything, Toshinori. And trust that she will make the right decisions.”

“Sir?”

“She told me about her friend, Izuku Midoriya, and how you claimed he wasn’t trustworthy.”

What?! She told him about that?! “I never said-!”

“I know you Toshinori, you just told me yourself that you had your suspicions.” Mainly that he suspected All For One alive, and it wasn’t hard for Gran Torino to figure out what All Might’s first assumptions were about the boy’s powers. “Why won’t you trust her to make her own decisions?”

“I do trust her, but that boy…”

“If you’re thinking he’s in All For One’s pocket then you can forget it.”

Toshinori is surprised, Gran Torino seems so adamant about this.

“I saw the boy after his clash with Stain, he was really giving it his all to save his friends, never backing down. Honestly, he's just like you and Uraraka, running in without a care for your own safety.”

“But sir his One Man Army is…”

“A unique Quirk, just like One For All.” Gran Torino turns around and peers through the large windows, looking up at the sky to the invisible stars. “The world is a vast place, there are all sorts of abilities and people out there, and Midoriya’s one of them.” Then again, this world and many others are full of bad people too. “But if you’re really that worried then be sure to keep an eye on him, I bet he could really use some guidance from the Number One Hero. After all you never know, if All For One is alive then that boy just might be the best ally for you and your successor.”

Toshinori isn’t so sure, but if Gran Torino said so then maybe…

“Take some advice from an old man, at some point you got trust that the youngins will step up when the time comes.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

It’s been another two days since the Hosu incident, and things seemed to have calmed down for the most part. 

A little too much for some, however.

“Y’know, lately, it’s been hard finding people to do business with.” Whines a heavyset broker. “My buddies all complain about not being able to sell stuff. It’s a real pain.” He takes a sip of his alcoholic drink, trying to drink away his worries.

He’s been hanging out here in this bar for most of the day already, mainly because this bar actually serves drinks and doesn’t have a giant monster lying about.

Giran smirks at his fellow broker from across the table as he caresses his personal pistol. “That’s ‘cause it’s a serious crime to develop or sell support items and costumes if you don’t have a license.”

“Here.” A glass is plopped down right in front of Giran.

“Thank you, sweetheart.” Giran smirks up at Charmcaster as she takes a seat beside him.

She looks annoyed with him, but she currently has nowhere else to go so she’s stuck with him for now. 

As she takes her seat she goes ahead and interjects herself into the conversation. “Anyway, I’ve actually heard rumors that legit support companies have actually been selling gear on the black market to those with the right amount of cash.”

“And those rumors are too true, my dear.”

The broker groans. “Ugh! Man, I miss the days before All Might. And I was still small-time back then. Remember when villains were wild and impulsive? Everyone thought they could take over the world. It was a real good time.”

Charmcaster smirks. “Sounds like my kinda place.”

Broker slams down his drink. “You bet it was! But when All Might showed up, everything changed and got so damn boring.”

“That’s how it is, can’t have any fun when the pillar of so-called justice is around. Now can you?”

“He, yeah, you get it.”

Giran sticks a cigarette in his mouth before aiming the end of his pistol at the butt, with a flick of the tiger a little flame ignites from the barrel’s end, lighting the smoke.

The broker is dismayed, unhopeful about his career. “Maybe it’s time for me to finally call it quits.”

Giran cuts in. “Don’t be rash. Listen, just between us, I know of a way to make some real cash.” He reaches into his pocket, looking for something.

The broker waits while Charmcaster throws Giran a questioning look.

“Keep this on the down low, I’m only telling you because I know your guys have quality goods to sell.” He pulls his phone out and aims the screen at the broker, displaying a video of some sort. “Have you seen this yet?”

The broker hasn’t. “Huh? What’s that?”

“A phone, moron.” taunts Charmcaster.

“I know that! I meant the video!”

Giran snickers. “It’s a video of the Hero Killer. He’s hot right now.” Without waiting for permission he goes ahead, and hits play.

The video begins to roll, displaying Stain in his fullest: his red scarf, sharp blades, and freaky tongue. All as drips of blood turn the screen red just as the narrator takes over.

“The Hero Killer Stain. Real Name, Chizome Akaguro.” States the narrator as photos of Stain’s arrest play on the scene. “As a child, he was greatly inspired by All Might’s debut. He enrolled in a private hero high school but was dismayed by what he viewed as the educational system’s skewed understanding of what it meant to be a hero.” 

“Throughout his teenage years, Chizome advocated for a return to the early days of heroes, but quickly realized that words had no power. For the next ten years, he trained in killing techniques in order to fulfill his self-appointed duty. During this time his parents passed away, in what police eventually ruled as a tragic accident.”

Images dance off the screen: of Stain on the hunt, perched on rooftops, and him even attacking some poor defenseless heroes. 

“His focus was on a return to the old days. He believed heroes should not seek compensation. That one should epitomize the idea of self-sacrifice. He believed that present-day pros were frauds. Through his violent purges, he hoped society would eventually side with him.”

As the video plays, the broker and even Charmcaster are spellbound, almost like they’re starstruck by the video, unable to even look away.

Soon the video changes, cutting into the feed from a security camera that was overlooking Stain and his confrontation with a group of pro heroes.

[Like a man possessed by the angel of vengeance, Stain glares as his eyes glow brightly. It’s like the grim reaper himself has descended down to Earth and he has a deadly grip on anyone’s heart. Just one move from them is all it would take for their lives to come to a tragic and bloody end.

“These streets…must run with the blood of hypocrites!” Stain roars out. “Hero!! I will reclaim that word!” He takes one last stomp forward, blood dripping down his maw, his eyes glowing blood red under the red moonlight, and the **killing intent** holds the helpless cowards in place. “Come on!! Just try and stop me, you fakes!!”

Stain’s too far gone, to mad with bloodlust, his eyes shake with exploding fury. “There is only one man I’ll let kill me. He is a true hero. ALL MIGHT IS WORTHY!!!”]

And the video is done.

Like breaking from a spell both the broker and Charmcaster gasp and reel away, they were so hooked on the video they didn’t even know they were holding their breaths.

Giran smirks satisfied by their reactions. “This keeps getting uploaded and immediately taken down online. But they can’t stop it. It’s not hard to see. This guy is really stirring something in people. From villains with countless convictions, to felons on the run, all the major players, including me, are watching.”

The broker smirks intrigued and excited. This just might be it.

“It’s infectious. Do you feel it?” Giran sure can that’s for sure.

At this very moment all across Japan villains are beginning to stir in the darkness.

“I don’t think the heroes realize what’s awakening. The evil that was once quiet and scattered now has a rallying cry that’s calling out to it. Individual criminals are seeking out the organization that the Hero Killer Stain was connected to.” Giran’s smirk widens. “They’re all headed to the League of Villains.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

In truth Stain’s convictions have reached further than what Giran’s even able to fathom. As the commander of the spacecruiser has also just observed the same video, downloaded off Japan’s internet.

He’s been awake since his bounty hunter reported the Omnitrix’s location but there’s been no word as of yet from SixSix. And soon it became very apparent that it was a failed mission. Oh, how he wishes to tear into the wielder of the Omnitrix himself, but alas he must bid his time.

But that doesn’t mean he spent all that time withering in anger, no the hours were for naught, as Japan news media fill in the passing time. Each one speaks of the Hero Killer and his ideals and motives, but also his connections.

The doors to the command center slide open as, not a drone, but an alien underling approaches his master,

This alien has a skeletal appearance. His body is white with his head fin being white and outlined with three black stripes, his lips and eyes sockets are black while his pupils are a crimson-red. He wears a sleeveless black robe and brace-like armor.

The skeletal alien bows at his master’s healing pod. “Master I have finally arrived with your requested…enhancements.” 

The commander leers down at the whelp. “Psyphon your timing could not have been more ideal.”

Psyphon peers up at the commander. “Master?”

“I have a mission for you.”

Psyphon immediately jumps to conclusions “You wish for me to retrieve the Omnitrix, sir?”

“No, you are far too weak for that.”

Psyphon grimaces but remains silent, bowing in respect.

The commander peers back at all the other news media. “Perhaps it’s time to stop outsourcing. If my allies can’t retrieve the Omnitrix then we shall seek out those that can.”

“Sir?”

The commander leers down at his underling making him quiver in fear. “If this Hero Killer is as they say he is, then perhaps we require more like him.” He eyes the news media again. “We require those that can stand up to Earth’s champions, we need Hero Killers.” His eyes land on one final image. “We need the League of Villains.”

Displayed in front of him are images of hideously grotesque monsters known as Nomus along with compost sketches of the League’s leaders: Nue, Kurogiri, and Tomura Shigaraki.

“Seek them out Psyphon. Don’t fail me.”

Psyphon cowers before his master. “Of course, master, I will not fail you.”

The commander eyes the displays again until his eyes land back on the Hero Killer video. This broadcast was extremely insightful, perhaps Earth’s civilization is not as stable as he had first thoughts. And now, now the Plumbers and their allies will suffer greatly for this planet's incompetence.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

While the Hero Killer video is all the rage around Earth, there is still another broadcast flying through the endless void of space, taking galaxies by storm. Sweeping through the stars like the big bang.

^Wah brz ehhh.^

“I’m hurrying, alright. No need for harsh language.”

A lone figure makes his way up to the cockpit of his vessel where a midsized droid awaits him.

“What is it?”

^Brr rrap bzz.^

“Oh, a message from Earth?”

The droid aims his holographic project up and a holographic screen pops into existence. Immediately the message plays and it’s a video of all things. As the video rolls it contains the edited reel of the U.A. Sports Festival. But there seems to be heavy screen time for a boy with messy green hair and freckles.

“Oh my.” The figure smiles as he watches the boy transform from one being into another. “Now that’s a sight for sore eyes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that was Ch.36 Stained, I hope this was enjoyable even though it was a lot of talking and no action for you guys. I still tried to make it enjoyable and plus I did set up quite a lot of future elements for upcoming arcs and chapters.
> 
> *Also I will have an important Author’s Note/Announcement for everyone in the next chapter.
> 
> *I am aiming to have Ch.37 up on Thanksgiving, which will be the one-year anniversary of me posting this story!! 


	38. The Return

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Happy Thanksgiving everyone, I hope you’re all staying safe out there and I really hope you can still have a safe and nice Thanksgiving. I know for many of us this is not what we expected so I hope this chapter can help.
> 
> *I also want to THANK YOU all, because of your overwhelming support this story is officially A YEAR OLD!!! Wow isn’t that incredible?! I never actually thought we’d get this far. Heck one of my editors had to point it out to me because I somehow didn’t even realize it.
> 
> I was kind of hoping we’d be further along the story by now but hey 37 chapters ain’t half bad.
> 
> *In celebration of this story’s one-year anniversary, Drag0n5on has put together another fantastical opening for us all that greatly reflects the story and what it’s gone through. So please enjoy it.
> 
> *IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT*
> 
> So along with the anniversary I also have a very important Announcement for everyone concerning the future of this story. I will actually be posting the Announcement as a separate post tomorrow so be on the lookout for it. In the Announcement I hope to address a great deal of things, both exciting and informative news, so be sure to check it out.

_Lyrics_

Scene

[OPENING THEME: inspired by original Ben Ten theme song]

_**A.** It started when an alien device did what it did_

**a.** Izuku looks down at the Omnitrix for the first time in curiosity and reaches out to it. The watch immediately latches onto his left wrist causing the teen to freak out.

 **_B_ ** _. It stuck itself upon his wrist with secrets that it hid_

**b**. It goes through a few options before stopping on an alien. Curious Izuku presses down on the watch and is consumed in a flash of green.

**_C_ ** _. Now he's got superpowers he's no ordinary kid_

**c**. Slowly his body begins transforming turning him into Feedback.

**_D_ ** _. He's De Ku_

**d**. Feedback leaps at the slime villain to save Bakugou.

**_E_ ** _. So if you see him you might be in for a big surprise_

**e**. Izuku runs out of Baumann’s store having destroyed something again. Before changing to him covering his face as Ochaco and ML-E try to 'out cute' each other.

**_F_ ** _. He'll turn into an alien before your very eyes_

**f**. Izuku calls Henzu 'Henchan' causing the teen to yell at him before switching to Terraspin shouting as he retreats into his shell as All Might attacks him.

**_G_ ** _. He's slimy, creepy, fast and strong_

**g**. It shows Gang Orca holding his nose as he looks at Stinkfly, Thirteen yelling about how Buzzshocks are evil, The Ditto's arguing over Monopoly, Lode Star throws a ball as Aizawa watches.

**_H_ ** _. He's every shape and size_

**h.** Ripjaws begins flopping around the floor as Inko cries a river in the apartment.

_**I.** He's De Ku_

**_J_ ** _. Armed with powers_

 ** j ** . Diamondhead and Ochaco jump forward and punch the screen

 **_K_ ** _. he's on the case_

 ** k ** . Rip Jaws, Tsuyu, and Koda's head appear above water as Mineta struggles to keep afloat.

 **_L_ ** _. Fighting off evil_

 ** l ** . XLR8 races against Tenya passing by Shoto who watches them.

 **_M_ ** _. from earth or space_

 ** m ** . Mina, Toru, Aoyama cheer as they ride a wave of Dittos

 **_N_ ** _. He'll never stop_

 ** n ** . Four Arms arm wrestles with Kirishima, Shoji, Tokoyami, and Sero

 **_O_ ** _. till he makes them pay_

 ** o ** . Jiro and Ojiro laugh as Denki short circuits in a competition against Buzzshock

 **_P_ ** _. 'Cause he's the baddest_

 ** p ** . Heatblasts creates twin flames that Momo and Sato use to make smores.

 **_Q_ ** _. kid to ever save day_

 ** q ** . Grey Matter runs for his life as a smiling Bakugou tries to blow him up.

 **_R_ ** _. De Ku_

 ** r ** . Izuku lands with his shield out and smiles.

 **_S_ ** _. (Instrumental)_

 ** s ** . It shows moments of Izuku's adventures so far. Izuku blocking a strike from Stain with his shield, colliding with Nue as Four Arms, countering Bakugou’s explosion with Water Hazard, Flying through Todoroki's ice as Big Chill launching diamonds at a charging Ochaco. The last scene is of him smiling as he slams his hand on the Omnitrix to transform.

 **T**. _(Ending Instrumental)_

 ** t ** . Izuku holds the Omnitrix up as he stands next to the title.

[Illustrated by **Drag0n5on** ]

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

It’s a calm, quiet morning, there’s birds out, the sun is shining, and the temperature is just perfect. The morning commute may have started but there appears to be no bustle or hustle as if everyone’s agreed that this morning should be perfect. There’s nothing to disturb the peace, no villain, no reckless drivers, nothing, absolutely nothing could ruin this perfect morning.

“GET OUT!!!”

A dumbfounded Ochaco Uraraka is booted right out of the agency building, tossed out to the curb like some kind of chump. “Ow!” She lands hard on her butt with her bag and costume case landing beside her. “What’s the big idea?!”

Gran Torino huffs, looking mightily annoyed. “Now go on, get!! I’ve had enough of you.”

“Wha?!”

“You’ve caused me nothing but trouble since you’ve arrived, so go! I’ve had enough.”

Ochaco pouts, grumbling. “Well hanging with you hasn’t exactly been a picnic either…” 

Gran Torino scowls, and Ochaco matches his with her own. They glare at each other trying to force the other to back down. But their facades breakaway and they both break into fits of chuckling and laughter.

The chuckling Ochaco gets up, brushing herself off before turning to the pro hero. “But seriously. Thank you for everything, you did so much for me.”

Gran Torino smirks, puffing out his chest. “Yeah, I did, didn't I? I guess I’m just that great.”

Ochaco sweatdrops. 

“But really your progress is your own.”

Ochaco lights up.

“You’ve learned to channel your Quirks properly, rather than relying on one big burst of power.” Suddenly Gran Torino snaps. “However, you must always remain calm and alert!” He jabs his staff towards her making her flinch. “Your power can be devastating if you become too distracted and unfocused the recoil could be serious! If you’re not careful you could even lose an arm.”

Ochaco stares down at her arm, wondering just what it would be like to deal with such a whiplash. Imagine it, her arm busted and broken after every attempt of using One For All, that just sounds terrifyingly painful.

“I’m sure you know this, but if you’re going to aim to become the greatest hero like All Might, then you’ve still got a heck of a lot to learn, girly, so keep at it.”

Said girl straightens up. “Yes, sir!”

Gran Torino nods approvingly before turning back towards his home. “See ya ‘round.”

“Wait!”

He turns around.

“Wait, I have a question!” Ochaco fidgets with her briefcase, unsure how to properly go about this without seeming inconsiderate, before bluntly asking her question. “You’re a really skilled pro, and you’ve trained the Number One Hero in the world yourself. So how come you’re not famous?”

The old man sweatdrops. “You’re a blunt one aren’t ya?” Despite the wording of her question, Gran Torino isn’t at all offended. “Oh, that’s an easy one. I was just never that interested in working as a pro hero.”

“Eh…?”

“There was a point in my past when I needed to be able to use my Quirk freely, without limits. That’s the only reason I got my license.” He turns back to her. “It might be better to hear this from Toshi-...All Might, I mean.” He corrects. “He can explain everything better than me.”

“Um, okay.”

“That’s it, kid. Keep workin’ hard.”

“Yes, sir!” She bows. “Thank you very much again.” She stands back up. “I’ll be going now. So, until we meet again.” She waves as she turns away to make her way to the station.

As she walks a devious idea pops into her mind, a well-timed idea. So with a mischievous smirk she yells back. “But don’t kick the bucket before then, old man!” She takes off running not sticking around so see the old man’s reaction.

“I’m gonna kick your ass!!”

Gran Torino fumes as the girl takes off, he could so easily catch her but why bother? He knows it was all in good fun.

And so he watches her off, as she sprints away. ‘ _So she’s the future, huh? She may not look or act like either of them, but she’s still just like them in so many ways._ ’ Gran Torino looks to the sky thinking about the previous holders of One For All. ‘ _Let’s you and me watch over her Toshinori. Until the day you pass on into history. Until the day that the hero “Uravity” is celebrated around the world as the new Symbol of Peace._ ’ 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Rahahaha!!” Fuka, the humanoid shark, leaps forward his jaws wide open to swallow up his prey in one gulp.

Feedback gasps and leaps away, resulting in Fuka’s jaws tearing into the ground. Fuka raises his head, a chunk of concrete lodged in his jaws.

Feedback snickers. “Looks like you bit off more than you can chew.”

This is not how he expected to start off his morning, the sun is warm, the breeze is calm, the boardwalk is empty, and the ocean is calm making it an overall peaceful setting.

Fuka roars. “I’m gone, chew your arms off!!”

So much for peaceful.

Feedback gets down, readying his conductor fingers for a counterattack when suddenly a horn-like lance nearly impales him. He swings his body aside as Ikkaku takes several jabs at him.

“Haha! En garde, Sir Midoriya!” Ikkaku stands firm, one hand behind his back as he thrusts his lance forward.

Feedback weaves and dodges the furious attacks as best as he can, his one eye tracing Ikkaku’s movements. After a moment he picks up on the pattern and so when Ikkaku goes in for another strike, Feedback’s tendril wraps around the lance, stretching down to the narwhal man’s arm. Pulling it tight, Feedback swings his body around, throwing Ikkaku aside.

He has no time to relax though as Tekka Maki bursts out from the sea like the mermaid she is and moving with the speed of a tuna she speeds right into Feedback’s side, her fins slicing into him, not enough to cut him but just enough to hurt. She’s so speedy that she ricochets herself off the ground and the side of the aquarium, slicing through the air and right into Feedback again, giggling all the way. “Kekeke! Fishy people like you don’t get to walk away. Kekeke.”

She speeds around, aiming right for the tall slender creature. Feedback sees it coming and at the last moment he jumps up and over Tekka Maki. With his body twirling in the air, he whips his tendrils down and they crack against the mermaid’s back, slamming her to the ground while also bringing an end to her attack.

Feedback grins. “You need to be whipped into shape.”

“Naw, ya have to.”

Feedback pales as he spins around to find the massive walrus-man, Kaizou, towering over him; his large blubbery body slowly descends down, his intention of crushing their target becoming clear.

But with his quick reflexes Feedback leaps away, and good thing too. Because Kaizou’s large heavy body shakes the ground as he delivers his attack.

“Y-you’re g-good.” Devil Fish takes his shot, his tentacles lashing forward. “B-but n-not that g-good.”

Feedback doesn’t hesitate, he meets Devil Fish’s tentacles with his own, the only difference being that his tendrils have a bit of a cheat to them. As the tentacles collide Feedback unleashes well a feedback, causing electricity to course through sidekicks.

“Wahhh!!” Devil Fish collapses, his body fried like calamari, as Feedback releases him.

Feedback grins. “No, I am just that good.”

“Don’t get cocky, shrimp.” Dholak swings his lance-like limb forward.

Feedback leaps away just as the lance impales the ground, smashing it to bits. “Watch it! You can poke someone’s eye out with that.”

Dholak smirks.” Yeah, yours.” He unleashes a barrage of lance-attacks. “Pincer Assault!”

Feedback glares back, unflinching. “Tendril Assault!!” He counters by mimicking Dholak’s own attack, his tendrils whipping about in furious fashion, meeting Dholak’s attack blow for blow!

Dholak snarls. “You damn, copycat!”

Feedback smirks. “Come now, don’t be so crabby.”

Dholak glares as he ends his assault.

Feedback’s grin widens as he examines his downed foes. “Hehe, looks like I win.” A terrifying chill runs down Feedback’s spine making him freeze up.

“Looks like I need to teach you humility.”

The pale Feedback tearfully and shakily turns around to face his doom.

Gang Orca’s piercing red gaze makes his blood freeze, there is no fight or flight like his instincts know there’s no point in resisting this top predator.

Gang Orca’s claws flex as he towers over the morphed boy, his cape billowing behind him making his form seem even large and more intimidating. “Now, tell me, which of us is on top of the food chain?”

Feedback’s knees quake under him. “Y-you a-are, b-b-boss.”

Gang Orca’s claw SLAMS down on Feedback’s head, throwing him to the ground!!

“Guhh, ow…” Feedback groans in anguish as Gang Orca towers over him.

The killer whale smirks as he glares down at the shrimp. “And don’t you forget it.”

With a flash of red light, Izuku Midoriya shakily wobbles to his feet, his head throbbing in pain. “Y-you g-got it, boss.” Izuku chuckles as he rubs his head, Gang Orca’s agency really does have a weird way of saying goodbye. “And thank you, for everything.”

Gang Orca nods as his sidekicks gather around them, pleased with the boy’s performance. Apparently, Gang Orca likes to test his interns on their way out, to see how far they’ve progressed. And it seems Izuku really has come far during his time with them.

“Haha, look at ya.” Fuka grins his jagged teeth gleaming in the sunlight. “Acting all dignified and shit, guess taking down the Hero Killer really boosted your ego, huh?”

Izuku becomes shy and embarrassed. “N-no! Not at all!”

“Pray tell, why not?!” inquires Ikkaku. “Don’t be so modest Sir Midoriya, your battle was victorious, do not sweep it to the wayside!”

Izuku looks away, his face red in embarrassment.

Tekka Maki snickers. “Kekeke, looks like the Rising Star is a little shy. Kekeke.”

Kaizou agrees. “Outrageously so! That there press conference was a real bad ya know.”

“Don’t remind me…” Izuku shivers at the memory, he was so scared and nervous during the police conference. Oh why did he have to speak?! At least the officers provided him with lines but still it was so nerve wracking!

Gang Orca takes notice of the boy’s discomfort. “Hey, shrimp.”

“Yes, boss?”

“I know you feel a bit put off by all this attention, but” He places his massive hand on the teen’s shoulder. "don't allow yourself to wallow in self-doubt. You don’t need to meet anyone’s expectations but your own. You understand?”

Izuku does, very much so. “Yes!”

“Good.”

Izuku turns to the rest of them, smiling in appreciation.

Ikkaku steps forward. “It was a true pleasure having you around, Sir Deku.”

Devil Fish waves shyly from the back. “T-take c-care.”

Kaizou shakes his flipper at the boy. “Don’ make our agency look bad ya hear?”

Izuku chuckles. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

Fuka’s grin widens. “Next time we meet.” He slams his fists together. “I’m so going to tear you to shreds.”

“Looking forward to it.”

“Kekeke, it was fun having you!” cheers Tekka Maki. “Now don’t get into any more fishy business.”

“I’ll try.”

And now it’s Dholak’s turn, the fully healed crab-man steps forward, glaring at the boy who definitely glares right back, challenging him.

Izuku half expects the guy to take a jab at him, but instead he offers his hand. “It was a pleasure working with you, shrimp.”

Izuku looks to Dholak and back to his hand, before taking it. “Yeah, same.”

Finally, there’s one more to say goodbye to.

“Thank you for everything.” Izuku bows his head in the presence of Gang Orca. “You’ve shown me what it really takes to be a pro.”

Gang Orca huffs. “No need to thank me kid. You’ve already got what it takes to go pro, no doubt about it.”

Izuku’s smile widens as he straightens back up. “Well, I better be off.”

Gang Orca nods in agreement.

Izuku turns right around, gripping his bag and suitcase before marching off. Before he gets too far, he throws one last look towards the large aquarium and Gang Orca’s agency who all wave him off with good tidings.

He waves back, for one final goodbye.

And so as one chapter ends another begins, starting with the return to U.A. High.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

As one would expect it was finally time for the Hero Course students to return to U.A. Many of which were excited to get back to their friends and brag about their escapades and lessons they learned from their individual internships. 

Unfortunately, not all of them can say they had a productive time.

“Hahaha!!” Both Hanta Sero and Eijiro Kirishima are dying of laughter, tears leaking from their eyes. “Holy crap! What the heck, Bakugou?!”

Katsuki Bakugou had just entered the class with the most unexpected hairdo imaginable, his hair is combed down all neat and tidy like some sort of pretty boy. “Stop laughing!” growls Bakugou, shaking with anger. “My hair’s gotten used to this and I can’t get it back the right way.” As it turns out Best Jeanist’s quite the stylist if he could tame even Bakugou’s wild spiky hair.

And the two morons can’t help to find the new hairdo hilarious.

“Did you not hear me? I’ll kill you both.”

Sero laughs. “I’d like to see ya try, pretty boy!”

“What’d you call me?!” Bakugou’s hair explodes out as he bursts into anger.

Both Kirishima and Sero burst into more fits of laughter. “Hey, there it goes!! Hahaha!!”

They’re not the only ones enjoying themselves, many other classmates are reminiscing about their internships.

Mina Ashido leans over Jiro’s desk, while Tsuyu sits nearby. “Awesome! You got to face actual villains? I’m super jealous!”

Kyoka Jiro twiddles her earphone jack around her finger, while looking up at Mina nonchalantly. “Well, I didn’t fight. All I did was help people evacuate and provide logistical support.”

“But it still sounds like so much fun.”

Asui Tsuyu ponders about her own experience. “I spent basically the whole-time training and cleaning the ship deck. Though, there was this one day we caught a bunch of drug smugglers.”

The two other girls become deadly serious. “Okay, now that’s cool.”

Tsuyu turns in her seat and points to another of their friends. “Yes, but I think hers was the coolest, kero. Right, Ochaco?”

Ochaco immediately goes pale, shooting out of her seat in a panic, yelping. “I didn’t fight!! You can’t prove a thing!!” Wait, woops, for some reason she thought Tsuyu was referring to her fight with Stain for a moment. But no one should know that she actually participated. She needs to fix this and quickly. “Oh, um, sorry, w-what were you saying?”

Tsuyu gives her a questioning look, but she shrugs figuring the girl may just be tired is all. “I was talking about how you fought that witch girl.”

Ochaco awes like she now understands.

Mina lights up. “Oh, yeah, I heard about that. Way to go girl! You kicked that chick’s ass!”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, I guess I did, didn’t I?”

Jiro smiles. “So, cool. I heard she became a spider monster or something.”

Ochaco nods excitedly. “Yeah, she did and-”

Off to the side Denki Kaminari and Minoru Mineta listen in, the former very impressed with Ochaco’s tales. “Man, just a few days into the internship and she was already kicking butt. Who knew she could be so hardcore?”

“Hardcore?” Mineta gives his friend a knowing smirk. “Don’t be fooled, Kaminari.” Suddenly Mineta’s entire demeanor goes dark, stricken by a sudden rush of bone chilling fear so much so he has a far-off look as he chews away at his fingernail. “All women are demons at heart. They just hide their true personalities behind pretty faces.”

“What the heck did Mt. Lady do to you?” Kaminari grabs his arm to snap him out of it. “Everyone at my internship loved me, it was actually kinda great.” The blonde smiles. “Now, if you wanna talk about who’s really hardcore, it was him.”

And just like that everyone’s attention turns to the resident enigma, Izuku, who was chatting away with Tenya Iida and Shoto Todoroki.

Sero, even while being manhandled by Bakugou, lights up. “Oh, yeah! The Hero Killer!”

Kirishima, also being manhandled, chimes in too. “Glad you guys made it back alive. Seriously.”

Momo Yaoyorozu approaches Izuku and the others. “I was worried about you, too.”

Rikido Sato looks to Tenya, Shoto and Ochaco. “Good thing Midoriya arrived when he did huh?”

Tooru Hagakure gushes. “So, cool! But I guess we should have expected it from U.A.’s “Rising Star.”

Mashirao Ojiro awes. “I still can’t get over the fact that you beat him even without your Quirk.”

Izuku tries to laugh it off, but it’s clear to anyone listening that he’s not exactly comfortable with the attention. Mainly because he still feels a bit of shame and regret that he can’t be sharing the credit with his friends, the ones that also took down Stain.

Shoto picks up on his friend’s discomfort, quickly cutting in to rectify it. “Yeah, that’s right.”

Everyone turns to him, especially a shaken Izuku.

Shoto meets Izuku’s eyes, and with full confidence he states. “He saved us.”

And not just from the Hero Killer, but for some of them, he saved them from their darkest of places. Shoto has always meant to thank Midoriya for what he did for him, for opening his eyes. Sure he may not actually want the credit but at least this way Shoto can feel like he’s giving something back.

Tsuyu turns back to the male greenette. “I’m curious. Midoriya, if you didn’t use One Man Army then how did you fight the Hero Killer exactly?”

Izuku begins to sweat nervously. “Oh, um…” Darn, what should he say? What sounds believable? “Oh! Because of my Omni-Shield!”

“You’re what, kero?”

“Oh, it’s my new support item, it’s a compatible shield.”

Sato’s jaw drops. “Woah, can we see?”

“Well it’s put away for now, but I’ll be sure to show you guys later.”

Hagakure shakes her head, impressed. “I still can’t believe it, pros couldn’t take the Hero Killer down, but Midoriya could.”

Ojiro nods. “It is something isn’t it?”

“That’s not all.” adds Mezo Shoji. “Didn’t you hear, he also saved an entire city from a terrorist.”

“What?!”

Mina overhears. “Damn I’m so jealous! Why does all the cool stuff happen to Midoriya?!”

Fumikage Tokoyami cups his chin in thought. “The Rising Star is surely living up to his title.”

Both Kaminari and Mineta groan. “Yeah, Rising Star my foot.”

Kaminari looks at his phone scrolling through social media with disdain. “He’s already got a fan club.”

Mineta scrolls through his too. “I bet there’s a lot of pretty girls part of it, too.”

They both shout out in irritation. “Dang it, Midoriya!”

Jiro laughs at their reactions. “Ha ha, guess you guys are green with envy.”

“You bet we are!!” They both shout.

The rest of the class join Jiro, laughing at the two’s expense, while Izuku tries to find some way out.

While most of the class is in good spirits there is at least one on the opposite spectrum. Bakugou watches on annoyed and angered by it all. Deku’s received so much praise. And he’s not sure what’s worse that he’s getting praised or that freaking Deku’s not accepting it at all.

Something else crosses Ojiro’s mind. “Did you guys hear the news about the Hero Killer?”

Everyone looks at him confused.

“Everyone’s been saying that he was somehow connected to the League of Villains. Can you imagine how frightening it would’ve been if that creep had been there when they attacked the U.S.J.?”

Many of their classmates quiver at the thought. The U.S.J. was already bad enough with the horde of villains and mutant monsters, throwing the Hero Killer into the mix would have been…catastrophic. 

Kaminari, however, waves it off. “He’s scary, yeah. But did you see him in that weird video? It’s all over the internet.”

Ojiro frowns. “I didn’t even know there was a video of him.”

“Yeah.” Kaminari tries to recall what he can of said video. “Stain’s a pretty evil villain, but, like, super tenacious. He’s almost kinda cool dontcha guys think?”

“Kaminari!” yells Ochaco.

Kaminari looks at her all confused until his eyes drift over to Iida and only then does, he realizes how insensitive he was being, “Uh - Oh! Dude…” He covers his own mouth wishing he could take back what he just said.

Tenya shakes his head, somberly. “No, it’s okay. You’re fine.” He goes quiet, gripping shoulder, he can feel the scar lying underneath his shirt, a permanent reminder of his regrettable actions. “It is true that he’s quite a tenacious villain. I understand why people might think he was cool.”

Shoto, Izuku, and Ochaco listen on, unsure whether Iida was going to fall back into despair for a moment.

But they have no reason to worry as Tenya continues. “But instead of helping the world, his beliefs led him to cold-blooded murder. No matter his motives, killing cannot be condoned.” Tenya’s fist clenches. “To keep anyone else from suffering like me, well,” With sudden Class Rep energy, he chops his hand forward like a robot. “I promise I will strive to be the perfect hero!”

Ochaco, slides in, smiling cheerfully behind him. “Yeah!”

Izuku joins her. “Let’s do it!”

With support on his side, Tenya proclaims himself to the class. “It’s time for class to begin! Everyone, please take your seats!” He then begins to rant on and on about proper class procedures and such.

Tokoyami sweatdrops. “He’s back.”

Jiro glares at Kaminari while Tenya continues to rant. “This is your fault for talking about weird stuff.”

Kaminari pouts. “Sorry, I’m gonna keep my mouth shut.”

Tenya continues with his triad. ”-Class 1-A will ensure there is peace!”

Izuku watches Tenya rant on and on, not with a grimace of annoyance, but with a satisfied smile. Honestly, it’s great having their Class Rep back to normal. Things just didn’t seem right without him. ‘ _Way to go, Iida._ ’

Ochaco and Shoto are relieved as well, especially after everything that’s occurred.

“Hey, Uraraka.”

Ochaco blinks at the dual-haired teen. “Yeah?”

“Was that always there?” Shoto points towards the opposite end of the room.

Ochaco follows his finger to her desk of all things, no wait, it’s what’s behind her desk. There’s another desk right behind her own for some weird reason, “Why of course…wait, no, it wasn’t.” That’s strange why would there be a new desk there? 

Meanwhile, Tenya is continuing with his rant. “Furthermore, I expect each and every one of you to-!”

Without warning the door slides open, and without missing a beat everyone scrambles for their seats, just before a sleep deprived individual strolls into the classroom. 

“Morning, Class.” greets Shota Aizawa.

“Morning, Mr. Aizawa!” they respond.

“I hope each of you learned something valuable from your internships.” Aizawa examines each of them as if he could see their personal status changed. “Otherwise they were complete wastes of time.” His eyes land on the freckled face greenette. “But clearly some benefited more than others.”

Izuku quivers, becoming shy under the teacher’s gaze.

“Well done capturing the Hero Killer, Midoriya.”

Izuku gulps. “Um, thank you, sir.”

Aizawa nods in approval. “Glad to see the fame hasn’t gone to your head.”

Izuku laughs nervously in response. ‘ _I don’t think I’d ever let that happen._ ’ Hopefully.

As Aizawa makes it to the front podium, Ochaco nearly springs out of her seat with her arm raised. “Mr. Aizawa!”

“What is it, Uraraka?”

“Um, I was wondering, but why is this here?” She points to the desk behind her.

The rest of the class, predictably, spin around their seats and they too become baffled by the new additional desk.

“Ah, that.” Aizawa briefly checks the time. “He should be here by now.”

Ochaco blinks. ‘ _He…?_ ’

“Whatever.” Aizawa addresses the class. “Class 1-A will be receiving a new student and they are-”

The door slides open once again and this time a different sleep deprived individual enters the room.

Almost immediately both Ochaco’s and Izuku’s eyes widen as they both spring out of their seats in surprise. “Shinso?!”

Yes, General Studies Hitoshi Shinso has just entered looking as reserved as ever.

Shinso grumbles at the sight of Izuku and Ochaco, rubbing his neck as he greets them. “Hey.”

The entire class is stunned, confused out of their minds. “WHAT’S GOING ON!?!”

Shinso stands by Class 1-A’s homeroom teacher as the class itself settles down. 

Aizawa goes ahead and explains. “After his performance during the Sports Festival it was decided that Hitoshi Shinso would transfer up to Class 1-A.” More specifically after he, Shota Aizawa, saw what he was capable of during the competition. And so he personally fought for Shinso’s right to join Class 1-A. “But only after receiving special lessons.”

The class simultaneously tilt their heads to the side. “Special lessons…?”

“Shinso was far behind most of you, but I oversaw his training to ensure he was on par with you all.” And Aizawa is rather glad to say that Shinso performed quite well. He knew the boy was dedicated and it was a major help that he had already been training on his own far before the Sports Festival, the U.A. gym logs can prove as much. And as such Aizawa was able to fast forward his progress immensely since they could skip over most of the basics.

Shinso’s demeanor drops, and somehow, he looks even more sleep deprived. “It was hell…” His eyes drift over to Aizawa. “He was…” He shivers at the thought.

The students can all sympathize, personal training from Aizawa just sounds…exhausting. If that’s even the right word one would like to use. 

Shinso quivers. “T-that All-American Dream Plan…was hell…”

Both Izuku and Ochaco snap in attention. “All-American…Dream Plan?!”

Aizawa confirms it with a nod. “Yeah, as it turns out All Might is very good at throwing a training regimen together.”

##########(Flashback)#########

Aizawa stares down at the ridiculously titled binder in his hands. The binder is thick, almost like a dictionary, filled with charts, graphs, and a fully detailed schedule: everything’s there from exercises, when to eat, and even bathroom breaks.

But even with all that Aizawa still has to ask. “What’s this?”

All Might beams at his coworker. “ **WHY IT’S THE TRAINING REGIMENT YOU ASK FOR.** ”

Aizawa eyes the title with disgust. “The All-American Dream Plan: the Patriot version?”

“ **YES. IT’S ACTUALLY THE THIRD ONE IN THE SERIES.** ”

“Excuse me?”

All Might gets all bashful, rubbing the back of his head. “ **EH. OH, I UH, ACTUALLY HAD TO WRITE OF A FEW OF THESE BEFORE.** ” Specifically for Thirteen and then again for his successor. “ **BUT THIS ONE IS MY BEST ONE YET. EFFICIENT WORKOUTS, PERFECT DISTRIBUTION OF BREAKS, AND THE PERFECT DIET PLAN COURTESY OF LUNCH-RUSH!** ” All Might is brimming with pride, glowing like he’s accomplished a great feat. “ **DARE I SAY IT BUT THIS MAY BE MY BEST WORK YET. ANYONE WHO TRAINS UNDER THESE CONDITIONS WILL SURELY BE HERO WORTHY IN NO TIME!** ”

########(End Flashback)#######

“And there you have it.” states Aizawa. “As of today, Hitoshi Shinso, will be Class 1-A’s twenty-first student.” He turns to number twenty-one. “Go ahead and greet everyone.”

Shinso is hesitant, observing his new classmates warily. “I know I’ve already encountered many of you at the Sports Festival, but you won’t catch me thinking that we’re all buddies now that we’ve exchanged blows.” He eyes his old teammates: Izuku, Jiro, and Tsuyu. “I’m not some good-natured person trying to tout a superficial sense of sportsmanship. The fact of the matter is, I’ve gotten a late start and I’ve already been left in the dust by hundreds of steps by you all.” That’s right, he can’t afford to relax, he may have made it into the Hero Course like he said but that doesn’t mean he should get complacent. “I’m sorry, but I’m desperate.”

Izuku understands, more than he can say, but he gets it. It’s like Shinso said way back when, everyone in the Hero Course was “blessed” with a Quirk, a heroic Quirk. He probably still feels a bit insecure and put off by everyone now that he is here. Hopefully Shinso can show them all that he does in fact belong here.

And it seems Shinso believes the same thing. “I will become a great hero so that I can use my Quirk to help others.” His eyes narrow. “All of you are distractions that I must overcome. I have no intention of making friends.”

Some of the students shiver under his intense gaze

Jiro eyes him warily. “That’s quite the glare.”

Tokoyami frowns. “Things are getting tense.”

Sero chuckles and looks to Shoto. “It’s like I’m looking at another Todoroki.”

Shoto blinks. “You think?”

“Yep.”

Bakugou smirks. “Finally, someone gets it.”

Shinso’s eyes cast over them all before they land towards the window side of the classroom. He’s taken back as his eyes land on a certain greenette.

Izuku, unlike the others, is beaming, looking absolutely thrilled to have Shinso here; like a child who’s going to have a sleepover with his best friend. But who can blame him, he’s just so proud and happy for Shinso, he’s finally going to live out his own dream of becoming a hero. Something he can relate to.

Shinso looks away, trying to pretend he didn’t see that.

Aizawa is also trying to ignore Izuku's blinding smile. “Take your seat.”

“Right.”

Shinso makes his way towards the back of the class, as he does, he inevitably has to pass the very person who beat him in the Tournament.

Ochaco smiles up at the reversed boy as he passes by. “And just like that, Class 1-A’s become a whole lot more interesting.”

Shinso ignores her, taking his seat.

Ochaco spins around and flashes him a smile. “Welcome to the Hero Course.”

Shinso is hesitant but then a small smile forms on his face. “Yeah, good to finally be here.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“ **I AM HERE!** ” Proclaims the one and only All Might while addressing Class 1-A. “ **HOPE YOU’RE READY TO RETURN TO OUR LESSONS. TODAY IT’S HERO BASIC TRAINING. FEELS LIKE I HAVEN’T SEEN YOU IN A WHILE, WELCOME BACK.** ”

The fully costumed Class 1-A smile up at their teacher, they had just gathered just outside a training facility.

“ **AND I’D LIKE TO WELCOME THE NEWEST MEMBER OF YOUR FINE GROUP.** ” All Might holds a big hand out towards the newest member. “ **YOUNG SHINSO, WELCOME!** ”

Shinso gives a curt nod in greeting while gripping the cloth around his neck.

Shinso’s hero costume isn’t exactly ready, for now he’s wearing the standard U.A. PE uniform. However that doesn’t mean he came unprepared. In addition to the uniform, he’s wearing a detachable mask-like device over his mouth. But what’s really catching the students’ eyes is the binding cloth he’s wearing, the same one owned by their very own homeroom teacher.

“ **I HEARD FINE THINGS ABOUT YOU YOUNG MAN. ERASERHEAD SAID YOU PERFORMED THE ALL-AMERICAN DREAM PLAN SWIMMINGLY.** ”

Shinso shivers, as horrid memories resurface in his mind.

Izuku and Ochaco’s heart go out for the boy. _‘I feel your pain…’_ They each had their own versions of the All-American Dream Plan too after all, so they understand. 

“ **NOW THEN, LET’S GET TO IT SHALL WE?** ” All Might’s signature grin widens. “ **LISTEN CAREFULLY FOR WHAT’S IN STORE. WE’RE GOING TO BE CONDUCTING A LITTLE RACE. TAKE EVERYTHING YOU’VE LEARNED FROM YOUR INTERNSHIPS AND APPLY IT TO THIS RESCUE TRAINING.** ”

Tenya’s hand shoots up, he too is wearing the U.A. uniform; his actual costume is still going under repairs. “If it’s rescue training, then shouldn’t we be at the U.S.J. instead?”

“ **AH, THAT FACILITY SPECIALIZES IN DISASTERS. AS I SAID, EARLIER, THIS IS A RACE. SO PREPARE! YOU’RE ABOUT TO STEP INTO FIELD GAMMA!** ”

Field Gamma consists of an industrial site compiled by many factories that form a labyrinth. The labyrinth contains tons of heavy machinery including cranes and pipelines.

“ **INSIDE IS AN AREA FULL OF FACTORIES THAT FORM AN INTRICATE LABYRINTH, SO GOOD LUCK FINDING YOUR WAY AROUND.** ” continues the Symbol of Peace. “ **YOU’LL BE COMPETING IN GROUPS OF SEVEN.** **EACH PERSON STARTS FROM A DIFFERENT LOCATION ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF THE MODEL CITY. I’LL SEND A DISTRESS SIGNAL, AND YOU DO WHAT YOU MUST TO GET TO ME. WHOEVER GRABS ME FIRST WINS!** ” However there is a twist. “ **IN THIS EXERCISE IT’S PERFECTLY ACCEPTABLE TO TRY AND HINDER YOUR OPPONENTS’ MOVEMENTS.** ” The students might as well get some combat training in too, while they’re at it. “ **BUT TRY TO KEEP THE PROPERTY AND BODILY DAMAGE TO A BARE MINIMUM, PLEASE.** ” He points his large finger towards a certain mad bomber.

Bakugou scowls, looking away in spite. “Why’re you pointing at me?”

Everyone snickers at his expense.

“ **ALL RIGHT. FIRST GROUP, GET TO YOUR PLACES!** ”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Izuku takes his position within the maze at the same time Ojiro and Tenya arrive at their individual starting points.

The rest of Class 1-A can see them through the giant monitor. The entire field is riddled with cameras allowing the students to be monitored one hundred percent of the time.

Kaminari eyes Iida with concern. “Iida hasn’t completely recovered yet, right? He should sit this out.”

The screen changes to display Mina and Sero from their individual starting points.

Kirishima awes at the entire group of competitors. “Man everyone in this group has really good mobility.”

The screen changes again to Ochaco and Shinso, the latter adjusting his mask over his mouth.

Yaoyorozu is seated nearby besides Jiro. “Huh, I’d say Shinso is at the heavy disadvantage against those six.”

Jiro agrees. “That’s what I think. He can’t exactly use his Quirk to move around like at all, so it must not be one of his strong suits.”

“What about Ochaco?” questions Hagakure. “She’s fast but…”

Yaoyorozu frowns. “Yes, her power is too much. She pushes her body too far, possibly injuring herself.”

Shoto stands closer to the back of the pack, listening in. And he can’t help but feel like his classmates will be in for quite the surprise.

A grinning Kirishima elbows Kaminari. “Who’s your pick? I’m bettin’ on Sero.”

Kaminari smirks. “Oh, yeah? I got odds on Ojiro.”

Mineta chimes in. “I choose Ashido. ‘Cause she’s got a super athletic body.” 

Bakugou growls from the back. “I know Deku will be last.”

“Yeah, right.” chides Kirishima; “Like he’d ever place in dead last.”

Tsuyu isn’t too sure. “You never know. It may just be me, but I don’t think Midoriya’s powers always work out the way he wants them too.” There have been a few times during exercises that he’s tried and failed to call up the right one. There was one Hero Training Day where he tried to wrestle Kirishima as Grey Matter…it went as well as you would think.

Kaminari waves her off. “Yeah, but all he’s got to do is use that speedy lizard of his to win.”

Jiro is quick to retort, taking Tsuyu’s point. “But if he messes up and becomes that cloning guy or something then there’s no way he can win.”

Hagakure cups her chin. “Even if he’s still recovering, I think Iida’s got this one.”

Kirishima grins over towards the back of the group. “What about you Todoroki?”

Shoto ponders the question for a moment. “Tenya may be injured but I’m sure he’s more than ready to give this his all.” Fair point, if this morning has shown anything, Iida is more than ready to get things back to how they should “Uraraka’s determined and a fast learner so I have no doubt she'll be a competitor. And as for Midoriya, well…he’s very resourceful.”

“Well said, dude.”

‘ _However._ ’ Shoto eyes the screen as Shinso prepares himself for the race. ‘ _We have yet to see what he can do._ ’ 

The screen changes to a zoomed into shot of All Might’s beaming grin. “ **IS EVERYONE READY? BEGIN!** ”

With a click of a button a horn blares across the Field Gamma, and the contestants take off!

Sero’s tape wraps around a pipe and uses it to swing himself up and around the pipes and factories.

Elsewhere in the maze, Mina secrets acid from her feet and uses it to slide across the large pipes like a skater.

Ojiro’s off too, using his tail as a spring.

And of course Tenya’s making use of his Engine Quirk.

And the rest of Class 1-A can watch it all unfold thanks to the giant monitor.

Kirishima grins. “Look at ‘im go!” He cheers as Sero takes the lead. “In a maze like this, it makes sense to be above everything else.”

Shoji agrees. “So that means Sero’s at an advantage because he can take to the sky.”

Tokoyami nods in agreement while Koji Koda looks on worriedly as the race really starts to get going. 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Sero leaps and over the pipes like a friendly neighborhood slinger. “It’s like this course was built with me in mind.”

*Sniff.*

His nose catches a whiff of something. “Guh?! What is that smell?!”

A smelly figure buzzes past the green-faced human.

“Sorry, Sero!” calls Stinkfly as he takes the lead. “But I’ve got a race to win!!”

Sero gasps. “What, no way?!”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

The rest of Class 1-A are just as surprised as Sero. “Whoa, Midoriya?!”

Kaminari gawks. “Since when could he fly or even become a giant fly?!” 

Jiro raises an eyebrow. “I wonder when he got that one.”

Mineta groans in agony. “Sheesh, it’s not enough he beat the Hero Killer and saved a city, but now he has even more powers.” Mineta is so jealous he could cry. “Is there no end to his luck?”

Shoto’s eyes narrow, curiously. He did have to wonder, how does Midoriya’s quirk work exactly?

Meanwhile, Bakugou is probably the most shocked out of them all. His face riddles in horrid shock as he watches Deku, freaking Deku, fly through the air. ‘ _While I spent my time getting groomed at that useless internship he... Look at him!_ ’ His teeth grind together, and his fist clenches. ‘ _Dammit!_ ’ He’s being left behind. 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Stinkfly continues to fly his way over all of the obstacles, making this a challenge for him.

While using her acid to create foot holes to climb, Mina spots the bug-creature fly overhead and she instantly recognizes that weird green hourglass symbol. “Midoriya?! Are you kidding me?!”

Ojiro wraps his tail around a pipe, coming to a stop. “Seriously?” He gets a whiff and goes green. “Yuk, what is that smell?”

Stinkfly chuckles as he flies past them. “Hehehe. That’s the smell of victory!!”

“Oh, I don’t think so!” shouts a very bubbly yet determined individual.

Stinkfly’s eyestalks wheel around his head, widen in surprise just before he ducks down; right before a pink energy sphere whizzes past him.

Taking another look confirms his suspicions, Ochaco is flying through the air right behind him!!

The others can see it too,

Mina yells out in surprise. “HER TOO!?!”

“BUT SHE DOESN’T EVEN HAVE WINGS!!” adds an equally shocked Ojiro.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Watching from afar, All Might’s smile threatens to break in astonishment. He’d never imagine he’d witness his own successor flying through the air like a super being!

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“What in the world?!” cry Class 1-A.

“She’s flying!” shouts Sato. “She’s actually flying! But how?!”

Tsuyu has a theory. “She must have made herself weightless and used that new support item of hers. I saw her put it on in the locker room. I think she called it the Gyro-Disc or something.”

Kirishima grins sheepishly. “Man…”

Kaminari frowns, cupping his chin. “I need gear like that.”

They watch as Stinkfly evades Ryou Sphere after Ryou Sphere, courtesy of the pursuing Ochaco.

Jiro frowns. “How’s she doing that? Did her Quirk evolve or something?”

Hagakure awes. “Wow! Those spheres are so pretty.”

On screen, one of the spheres collides with a line of pipes, exploding on impact.

“And powerful…” 

Shoto finally speaks up and explains what he knows. “According to her, it’s a new technique she developed based off her Zero-Gravity Field.” He knows this because they had a lot of time to chat while stuck in the hospital. “Apparently she can now concentrate and focus part of her power to her hands and release in what she calls Ryou Spheres.”

The class is in awe, astounded by the news, before they turn their attention back to the massive screen.

Yaoyorozu can’t take her eyes off the screen, as their classmates compete against one another. “Both of them are so amazing.” Her hand clenches. “Clearly their internships were well worth it.”

Jiro nods. “Yeah, but it’s still too early to call it.”

Bakugou’s eyes widened in horrid shock. ‘ _Her too!_ ’ Bad enough when it was Deku but her as well?! ‘ _Dammit!!_ ’

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Hey, buzz off will ya?!” growls Stinkfly as he dodges more Ryou Spheres. 

“No way!” shouts Ochaco. “I wanna win this, too!”

Stinkfly scowls but one of his eyes catches something down below, the target, All Might. “Hehe, sorry to disappoint.” He dive bombs down towards the pro hero/teacher. “But victory is-”

Before Stinkfly could get one of his grubby hands on All Might, the Number One Hero leaps up and out of the way with a hearty laugh. “ **HAHAHAHA!** ”

“Wahh!!” Stinkfly screams, he was moving too fast, and with nothing to stop him he ends up crash landing onto the platform!

“Deku?!” Uraraka comes to halt, hovering in the air above the squashed bug. “Are you alright?”

Stinkfly pries his face off the ground. “Yeah, I'm okay.”

“ **HAHAHA!!** ”

Stinkfly glares up at All Might. “Hey why’d you move?!”

“ **WHY WOULDN’T I?’** taunts All Might. “ **I NEVER SAID I WAS GOING TO JUST STAND STILL DID I?** ”

Both the space cadets cry out in defiance. “WHAT!?!”

Stinkfly is in denial. “But I thought this was rescue training.”

“ **IT IS, BUT ALSO…CAPTURE TRAINING!** ” Heroes must be able to locate a missing person, but they must also be able to track down a fleeing enemy. “ **I TOLD YOU ALL AT THE BEGINNING THAT THE FIRST ONE TO GRAB ME WOULD BE THE WINNER.** ” He waves a finger at them. “ **REMEMBER KIDS THIS IS U.A. WE TEACHERS STRIVE TO CHALLENGE YOU MENTALLY AND PHYSICALLY.** ” His grin turns dark and foreboding. “ **YOU DIDN’T REALLY THINK THINGS WOULD BE THIS SIMPLE DID YOU?** ”

Stinkfly and Ochaco scowl, determined to win.

All Might’s grin widens, smugly. “ **COME NOW.** **CATCH ME IF YOU CAN.** ”

Without waiting he leaps up and away taking off in a run.

“After him!!” Stinkfly and Ochaco fly off after him, he may be moving fast but he’s definitely not moving at full speed, probably to give the students an actual fighting chance.

“Dibs!” shouts Ochaco as she races forward.

“Hey!”

Before he gets too far away, Ochaco fires off a pair of Ryou Spheres towards her mentor.

All Might however twirls his body up into the air, allowing the spheres to fly past. “ **HAHA! I’M LOVING THIS NEW TRICK.”** The moment his feet hit the ground he pivots, changing directions. **“BUT TRY SOMETHING ELSE.** ”

Ochaco scowls, shaking her fists in a tantrum.

“My turn!!” Stinkfly races past her, with his insect wings giving their all he’s soon flying right above the fleeing target. “Special Move: NICKELODEON!!!”

With all four of his eyestalks, Stinkfly unleashes a wave of sticky green slime that comes crashing down on the unexpecting hero.

The wave sloshes and drenches All Might, who tries to keep running forward, but he quickly finds himself glued in place. “ **OH, MY.”**

Stinkfly dive bombs. “Hehe guess you found yourself in a pretty sticky situation. Huh, All Might?”

“ **YOU THINK SO?** ” With his wide grin remaining steadfast, All Might begins to spin and spin, faster and faster like a top, bits of slime break away, splashing off of him. And then he comes to a stop, and with one last flex of his bulging muscles, the slime is ripped away, freeing him. “ **OH, MY I THINK THAT SLIME DID WONDERS FOR MY COMPLECTION. HAHAHA!** ” He takes off in a full sprint just as Stinkfly slams into the ground.

Ochaco swoops down and nearly rams into Stinkfly’s head, as if to taunt him. Stinkfly scowls before continuing with the pursuit.

The two cadets compete for first place, it’s a seesaw of one gaining the lead only for the other to take it back. Soon they’re both just a few feet away from claiming victory, just one touch to All Might’s back and one of them will be the winner. They're so close, nothing could possibly get in the way now.

*TWIP!!!*

A string of tape zips across their path and BLAM Stinkfly and Ochaco are clotheslined by the surprisingly strong adhesive.

“Ahh!” Ochaco screams, her Gyro-Disc spinning her around in the air until she crashes down somewhere out of sight.

As for Stinkfly, well, he ended up slamming hard into the ground. “Ow…” 

“Yeah!” With tape lashed out of his elbow, Sero swings by with a smug grin.

“Sero!” Stinkfly shakes his fist at his classmate.

On cue a string of tape fires down and tangles itself around Stinkfly’s wings. “My wings!!”

Sero’s grin widens as he swings away. “Haha! That’s payback for the Sports Festival, Midoriya!”

As Stinkfly tries to free himself, Mina slides on by. “Thanks for leading that way guys!”

Ojiro bounces by on his tail, too. “Yeah, easy to follow you when you smell like a dumpster.”

“I don’t smell that bad!!” shouts Stinkfly. “I’m just strong odored.”

He’s wasting time as Tenya also races by, his Engines roaring. “Hurry it up, Midoriya!!”

Ochaco gets up and takes off, which goes unnoticed by the Lepidopterran.

“Wait for me!” cries the morphed Izuku as he struggles to free himself from his sticky binds.

Much to his surprise, Ochaco’s very distinct voice calls out to him from the side. “Need some help?”

Stinkfly nods. “Uraraka? Yeah, that would be- …” He goes quiet, his eyes glazing over, as if some sort of trance has come over him.

A new arrival approaches, a superior smirk forming on their face.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“I still got a chance to win this!” shouts a confident Sero as he fires out a string of tape, aimed right for All Might.

But of course the Symbol of Peace will not be caught so easily, as he speeds up, away from the tape.

With his chance missed, Mina takes her shot and pounces. “Ah ha!!”

While in a full-on sprint All Might falls to his knees, sliding across the ground while Mina soars right over him.

She crashes into a pile of pipes. “Dang it!”

Near the end of the pack Ojiro and Tenya race side by side.

The tailed-boy smiles impressed by All Might’s skill. “He’s too quick.”

Tenya has no reason to disagree. “As to be expected of the Number One pro.”

Flying overhead of them both, Ochaco frowns in contemplation. ‘ _The Number One Hero._ ’ The impossible goal she’s now chasing. It’s almost fitting, that’s now her goal and right now she’s literally chasing after the one that holds that very title. But she knows she can do this, she has to.

Before she can speed up, a foul odor breezes past her nose, making her gag.

And it seems she’s not the only one that’s noticed the stench.

“Guh?!” cries Sero. “Midoriya’s back already?”

Ochaco spins around and sure enough there’s Deku, flying quickly and all too soon he speeds right past her like a blur. “Get back here, Deku!”

There’s no reply, no retort, not even a lackluster pun in response. Ochaco’s eyes narrow at Stinkfly’s speeding form, and that’s when she notices something interesting. ‘ _Wait, is that._ ’

Stinkfly races past the rest of his classmates, taking the lead. All Might briefly takes a look, and not only does he see the giant bug but a thin cloth whipping towards him.

All Might side steps allowing the cloth to brush past, giving him a chance to examine it. ‘ ** _WHY THAT’S-_** ’ He peers back to his pursuer one more time. ‘ ** _YOUNG SHINO’S!!_** ’

Hitoshi Shinso is seated atop Stinkfly’s back, like a dark crusader atop a flying beast; a flying beast with a dazed and unfocused look in its eyes.

While still running, Mina whines with envy. “That’s so not fair!!”

Sero scowls at Shinso. “I’m not going to let you steal this win!” He fires a lash of tape not at All Might, but towards the Brainwasher.

Without batting an eye Shinso counters by whipping his Binding Cloth at the tape, knocking it away. “Midoriya, slime him!”

At his master’s whim, Stinkfly’s eyes swing around and fire a barrage of slime at Sero. Sero tries to dodge the slime balls, but one gets lucky, striking his arm, flinging him back and sticking him to a nearby wall. “Guh, gross!”

Shinso smirks, as he speeds away on his insect-like Yoshi. 

Ochaco races overhead. ‘ _If I can hit Deku then I can break Shinso’s Brainwashing!_ ’ She dives down, her fist ready to snap Deku out of his trance. 

Before she can get closer Shinso throws his capture weapon out, it wraps around her arm, and with a mighty pull he swings her away, slamming her against a massive pipeline.

The tranced Stinkfly comes to a stop, hovering in place as Shinso glares down at Ochaco. “Like I said before, I’m desperate to catch up.” He grips his Binding Cloth. “So I’ll do what I must to win this.”

Ochaco grimaces in pain, before throwing up a challenging smirk. “So, will I.”

Shinso nods, and with a quick command Stinkfly races off, leaving her behind.

While they chatted away, both Ojiro and Tenya managed to gain the lead, both right on All Might’s tail.

Soon they can hear the buzz of Stinkfly’s wings growing closer and closer.

Ojiro leaps forward. “Dang, they’re catching up!”

“We better end this quickly.” responds Tenya before speeding up.

“Hey guys wait for me!” Mina’s voice calls out from behind them. “Don’t leave me behind! Just what kind of Class Rep. would leave someone behind?”

That instantly gets to Tenya, he shall never dishonor his position, and as such he wheels around, his hand chopping in the air. “Never fear I shall-...” He stops dead in his tracks, his eyes glazing over as Shinso’s Brainwashing takes hold.

Ojiro gasps as he continues to leap forward. “Iida?!”

Mina’s voice goes dark and slowly transfers. “Go ahead Class Rep.” Mina’s voice soon becomes static in nature before turning into a more reserved tone of voice. “Stop that monkey.”

A Brainwashed Tenya speeds after Ojiro, catching up to him in no time, he throws his body into the tailed teen, tackling him. They both go tumbling, slamming down onto the ground.

“Ow! What the heck, man?!” whines the downed Ojiro.

Tenya springs up, his trance broken. “What just happened?!”

Ochaco races past them her eyes narrowing with suspicion. _‘He disguised his voice?! How?!’_ She takes note of the high-tech mask around Shino’s maw. ‘ _That item…it must be some kind of voice changer!!_ ’

Shinso is very grateful for it and to the U.A. Support Course, namely Mei Hatsume, was so eager to make it for him.

As the wind whips in his hair, and his stead buzzes through the air, Shinso takes a moment and grips his Capture Scarf, his eyes trained on his goal. _‘I’ve worked through hell to be here; I gave it all that I got. I’ll show them all that I’m meant to be here, without a doubt.’_ He readies the Binding Cloth as Stinkfly gets him closer and closer to All Might.

As they approach Shinso casts his eyes downward, towards the morphed Midoriya. ‘ _This is just like back then, you helped me out then too._ ’ But unlike last time this is no team event.

And so with his own will to succeed driving him, Shinso leans back and shouts out his final order. “Midoriya! Throw me!!”

Without skipping a beat, Stinkfly wheels his body forward and uses his tail as a catapult to throw Shinso forward. Shinso leaps forward, the Binding Cloth in hand, and his eyes trained on All Might as he soars through the air.

All Might turns around just in time to witness the cloth being whipped towards him.

Soon the others catch up, but they all come to a screeching halt at the sight before them.

All Might stands stock stile, his hands on his hips and his wide grin ever present, while the Capture Scarf is wrapped around his head and a much smaller Shinso dangles off the side. In all it looks rather ridiculous, but even so the results are clear.

“ **AND IT’S OVER!!** ”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

A brief moment later, All Might goes ahead and leads everyone to a platform, overlooking Field Gamma. In his hands he presents a ceremonial banner that reads “Thanks for saving/capturing me.”

All Might’s smile widens with pride as he presents it. “ **THANKS, HERO! AND CONGRATULATIONS!** ”

Shinso actually goes ahead and dons the ridiculous banner, and one could almost see bright celebratory lights emitting around him, but it’s quite hard to gauge his reaction; his mask covering the hidden smile underneath.

Ochaco can see it, however, not even remotely upset that she failed the training.

At least she can walk away in good spirits, because the others sure aren’t.

Ojiro is exhausted after hauling ass the whole time. 

Mina is stomping her foot, throwing a fit over the loss. “Huh, Darn it!”

And Sero’s hunched over, out of breath and frustrated. “I really thought I had this one.”

Meanwhile, Tenya is seeing to a downtrodden Izuku. “Midoriya. Uh, you’re okay, right?”

Izuku has fallen to his knees, his head hanging low in shame of the loss. “I…came in last…” His teary eyes peer up towards the winner. “You left me behind…Shinso…”

After throwing Shinso, the others passed him up as he stopped racing all together, without Shinso’s command he had no initiative to compete, and thus he came in dead last as a result.

Shinso throws the greenette a smirk. “Not my fault you fell for a **logical ruse**.” 

Izuku whimpers in defeat as they all line up to be addressed by the pro hero.

Ochaco smiles at Shinso. ‘ _He really was trained by Aizawa wasn’t he?_ ’ She observes everyone else, taking note at just how hard they all competed. ‘ _I almost won too, though. But almost isn’t good enough. I may have better control over my Quirks, but I still need to get better. It’s like Gran Torino said I still have a lot to learn._ ’

All Might grins down at them. “ **YOUNG SHINSO MAY HAVE COME IN FIRST, BUT COMPARED TO THE START OF THE YEAR, YOU ALL SHOWED ME SOME INCREDIBLE IMPROVEMENTS. KEEP WORKING AND PREPARING FOR WHATEVER ELSE U.A. WILL THROW AT YOU.** ”

The students stand at attention and respond. “Sir!”

“ **GROUP ONE, LEAVE THE FIELD. YOU’RE UP, GROUP TWO!** ” 

And with their new marching orders, the students make their way off the field.

Ochaco follows at the back of the pack, but before she gets too far All Might intercepts her path, trying his best to look subtle. “ **YOU SURPRISED ME.** **THAT WAS INCREDIBLE.** ” He turns away, before anyone can get suspicious, but he does throw her a big thumbs up. “ **FIND ME AFTER CLASS. WE NEED TO TALK.** ”

Ochaco blinks up at him. “Um… Yes, sir.”

“ **THE TIME HAS COME FOR ME TO TELL YOU THE WHOLE TRUTH.** **ABOUT ME. AND ONE FOR ALL.** ”

Ochaco’s breath hitches, straightening up when she realizes just how important this might actually be.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Soon the training all comes to an end, and the students get ready for the rest of the school day within their respective locker rooms.

Sato throws on a shirt as the others all change into their uniforms as well. “Ah, that was some tough training today, huh?”

Yuga Aoyama wipes away the sweat from his brow. “It’s the first class in a while that had me glistening.”

Kirishima removes one of his costume’s arm guards. “Man, I really gotta work on my mobility.”

“You could also compensate by improving other skills.” suggests Tokoyami as he puts on his tie.

Kaminari smiles sheepishly. “Still wish I could use my Quirk for speed.” He looks towards the others. “I’m jealous of guys like you and Sero.”

Sero raises an eyebrow. “Jealous of me? Well I’m jealous of him.” He casts a stink eye over at Midoriya.

Izuku stops removing his Omni-Shield, blinking at Sero. “What me?”

“Yes, you.” Sero’s glare intensifies. “Just what was with that giant bug, thing?” He pinches his nose as if he can still smell it. “And why did you smell like a dumpster fire?”

Izuku lights up, despite the insult. “I call that transformation, Stinkfly. Cool, huh?” He sure thinks so.

“Cool is not the word I would use.”

“What?! But why not? Sure the smell is pretty bad but Stinkfly can fly, he’s got a stinger that can tear through metal, oh and he spits out a sticky slime!” Izuku grips his Omnitrix and begins dialing away. “Here I’ll show you.”

Instantly Ojiro, Sero, and Tenya jump in and grab Izuku’s arms, restraining him. “NO!!!”

Tenya looks him right in the eye as they keep his arms far apart. “I’m sorry Midoriya, but…” His completion turns green. “I can’t bare to stomach that stench.” A single tear leaks out of his eye. “Don’t let the others suffer a similar fate.”

“You guys are so mean!!”

“Hey now, lay off the guy.” defends Kirishima. “Besides he didn’t even win. Just remember a non-speedster actually won the first race after all.”

Kaminari grins. “Oh, yeah.”

And they all look over towards said winner, Shinso.

Sato throws the Brainwasher a thumbs up. “What you did was mind blowing.”

Tokoyami approaches the new addition as well. “Indeed, you were able to compete with the likes of Midoriya and Uraraka, most impressive.” Especially when you consider that they both ranked in the top three of the Sports Festival. 

Shinso is…taken back, to put it lightly. This is odd for him, usually others would avoid or ridicule him for his Quirk but…these Class 1-A guys-no, his new classmates seem genuinely open to him already. It almost seems too good to be true.

Kirishima approaches, throwing Shinso a wide shark-toothed grin, “I know you’re not one for friends, but let’s try and get along all the same!” He offers his hand in greeting. “It’s a pleasure to have ya around!”

“Uh, thanks for having me…” Shinso hesitantly takes Kirishima's hand, shaking it.

Kaminari leans in, smirking up at Shinso as he inspects him. “You’ve got the face of a popular guy. I bet you’re popular with the ladies, yea? Trust me I can tell.”

“Uh, thanks…”

Others soon join in, wanting to get to know their new classmate even more.

Ojiro’s tail wags behind him. “Seriously, you’re good with that capture scarf, too.”

Sero nods. “Did Aizawa have one lying around or did you ask for it?”

Kirishima grins. “You’re Quirk is so cool! You can like stop a robbery with one word.”

Tokoyami nods. “A dangerous yet formidable Quirk to be sure.”

Aoyama twinkles. “You’re not very flashy, but you’re certainly glamorous in your own right.”

Shinso backs away, unsure of all the attention, but…a small smile slowly creeps on his face. As if he’s starting to accept the fact that these people, his classmates aren’t going to cast him off just because of his Quirk.

Izuku watches on from the side, a smile on his face. He’s honestly glad for Shinso, not just for making it into the Hero Course but for the opportunity to meet others that won’t reject him. “Hey, Shinso.”

Shinso turns his attention to Izuku. 

“How’d you disguise your voice like you did?”

The others quiet down, clearly, they all want to know too. Even Shoto and Bakugou stop what they’re doing to listen in.

Shinso goes ahead and provides an answer, figuring they’ll just bother him until they get it anyway. “My voice changer.” He picks up his mask.

“Artificial Vocal Cords: “Persona Code” a mask with the ability to change the sound of one’s voice.” He opens up the mask, showing them all the inside. “When my voice goes into the mic and amplifier it loses its effectiveness.” Something about it becoming an electrical signal or something like that. “I can use it to change how my voice sounds and resonates in a number of different ways, then directly emit the sound from the mask.”

Izuku cups his chin as his eyes sparkle in amazement. “So it really is a voice changer?!”

Kaminari is just as excited. “That’s so cool!” A brilliant idea pops into his head. “Wait, so you can mimic anyone’s voice with that?”

Shinso hesitantly nods his head. “Yeah.”

Kaminari grins as he leans in and whispers something into Shinso’s ear. After asking his question, Kaminari backs off and awaits Shinso’s answer.

“Um, sure?” Shinso seems unsure as he puts on his Persona Cords.

He plays around with the dials, adjusting it, until he gets it to where he wants it. He coughs, clearing his throat before addressing the others. And then he shoots up, and All Might’s voice rings out. “ **I AM HERE!!** ”

The entire locker room is stone quiet, surprised and put off by the sudden impression.

But Kaminari, Kirishima, and Sero can't hold back, they burst into fits of laughter. “Hahahahaha!!”

Shinso continues, adjusting the Persona Cords again until his voice sounds like Ochaco’s “Do your best!”

More of them begin to break down into fits of laughter.

Shinso poses for this one. “Look at how I sparkle!!”

Shinso grips his bicep. “So, manly!!”

He leans his head to the side, and glares at them. “Die! Die! Die!”

Now that does it, nearly the entire locker room breaks into laughter. All but Bakugou who’s more than irked with Shinso’s antics.

Tenya rushes in, trying to reign them in before a teacher is called in. “Everyone please, collect yourselves immediately!”

“Class 1-A!!” Iida’s voice yells out from Shinso’s Persona Cords, as he chops his own hands in the air to mimic the Class Rep. “SHUT UP!!! And sit your asses down immediately!!”

The entire locker room loses its shit. “HAHAHAHAHA!!”

Tenya is stunned, he never imagined he’d hear his own voice cuss out such vile words.

Even Izuku can’t hold back a snicker.

“Hey, Midoriya!” Izuku looks over towards Mineta who’s waving him over towards the wall, where a lone poster is hanging. “You won’t believe what I just found. The jackpot!” Mineta points to the poster where a corner is hanging off, behind the corner there is a little hole drilled into the wall. “Someone Shawshanked a hole in this wall!” Streams of hot air puff out of Mineta’s nose as an excited blush grows on his face, and he sweats in excitement. “A previous generation has given us a gift.”

The others overhear and many of them are shocked, as they all realize just what Mineta is suggesting.

“You know what’s next door, right?” Mineta says what they’re all thinking. “This looks into the girls’ locker room!”

“Don’t even think about it!” scolds Tenya. “Peeping on them like that would be criminal.”

Mineta grips the poster, with lust in his eyes. “Then you’ll have to throw me in solitary confinement, ‘cuz you can’t stop me!” he rips away the poster like a Band-Aid. He quickly leans in like a desperate deviant that lacks any and all shame. “I wanna see Yaoyorozu’s curves. Ashido’s slender waist.” He’s getting closer, so close that he can see the light on the other side. “Hagakure’s floating underwear. Uraraka’s super-fine body. Asui’s boobies!!”

Before Mineta can actually see a thing, Shinso, as calmly as he can, asks him something. “And Jiro?”

Mineta waves it off. “Who cares I-...” He goes dead silent, his eyes glazing over; it appears Shinso’s Brainwashing truly is heroic since it stopped Mineta from seeing a thing.

Shinso approaches Mineta, leaning into his ear. “Mineta grab your things and go to class.”

The hypnotized Mineta nods his head slowly before he wobbles his way to his locker like a zombie.

All the boys share the same thought. ‘ _Way to go Shinso…_ ’

Izuku watches on in relief as Mineta grabs his stuff before leaving. “We should probably let the girls know about that hole, huh?”

Shinso peers at Izuku before responding. “Probably…” 

By the end of the school day, word had traveled around the entire school about Shinso’s heroic deed. Earning him the respect of not just Class 1-A’s girls but the rest of the school’s as well. And so Class 1-A’s final member has effectively been recognized as a true hero in the making.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

*DING DONG! DING DONG! DING DONG! DING DONG!*

“What a day.” Izuku pulls up on his backpack as he approaches Ochaco’s desk. “You heading home too?”

Ochaco shakes her head as she packs away the last of her textbooks. “No, not yet. I got to talk to one of our teachers first.”

“Oh, is that so.”

“Yeah.” Ochaco pauses and briefly considers bringing Deku along. Gran Torino did say it was ultimately her decision if she wants to tell anyone. But maybe she should hold off on it for now, at least until after she hears what All Might has to say first.

Izuku waves as he makes his way to the exit. “Well I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

“Yeah, have a good night.”

“I will.” Izuku’s grin widens. “Mom says there’s a surprise for us tonight.”

“Oh, really what is it?”

“Don’t know yet. But she seemed awfully excited about it.”

“Well I hope it’s something nice.”

“Yeah, me too.” With one final wave he takes his leave. “Good night.”

“Night.”

Ochaco takes her time at her desk, waving goodbye to her other friends and classmates as they all depart for their homes. And so with most of the school empty she takes her leave and heads over to the teacher’s lounge.

The hallways are empty for the most part, only the glow of the setting sun accompanies her to her destination.

When she arrives, she gives the large door a knock. “It’s me, All Might.”

She slides the door open, ready to greet her mentor with a smile, but it becomes very clear to her that this isn’t exactly a social call. The air in the room is, for lack of a better word, intense and somber.

Toshinori is silent, his eyes cast downward, the setting sun casting from the window casts a dark shadow over his eyes giving him an even more intense aura. “Come have a seat.” He sounds subdued, unlike his usual boisterous self.

Ochaco hesitates before sliding the door closed. _‘He seems…off.’_ She quietly takes her seat across from Toshinori.

“You went through a lot recently.” starts the weakened Number One Hero. “I’m sorry I wasn’t around to help you out.”

Ochaco waves it off. “Oh, no. Don’t apologize,” She grabs her bicep and offers up a sheepish grin. “I’m pretty capable you know.”

Toshinori doesn’t even chuckle, remaining subsided and somber. “Yeah, I know.”

Ochaco’s grin falls away, she nervously twiddles her fingers before deciding that they should probably get the conversation rolling. “So, um, One For All…?” He did bring it up earlier.

Toshinori nods. “Tell me, did the Hero Killer ever swallow your blood during the attack?”

“Um, no.” Ochaco sighs. “Thankfully.” Stain’s Quirk could have been a nightmare to deal with if he did manage to get her blood. So she made sure to avoid that possibility at all costs. “Is that what you wanted to talk about?”

“Do you remember how I gave my power to you?” He holds his hand up as if holding a piece of nonexistent hair. “What I said that day?”

“... Um…” Ochaco hesitates before nervously looking Toshinori dead in the eye and states with full seriousness. “Eat this?”

“No! Not that part.” But that’s sort-of on him, he kinda set that up for her, didn’t he? “I said the key was in my DNA. That’s why you had to swallow the hair.”

The realization slowly dawns on Ochaco forcing her to freak out. “Woah, woah, woah!! Are you saying the Hero Killer could have stolen One For All then?!” Holy shit!! Good thing she avoided his Bloodcurdle’s effects.

“No, he couldn't.” states Toshinori in full confidence. “I just thought you might be worried about that, but… I see it didn’t cross your mind.” Anyway he should continue on with his explanation. “One For All can only be given to another person if you, the bearer, intend to pass it along. It’s not just something that can just be taken by force. Although it can be transferred by force.”

“Kinda of like when a schoolgirl forces her Valentine’s Day chocolates onto her crush.”

“What kind of example is that?!” snaps Ochaco.

Toshinori ignores her outburst and moves on. “The quirk you now have is unique, and you should know its origin.” He looks her in the eye, ensuring her full attention. “One For All was derived from another odd Quirk, a power that’s very old.”

The rosy-cheeked girl is a bit lost here. “It was different? How?”

“The name of that Quirk is “All For One.” It allowed its user to take Quirks from others. Then the user could keep the Quirks for himself or give them to someone else.”

Ochaco gasps. “What? There was someone that could…steal powers?”

“This was back when Quirks were just starting to show up. Before society had figured out how to deal with the newly powered among them.” Those were harsher times. “When Quirks first appeared, suddenly, it was impossible to say what it meant to be a “normal” person.”

“Laws and human rights were hotly debated.” And fought over. “Civilization's progress stalled. Society decayed.”

His successor understands, because of this collapse technology was never truly able to progress; which is why flip phones, and such are still around. Heck, the one time she talked about this to Deku he stated that there are some theorists who hypothesized that if society never stalled then they would already be traveling into space like their alien friends.

Toshinori continues. “During that chaotic period of change, there was one person who managed to rally many people together. He went by the name of his power, All For One.” Just saying that name brings a horrid taste to his mouth. “He stole Quirks from others. And then, with his overwhelming abilities, he spread his influence across the country. He manipulated people to serve his purposes and committed evil acts with little resistance. In the blink of an eye, he became the leader of villains and ruled over Japan.”

“But…those are just rumors, aren’t they?” Local myths and legends about that time period, none of it can be true; it’s never even been brought up in school before. “It’s not even in our textbooks.”

“Because it’s the kind of shameful history people would rather ignore.” answers the skeletal hero. “Anyway, when a person gains true power, they enjoy showing it off to others.”

“But…what about One For All?”

Toshinori’s sapphire eyes stare into the girl’s very soul, shaking her to her core. “I said that All For One could give Quirks to others, remember? He made people trust him or submit to his will by altering their abilities. But apparently, there were many poor souls who couldn’t bear the burden of the Quirks they were given.” He means that literally. “They became like mindless living dolls, incapable of speaking.” He breathes heavily before revealing a horrid truth. “Just like the Nomus are.”

Ochaco gasps, stunned.

“Meanwhile, some Quirks actually evolved as they were passed on. Some even combined with other power sets.” Now this where she really needs to pay attention. “This evil man had a Quirkless younger brother. He was small and sickly, but he had a strong sense of justice. They couldn’t have been more different.” Like day and night, like an angel and a demon, they were far from similar. “It pained the brother to see All For One’s deeds, so he kept resisting him. And then, All For One transferred a Quirk to his sibling, one that would allow him to stockpile power. We don’t know if it was a gift, he was giving his brother, or if he just wanted to force him to submit.”

It’s starting to click together for Ochaco.

“Even though everyone thought he was Quirkless turns out, the brother did have a Quirk. Though even he hadn’t realized this to be the case. He had a useless power that only allowed him to pass on Quirks.” Toshinori throws hands out in dramatic fashion. “And so, the stockpiling ability merged with the younger brother’s power, and that is how One For All came to be.”

Ochaco’s at a complete loss for words, losing her breath in the process.

Toshinori puts arms down, as his tale comes to an end. “I’ve always found it ironic, but justice so often spawns from evil.”

“Woah! Woah! Woah! Wait a minute now!” interrupts the very flustered and shocked Ochaco. “I get how One For All came to be, but…this evil guy has to be like long dead by now, right?” So why is he being brought up?

“One who steals Quirks has no limits. Anything’s possible.” Just take Young Midoriya’s One Man Army for example. “There are Quirks that halt aging. He probably has something like that.” Toshinori frowns, somberly. “The Symbol of Evil seemed pretty much immortal. With the state of the world at the time and the huge difference in their combat abilities, the younger brother decided to entrust this new Quirk to future generations. Even though he couldn’t defeat All For One, he hoped One For All would continue to grow in power, until it was strong enough to stop his older brother. Eventually, it was my turn, and I managed to defeat All For One!” Toshinori can still remember it, the man’s skull cracking between his fingers and the piercing pain as his stomach was impaled. “At least, that's what I thought. But he survived and is now back in action as the brain behind the League of Villains.”

This is a lot to process for the young woman, her head swirling with the details, trying to make sense of them.

Toshinori takes a moment to get up from his seat, walking over to the windows allowing the setting sun to bathe him in its light. “So, now you know. The entire purpose of One For All is to defeat All For One. As its holder, you may one day have to fight against this great evil yourself. Because I failed.”

Ochaco frowns with worry. _‘That’s…a lot to take in for sure.’_ And it seems almost like an impossible task, one that has just been thrusted upon her without warning, but even so, she sure can rise to the occasion. _‘but…’_

“I know you didn’t expect this, but-”

“You can count on me!”

Toshinori’s eyes widen in surprise.

Ochaco is up and her feet, a glint of determination flickers in her eyes. “You trusted me with your power for a reason. I wanna save everyone that I can and bring smiles everywhere. If this is what it takes then I'm willing, All Might! As long as you’re with me then I know we can do it!”

Toshinori is stunned to say the least not because of her enthusiasm and determination, but due to her naivety. ‘ _Come on. Tell her. She needs to know._ ’ Oh, God, he can’t, he can’t bring himself to do it.

He turns away, cupping his mouth as if his own body wants to stop him from speaking, tears threaten to leak out as his whole-body shakes. _‘That’s not how it’ll happen. Our futures are… she won’t understand.’_ He stops shivering, pulling hand away, but even so he can't bear to look at her right now, not as how he is right now. “Thank you. Young Uraraka, I trust you full heartedly.” After taking a moment to calm himself, he turns and looks her in the eye. As he does so, he recalls his conversation with his own mentor on how he should trust his student’s choices. “One For All is yours now and with it the responsibility to use it wisely.” He tries his best to offer up the most confident and kindest smile that he can. “You’re a kind and dedicated young woman and I know whatever you may decide. I’m sure I’ll be proud.”

Ochaco’s face lights up with pride, standing straighter as her eyes glisten in delight. She gives her mentor a curt nod, silently vowing to meet his standards.

With nothing else to say between them, Toshinori sends her on her way. She bows at him in respect before turning right around and strolling away down the hallway.

Toshinori watches her off, his smile fading and becoming regretfully somber. _‘I’m sorry, Young Uraraka. But… by the time you face him, I won’t be by your side anymore.’_

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Izuku will you help me set up the table?!”

“Sure, Mom!”

Izuku jumps out of his room, wearing a plain shirt and shorts, hurrying to the kitchen where Inko Midoriya is preparing dinner over the stove. And judging by the assortment of smells and pots on the stove she’s making quite the delicious feast.

He inhales the delicious fragrance. “Smells wonderful.”

Inko chuckles. “Thank you.”

Izuku goes ahead and grabs two plates from out of the counter.

“No, actually sweetie can you grab a third plate. We’re expecting company today.”

Izuku is surprised but thinks nothing of it as he goes ahead and grabs a third plate. “Really? Who is it?”

Inko’s face lights up in excitement. “Oh, you’ll find out soon enough.”

Izuku throws her a suspicious look before shrugging it off. He figures Mitsuki Bakugou might be stopping by or something, his Mom and her have been friends for like ever. And it has been awhile since she’s been by so Inko’s excitement is justified.

Izuku goes ahead and sets up the rest of the dinner table. “So, how was your day?”

“Oh, it was fine.” Inko’s face turns from cheery to serious as she deadpans. “Expect I was constantly wondering if my son was throwing himself into danger again.”

Izuku chuckles nervously as he sweatdrops. Yeah, so, after returning home he was of course greeted by a bone crushing hug, followed by an hour-long rant of a very concerned and loving mother. Inko was so terrified when she found out her baby boy fought the big bad Hero Killer; she was both proud but mostly worried for him. Checking him over for injuries even though he had spent time in a hospital.

But when everything's said and done, Izuku just can’t bring himself to taunt back. She’s his mother, his wonderful caring and supportive mother. The parent that’s always been there for him through thick and thin, so there’s no way he’d ever hurt her intentionally. 

Inko lets out an exhausted sigh. “Oh, I need to stop stressing so much. It’s not good for my health.”

“Mom.”

Inko looks to her smiling son as he flashes her the most comforting smile that he can.

“Thanks for caring about me so much, but I can handle myself, okay?”

Inko smiles, a light tear leaking from her eye. “I know son.” She sniffs and with that composes herself as she gets right back to cooking like nothing’s happened. “Besides with that weird Quirk of yours I should have more faith in you.”

Izuku laughs nervously. “Yeah…my Quirk.” Okay, lying to her is never going to get easier, is it? 

*Knock! Knock! Knock!*

Inko instantly lights up. “Oh, my goodness.” She wipes her hands on her apron, as she grins over at her son. “Izuku, would you be a dear and get the door?”

Izuku doesn’t even think twice about it “Sure, no problem.”

As Izuku makes his way to the door, he is oblivious to his mother sneaking around the corner behind him with her phone out and a cheery smile plastered to her face.

*Knock! Knock! Knock!*

“I’m coming!” calls Izuku just before he throws the door open. “Hi Mrs. Bak-...” Izuku’s voice trails away, he was honestly expecting Mitsuki not this strange and unfamiliar man at their doorstep.

Izuku’s brain takes a pause as he briefly takes in the newcomer.

The man is tall and slender with a lean face, his chin covered in stubble, and his cheeks are lined with freckles, while a mop of messy dark hair lays atop his head. He’s wearing a marron button down shirt with rolled up sleeves, with dark pants, and worn leather shoes.

The man seems just as taken back as Izuku is, examining the boy in the exact same way. The man let’s out an impressed sigh as a proud smirk forms on his face.

Izuku continues to blink up at the stranger, totally confused and embarrassed. “O-Oh, I-I’m sorry I was expecting someone else.”

The man just continues to stand there, smiling at him, oblivious to Izuku’s discomfort.

Izuku whimpers with nervousness. "Um, sir…?”

The man chuckles lightly. “Wow, just wow.” His voice is…familiar, almost comforting like when something that was lost for so many years had just been found.

Izuku’s nose scrunches up at the smell of burning wood, emanating from the man’s breath. “I’m sorry?”

The man continues to take in all of Izuku, like he’s something he ever wants to forget. “You’re…so big.”

Okay this is becoming really uncomfortable. “Sir, I’m sorry, but…” How can he say this without seeming rude? “Who are you?”

The man seems taken back by the question, almost as if he was hurt by it. His expression drops becoming sad yet accepting like he should have expected this. The man peers back up at the confused boy, offering up a kind smile. “Izuku…”

There it is again, that familiar and somehow comforting and long missed voice. But why?

The man gestures to himself, his smile tired and happy all at once. “It’s me.”

Izuku continues to stare up at him in confusion, until his eyes eventually take note of the man’s. Izuku’s eyes trail up towards the man’s face and he gasps in surprise as his eyes meet the man’s. Staring back at him are his own eyes, a pair of emerald eyes are staring right back at him!

Wait, green eyes, messy hair, freckles, and that familiar voice… Oh, god.

Hisashi Midoriya’s grin widens when he notices the realization stricken on Izuku’s face. “That’s right. I’m finally home…son.” 

Izuku’s brain is fried, unable to process a thing as his wide eyes remain frozen on his father. But really how should he respond? Hm, well in a situation like this there’s only one right course of action for him.

“WHAT THE F-!?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that was Ch.37 The Return, I really hope it was worthy for this story’s One Year Anniversary. Do you think it was? What are your thoughts about this chapter?
> 
> *IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT*
> 
> Reminder that there will be a very important Announcement for everyone concerning the future of this story. I will actually be posting the Announcement as a separate post tomorrow so be on the lookout for it. In the Announcement, I hope to address a great deal of things such as future aliens, potential story arcs, Izuku and All Might, and so much more. So be sure to check it out.
> 
> *That’s right, Hitoshi Shinso has officially joined Class 1-A. I’ve actually been dropping hints about him joining since his introduction and I’m a bit surprised no one picked up on it.
> 
> *Also, goodbye Gang Orca you will be missed. Seriously I never thought everyone would have such a great reaction to him and I’m so glad you all did. But unfortunately it is time to say goodbye to make room for more characters. But I got the feeling that Gang Orca and his sidekicks will make future appearances.
> 
> *But hello Hisashi Midoriya! There you guys have it Izuku’s father has officially entered the cast. And you can definitely say his build up has been anticipated for literally a year from today! I was actually going to hint at his arrival way sooner (during the start of the internship arc), but then that would just make you guys antsy, so I held back on hinting to his return. Anyway I’m glad he’s here, because I can guarantee his presence will make things a bit more interesting.


	39. Special Announcements

Below you will find several announcements: the Important Announcement, Special Announcements, and more.

**Important Announcement:**

Alright everyone this is the announcement I need to make. **I am not going to post for an extended period of time.** Calm down, I am not abandoning this story, not after coming so far. In fact this break in posting chapters will benefit this story overall.

For you see when I was first developing this story, I spent months creating a very detailed and organized outline which has allowed me to update (for the most part) only 1-2 weeks apart. Because everything was already planned out, however the further I got in my outline the less detailed it became. Which is a real problem now because the story is really gearing up to some major events and as such if I go in and try to wing it, it will only end up becoming a horribly confusing mess.

Another issue is that this story is not exactly how I thought it would be or I need time to consider certain elements a bit more. For example, I really need to think about how Ochaco will tell Deku about OFA, Izuku and All Might’s relationship or lack thereof, Bakugou’s character development, Yaoyorozu and the crystal, Vilgax and the League of Villains, and so much more. So I am going to take this time to **rework my outline** from this point onto the current manga arc (at time of this post: the War Arc).

So until I have a fully detailed outline, I will not be posting any chapters until then. When will that be? I’m not sure. I was hoping to at least give you guys another chapter on Christmas, but I will actually be off the grid during the Holidays so I can’t guarantee that I will even have access to the internet. However, my editors and I have already come up with small **Omakis** and short stories to keep you all satisfied (and remind you that this story isn’t abandoned) until my next real chapter post.

In all I hope to be back either by the end of December or the end of January. Again it all depends on how my progress goes. I know this is probably disappointing for most of you to hear, but I promise that this is to the story’s benefit. And hey you got 37 chapters (not including the Omnitrix Documentary) to keep you company until my glorious return!

So until next time stay safe out there and Happy Holidays.

**Special Announcements:**

So I want to use this section to address a few things with you guys. Some will make your day and others…not so much.

I am constantly being asked about which aliens Izuku will get as well as the inclusion of Ultimate Aliens, OC aliens, and more. Well I finally have a real answer for you all. I have decided that I will only be sticking to the main Ben Ten aliens. What does that mean? Well, I will only be including **ALL ALIENS** Ben turns into from the **original series** , **Alien Force** , **Ultimate Alien** , and **Omniverse**. However “technically cannon” aliens like Snakepit, Shark Tanque, and the such will NOT be included as well as OC aliens will NOT be included. Why? Because there are already over 80 main series aliens to use and adding all of those others will only make writing that much more stressful. I want to give each alien as much screen time as I can, so I don’t want to include OC aliens. Another thing, **NOTHING** from the **rebooted Ben Ten series** will be included: no aliens, no characters, no events, no nothing. I tried to watch the series, but it wasn’t for me and thus I will not be including anything from it. Finally, the topic of Ultimate Aliens, sorry but they are getting the axe as well. So, there will be **NO** **Ultimate Aliens** appearing in this story. To be clear I am **NOT** trying to fulfill a **Power Fantasy,** so I was always against the Ultimate Aliens from appearing from the very start. Are they cool, heck yeah, but I don’t want them. I like the power struggle, for characters to work for their victories, and Ultimate Aliens are an easy way for Izuku to win all the time without fail. So they will not be included. Sorry, I know this is probably more sad news for you all, but I feel like it’s for the best. Now, keep in mind this could all possibly change down the line. If by chance I manage to introduce all the main series aliens then Ultimate Aliens and OC aliens will be considered, but until then they are not going to happen. Just so you are aware from my current outline by the time we get to the current manga arc (War Arc) Izuku will have about 47 or so aliens so it will take some time before I even consider any others. 

Now, let’s have some good news, shall we? For starters I have officially gotten myself an **Illustrator** for this story! YAY!!! This artist is just starting out, but I have complete faith in them; they get to practice and improve their art style and I get free illustrations for this story. They will begin illustrations soon and when they are ready, I will let you all know who this mystery illustrator is. Honestly, I’m really excited and they’ve already got ideas of what they want to draw. Plus I’ve already provided a list of what I would like to see anyway. So there’s something to look forward to in the future.

Also, I get a lot of questions about this and I really need a moment to address everyone about this. I **WILL** be including the My Hero Academia Movies: **Two Heroes** and **Heroes Rising**. I already have big plans for them both (since I began this story) and I am excited to show you what they are. BUT! I will not write them until we get to them in the cannon timeline. So Two Heroes won’t occur until the summer begins in the MHA universe, and Heroes Rising will not occur until Season 5 (yet to be released as of this post) of the anime. Also (I know someone will point it out) a **third MHA movie** has been teased and if it is true, I will incorporate it as well. How? I’m not sure yet, but we’ll see.

Here’s something else that I get a lot of questions about and that I really need to address as well. I **WILL** be including **Professor Paradox** ; however, it will not be in the way that you would expect. Because of how complicated, confusing, and possibly story derailing time travel and dimensional travel can be I will not be including the good professor or any elements of time travel into the story. HOWEVER, I plan on creating a **spin-off story** where Izuku (the Izuku from my story) goes on time traveling and dimension hopping adventures with Professor Paradox and others that fit into that category. Why am I doing this? Well, I am going to treat this spin-off just like the cannon MHA treats its movies. In the sense the events did happen, but they do not affect the overall/main story in any way. So, a spin-off is the best solution, plus it won’t allow my main story to get derailed and veer away from where I actually want it to go. Please, keep in mind that my **main story will always have the priority** over this spin-off story. Furthermore, I will not start this spin-off until after the Provisional License Exam (at least that is my plan for now).

Now before you guys start throwing questions and suggestions my way please be sure to read the next section below addressing that very thing.

**Taking Suggestions:**

Alright, so with an extended break to work on my outline that means this is the best time for you guys (readers) to send me any suggestions you may have for this fanfic. That’s right. I am officially asking you guys for your ideas and suggestions. This is probably going to be the only time I will even consider most of the suggestions, since I have to rework my outline anyway. That means I will be more willing to change things up and add things in, so please share. HOWEVER! I do have some rules you should all consider before submitting a suggestion:

  1. **Not every single suggestion will be used.** I already have so many ideas and plans for the story as it is so things that may conflict against certain subjects may not make it.
  2. The suggestion has to be as **Specific and Detailed** as you can make it. If you write something like “I want Izuku to get Clockwork.” then that suggestion will be **ignored**. I am essentially asking you guys for help so the more detailed your suggestion is the better. For example, “Izuku should get Clockwork from Professor Paradox or Maltruant during the start of the Spin-Off series. This way Izuku can travel across time and space without Professor Paradox’s help.” This is what I am looking for, the more detailed the better. This way, even if I don’t use your suggestion, you might help spark another idea for me. In all it will help create a better story for you all.
  3. If you have suggestions for the Spin-Off series then please share them BUT I should be honest with you all, I already have a boat load of ideas for this spin-off and keep in mind that the main story will always be the priority so not everything you suggest is guaranteed to occur, if at all.
  4. Please **POST** your suggestion to me as **PM** with the subject line **“Suggestions and More,”** this will help me organize everyone’s suggestions better. Otherwise I’m afraid a lot of them will get lost in the process. If you don't have an account, then please **leave a suggestion as a review** under this “Announcement” (so under Ch.39) this way I can just look up this chapter later for the suggestions.



And that’s it that’s all I got to say. I know it was a lot and I hope you all understand where I’m coming from. I also hope this clarifies a lot for you all. Again I am truly sorry to those that I have disappointed, believe me none of these decisions were easy. I really do love the Ultimate Aliens, but they just conflict with how I want to handle this story. As do the other topics that were discussed.

I hope you all will stick around for my eventual return in a month or two. I promise that this break from posting will be worth it. During this break you can feel free to leave a review or reach out to me at any time. Go ahead and ask how my progress is going, this will probably help ensure I am actually working on it. So until we meet again, stay safe and Happy Holidays to you all.

**Story Stats as of One-Year Anniversary (11/26/2020):**

Hits: 13,617 

Kudos: 216 

Comments: 374 

Bookmarks: 76 

Words: 510,001


	40. Omaki: Flight Test

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! How you all holding up? Did ya miss me? Admit, you missed me.
> 
> Here’s a quick Omaki for you all! This is one I (and my “editors”) wanted to do for a while now. I hope you like it, be warned I threw together in a day so it may not be all that. But either way it’s fun and a nice reminder to you all that I have no intention of abandoning this story any time soon.
> 
> *For reference this Omaki takes place after the U.S.J. Attack and before the U.A. Sports Festival.

**[Camera P.O.V.]**

The camera screen flickers on, focusing in on the hanger of the Plumber Base. The camera lens peers around taking in the stakes of large crates and alien devices strewn about the hanger, up above lies a catwalk leading to the higher levels of the Plumber Basse.

^Are you sure about this?^ The camera peers over to Glad-One who is perched atop a nearby crate.

He’s holding the nozzle of a large fire extinguisher that sits just beside his body. 

“No, but I need the practice.” Izuku Midoriya holds up his deactivated hoverboard, shaking his head, he has yet to notice the camera trailing on him. He’s currently wearing his one of a kind hoodie, its black and green hues matching his Omnitrix. “I rather not have to learn to use this thing while on the job.”

^And why not? You’re very good at learning on your feet.^

“Thanks, but I figured this is for the best.”

^ _Yeah, wouldn’t want to hurt, humiliate, or maim yourself in front of a villain._ ^ chimes in Sad-One, the camera shakes as he speaks.

Izuku throws Sad-One an insulted glare before his eyes widen at the sight of the camera he’s holding. “What’s…with the camera?” 

Glad-One goes ahead and explains. ^Oh, it’s for the documentary series!^

Izuku raises an eyebrow. “Documentary what?”

^It’s when we make fun videos for our lovely audience!^

Izuku shouts out in worry. “Audience?!”

^ _Well, if we had an audience that is._ ^

Izuku visibility relaxes. “Oh, so no one’s going to see this?”

^ _Most definitely not. Not like they’d like to._ ^

Izuku frowns dejectedly before shaking head. “Alright, I guess it’s not an issue.” He begins to back away from the camera while gripping his hoverboard. “Let’s do this, right.” Izuku looks over toward Glad-One. “You’re on fire safety, right?”

Glad-One nods his little body. ^Of course! And you can say I’m fired up for this test!^

Izuku chuckles. “Ha, good one.” 

The camera screen shakes. ^ _No it wasn’t._ ^ comments Sad-One.

Izuku goes ahead and moves on. “Well if everyone's ready, then I should get set too.”

Izuku tosses the hoverboard down and it immediately activates, enlarging itself and becoming a hovering platform. It hums as it remains motionless in the air awaiting it’s rider.

“Alright, step 1: get on the board.” With a nervous breath Izuku jumps onto the alien device. “Woah. Woah!!” His arms flail about as the hoverboard wobbles underneath his feet, threatening to launch out from under him.

^Steady Mr. Deku. Steady.^

“I’m trying!”

^ _Clearly not trying enough._ ^

“Not helping!”

^ _I’m not trying to help._ ^

After a moment of wobbling and shaking Izuku gradually gains control, becoming steady. “Phew, that’s it. I think I’m getting it.”

^Yay! I knew you could do it!^

^ _At least one of us did._ ^

“Alright, that was step 1 but now for the real thing.” Izuku takes a nervous breath. “Flying.”

Before he can even attempt it, Glad-One begins to cheer and ooh! ^Ooh, ooh! Can you say it?^

“Say what?”

^You know, say Flight Test Number 1. For the camera, for our documentary.^

“Um, okay I guess.” Izuku goes ahead and goes along with it, looking directly at the camera while still trying to maintain his balance. “Um, this is Hoverboard Flight Test Number 1.”

^Thank you!^

^ _You’re too easily excited_.^

The two counter-parts that make up One-One soon settle down as Izuku prepares himself for flight.

With his arms still outstretched, maintaining his balance, Izuku peers over at Glad-One. “You ready with the fire extinguisher?”

^Yes!!^ Glad-One shakes around the nozzle of the fire extinguisher to emphasize his point.

“Camera?”

^ _Yeah…_ ^

Izuku nods, taking another slow breath as he gently eases himself.

“Gonna start off nice and easy. No need to rush it.”

The entire hanger is silent, only the hum of the hoverboard makes any noise as they all wait with bated breath for Izuku to start.

When he finally feels good and ready Izuku looks to Glad-One and gives him a nod, confirming he’s ready.

Glad-One nods back, his fire extinguisher at the ready.

And so Izuku begins, leaning ever so slightly forward to get the hoverboard to move. “Moving on 3…2…1.”

He leans and immediately the hoverboard rockets backwards and smashes Izuku in a pile of crates!!

“Gahh!!”

With no hesitation, Glad-One fires off the fire extinguisher dowsing the cadet in foam.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Flight Test Number 2

A foam covered Izuku stands before the camera. “Okay, Flight Test Number 1 was a bust but I’m sure Flight Test Number 2 will be way better.” 

He backs away from Sad-One and the camera, towards the already in place hoverboard.

Izuku goes ahead and jumps onto the device, it wobbles underneath him, threatening to throw him off, but he manages to regain his balance.

When he feels ready, Izuku signals that he’s about to begin with a nod. He leans and… The hoverboard fires forward right from under him, throwing him off!!

“Wah!!” Izuku slams onto the ground, groaning in pain.

Glad-One peers down at the young cadet. ^Oh, boy. That looks like it hurt.^

Sad-One nods in agreement. ^ _I bet he broke something._ ^

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Flight Test Number 5 

“Wah! Woah! Woah! Wahh!!” Izuku is desperately trying to keep his balance as the hoverboard shakes and wobbles under his feet.

And then the hoverboard zips up and over, flipping Izuku backwards and throwing him onto the ground.

Izuku groans and hisses, knowing full well that a bruise will be there for sure.

Glad-One gasps in worry. ^Are…are you okay?^

Izuku responds with a pained groan.

^ _He’s fine._ ^ replies Sad-One.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Flight Test Number 9 

“Woooooaaaaahhhhh!!” The dizzy and nauseous greenette is being spun around like a top as the hoverboard spins and spins continuously under him!

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Flight Test Number 14

A banged up and bruised Izuku is just standing there, staring down at the hovering hoverboard, blinking at it like it’ll just come to life and give him the answers. 

Glad-One gives Izuku a questioning and somewhat concerned look. ^Aren’t you going to get on?^

Izuku nervously looks away. “Um…maybe later.” He quickly retreats, deciding now was a good time for a break.

As he marches off Glad-One looks to camera unsure of what to do next.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Flight Test Number 20 

“Ahhhhhh!!” Izuku is gripping onto the hoverboard for dear life as it rockets uncontrollably about the large hanger. “Get me off this thing!!”

Glad-One chases Izuku from below, the fire extinguisher bouncing along behind him as he drags it along. ^That looks like fun! I want a turn!^

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Flight Test Number 37 

Izuku takes a breath and steps away from the camera, gripping the inactivated hoverboard. He is armored up wearing a helmet, knee and elbow pads, and even chest pads. But most importantly there is an air of determination emanating from him, even though he’s all decked out in padding he just has a feeling about this go.

“Flight Test Number 37.” Izuku tosses down the hoverboard that immediately expands and activates. “As you can see, I am properly geared up for this one. And for lack of a better option, One-One is still on fire safety.”

Izuku quickly addresses said robot. “By the way, please don’t dowse me again, I’m pretty sure that stuff doesn’t wash out.”

^Oops, sorry.^ Glad-One aims the fire extinguisher away from Izuku. ^I guess I’ve got a bit of an itchy trigger finger.^ He stares down at his stubbly little appendages. ^Which is weird because I don’t have fingers.^

Izuku shakes his head in amusement before turning his attention to the matter at hand. “Alright, nice and easy.” He cautiously mounts his hoverboard, which wobbles but he quickly manages it. “I’m just going to start with a slow start.” He braces himself, bending his knees, and taking a few breaths. “3, 2, 1.”

With a gentle lean forward Izuku begins to move, slowly inching his way forward. He leans more to the side, turning his trajectory and soon he’s moving in a slow circle. As he moves around, he notices Glad-One aiming the fire extinguisher after him. “Please don’t aim that thing at me-Wah!” He temporarily loses his balance before regaining it. “It makes me feel like I’m going to catch on fire, spontaneously.”

Glad-One quickly aims the fire extinguisher away. ^Oh, my we wouldn’t want that, now would we?^

^ _I don’t know I think that’d be something worth seeing..._ ^ adds in Sad-One. ^ _But I guess it wouldn’t exactly be a blaze of glory, now would it?_ ^

Izuku ignores the two and focuses back in on the camera. “Alright, now I am going to try to move a little bit faster.”

And so with fire in his heart, the will of determination pushing him forward, Izuku slowly moves forward. He then slowly rises higher and higher into the air and as he gains confidence, he begins to move just a tad faster.

Sad-One has to prop the camera up while keeping the lens trained on Izuku as he gradually flies about the hanger.

Soon with enough confidence Izuku is flying faster and faster around the hanger. He nearly slams into the catwalk and piles of crates a few times but thankfully he never goes tumbling off the alien device. Eventually he’s moving through the air performing skateboard like tricks.

“Wooo!!”

Glad-One claps! ^Well done, Mr. Deku!^

Sad-One mopes. ^ _I bet he crashes._ ^

“Hahaha!” Izuku swoops down and over the bots, whipping wind at them as he races past.

He swerves and circles around before gliding down to his start point, coming to a full stop before looking to the camera.

“Yeah, I can fly.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well I hope you enjoyed it. I have at least 2 - 4 more Omakis for you all before I begin writing again.
> 
> *Quick status update: I am still working on the outline. I get through at least one chapter outline per day but some days are less productive than others. Either way I got much planned out already. I just need to organize it better. I want to plan up to the War Arc but I’ll see how far I actually get.
> 
> *If you have suggestions then please leave it under the “Special Announcements” chapter or PM me with the Subject Line “Suggestions and More.”


	41. Omake: The Tape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ochaco and Mina throw together a little video

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone! To be honest I was kinda lazy with this Omake/sub-chapter, I mainly used it as an excuse to wish you all HAPPY HOLIDAYS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR!
> 
> *Watch the video first!! (https://youtu.be/-F4zQAUUFPw) Please watch “What if "The Amazing World Of Gumball" was an anime (Comparison)” video on YouTube. This Omake is taken straight from it, mainly because I thought it would be fun but also, I was just kinda lazy when writing this. But I still hope it’s at least enjoyable, nonetheless.

**[Camera P.O.V.]**

The camera glitches on, opening to the view of Ochaco Uraraka’s apartment. But the main focus isn’t on the bubbly brunette but on the one and only Mina Ashido. 

Mina Ashido an Ochaco have gotten together to make a special tape about themselves and their friends.

Mina sits back in her seat, addressing the camera with as much poise and confidence as she can muster, but it comes off as way too showboaty. “Hi, my name is azzaz-um…” Mina sighs in annoyance as she gets tongue tied. “Gauh.”

Great, she messed it up. Hopefully she can get it right next time.

\------------------------------------------------------------

The camera resets and flickers back onto Mina, she sits up a bit perkier this time about her chances. “Hi, my name is Wina Washido-UGH!!!” She groans out in anger as she messes up her line again!

\------------------------------------------------------------

The camera turns bac on and Mina gives it another shot. “Hi, my name’s Mina Ashido. And this flim…” Uh, oh.. “And this fil…flim…AHH…!!” Mina losses it! “Curse Word!!”

How could she have messed it up again?!

\------------------------------------------------------------

The camera flickers back on once again.

“Yes! Yes! Finally! Nailed it!!” Mina is cheering from the top her lunges as she finally delivered the line correctly!

The camera jostles in place before being set down and Ochaco rushes over screaming and cheering out as she gives Mina a great big hug for her success! “Woah, yeah!! Hahaha!!”

They both share a joyful laugh, tears of joy leaking from their eyes. Finally, after so many attempts they finally got the footage they needed.

Or did they?

Ochaco’s smile drops as she takes notice of the camera. “Wait, is the light supposed to be on when it’s recording or…?”

Mina’s face of shock and dread answers it all before they both sigh in defeat.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

**[Camera P.O.V.]**

The camera fires up once again, but the air is different, more exciting than before, as we open to a wide shot of U.A.! 

Accompanied by Ochaco’s very excited narration. “This is my school U.A. High! And this the story of our lives!”

\------------------------------------------------------------

The camera zooms in on an oblivious Izuku as he goes through his Hero notebook.

He jolts in his seat as Ochaco screams out in excitement. 

“Staring, the Deku Squad as “The Deku Squad!”

Tenya Iida and Shoto Todoroki pop into view and Ochaco slides her forehead in from the side so she can be in the shot too. 

\------------------------------------------------------------

The scene changes to the halls of U.A. where Denki Kaminari tries to play it off as suave as Kyoka Jiro walks on by. He gives her a sly smirk and raises his hand up for a high-five that she doesn’t even bother to acknowledge as she continues on her way.

Kaminari, not one to be left hanging, gives himself a high-five before playing it off like it was planned in front of the camera.

“Denki Kaminari as “Kaminari!”” announces Ochaco.

\------------------------------------------------------------

The scene changes, the camera zooming in on a snoozing Shota Aizawa who’s huddled up in his yellow sleeping bag.

“Shota Aizawa as “Eraserhead!”

Aizawa’s eyes shoot open, glowing red.

“Gah!!” Ochaco leaps away as his deadly gaze pierces her very soul.

\------------------------------------------------------------

The camera shakes and bobs as Ochaco rushes down the hall to catch up to Class 1-A’s resident mad bomber.

“Katsuki Bakugou as-“

Bakugou snarls as he snaps his head towards Ochaco, his hand clenched and popping with small sparks. “Get the camera any closer and I’ll blow it and you to bits.”

Ochaco remains deadly silent as she backs away quickly. 

\------------------------------------------------------------

Ochaco is now standing before the camera and behind her stands the rest of Class 1-A!

Mina holds the camera steadily as Ochaco cheers! “Introducing all my other friends in, “My Hero Acada-“ Her excitement drops as she sighs in defeat. “Forget it, who’s gonna watch that?”

She slumps away and the camera is left hanging on the very confused and disappointed reactions of Class 1-A.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

 **[Camera P.O.V.]**

As the camera turns on, a piece of cardboard raises before the camera lens with the words “Commercial Break” written out in colorful markers as both Mina and Ochaco sing out a little jingle. “Doo doo doo doo, commercial break!”

\------------------------------------------------------------

Ochaco sets a very upset and annoyed ML-E onto the bed as both her and Mina sing another jingle. “It’s Baby ML-E, the living baby doll!”

ML-E is not at all happy to be here right now, her face is frozen with an intensely angry and annoyed frown, she honestly looks like she’s going to burst out in anger at any moment. Even so that doesn’t stop Ochaco from tickling her chin as if she’s the most precious thing in the world.

Ochaco smiles at the camera from besides ML-E, holding a cookie in her hand “She likes to eat her cookies!”

ML-E remains stone cold with her stern pissed off face unflinching, even as Ochaco presses the cookie to her mouth. The little alien girl doesn’t so much as budge, and Ochaco is pressing the cookie so hard it actually crumbles away.

Despite the lack of a reaction the two babysitters sing their little jingle. “It’s Baby ML-E, the living baby doll!”

\------------------------------------------------------------

The scene changes to a kitchen where Mina displays a baby bottle while the pissed off ML-E is stuck in a child highchair. “She likes to drink milk!” Mina goes ahead and feeds the “baby.”

And surprisingly ML-E angerly begins sucking away at the bottle of milk.

Mina awes and smiles at the camera. “She’s really drinking it!”

Before she knows it ML-E spits the milk out right back at the pink girl’s face!

\------------------------------------------------------------

The next scene takes place out in the yard where Mina is holding up the still angry ML-E while the smiling Ochaco holds her face a little too close to the little girl. “It’s Baby ML-E, the living baby--!”

“-AUGH!!” Ochaco screams out in pain as ML-E karate chops her in the face.

Apparently, ML-E has finally snapped, and as a result she begins to wildly karate chop her little hand at Ochaco’s face! 

Ochaco holds her nose as Mina frantically pulls the little girl away, her arm still chopping away furiously and continuously.

Mina sighs in defeat. “Oh forget it. Let’s try something else.”

Ochaco smiles at the sight of the continuous karate chops. “No, no, no! This gave me an idea.”

\------------------------------------------------------------

The scene changes once again, opening to the sight of a pile pf trash bags.

Ochaco’s voice rings out from behind the pile. “Baa nana nana!!” The bags are blasted away as Ochaco charges through with the pissed off and chopping ML-E in her hands. “It’s the X-terminator!”

Ochaco holds up the madly chopping alien while talking like one of those epic commercial voiceovers! “With realistic Kung Fu karate-chop action!”

\------------------------------------------------------------

Ochaco holds her face as she peers down at the camera. “She can break anything with her tiny haaand!”

ML-E’s flailing hand comes into view, Mina’s own hand wrapped around ML-E’s wrist, and she is clearing struggling to keep the little appendage still.

“Nothing can resist her!”

\------------------------------------------------------------

“Cars!”

Ochaco aims ML-E at a familiar American 1967 muscle car, and the Kineceleran’s fierce chopping cuts the side mirror clean off!

\------------------------------------------------------------

“Trees!”

The grinning Ochaco uses ML-E like a saw as her little hand slashes through the tree!

\------------------------------------------------------------

“Bricks!”

Mina tosses up a brick that gets smashed to bits by the fierce flailing!!

\------------------------------------------------------------

“Houses!”

Ochaco uses the pissed off ML-E to literally break through a side of a house! 

\------------------------------------------------------------

“Her own face!”

ML-E’s little arm overshoots it and her hand slams into her own face! But at least it did actually come to a stop.

\------------------------------------------------------------

Ochaco and Mina hold up the furious little girl amongst all their destruction! “It’s the X-terminator!!”

A CG explosion envelops the screen as the cardboard sign reappears with the words “Commercial Break” written on it and both Mina’s and Ochaco’s voices sing out. “Doo doo doo doo, commercial break!”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Ochaco smiles as the camera is shut off and she places the still furious and annoyed ML-E down.

Mina eyes the little Kineceleran girl curiously. “Wait, I just realized, but why does Emily look like one of Midoriya’s transformations?”

Ochaco’s smile freezes and for a split second she pales: she totally forgot about that little detail, oops. “Oh, uh, uh, uh! Ah! She’s Deku’s aunt’s, cousin’s, niece twice removed!” She grins, silently praying Mina buys that terrible excuse.

Mina lights up. “Oh, okay. Makes sense!”

_‘It does?!’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This Omake is based off the following video: (https://youtu.be/-F4zQAUUFPw) Please watch “What if "The Amazing World Of Gumball" was an anime (Comparison)” video on YouTube. This Omake is taken straight from it, mainly because I thought it would be fun but also, I was just kinda lazy when writing this. But I still hope it was at least enjoyable, nonetheless. Anyway have a Merry Christmas everybody and a Happy New Year!
> 
> *I also wanted to apologize for my lack of response to everyone’s suggestions that I’ve been receiving. And I wanted to thank you all for taking the time to write them out and let me know what you would like to see.
> 
> Many of you have good ideas but in truth not many stood out to me for one reason or another. Whether maybe the idea was just a Wishlist, or the idea conflicted with something I had planned already, or whatever. Either way your input is still important to me and I am very happy you at least offered up your ideas.
> 
> That said some ideas/suggestions were…how should I put this…scarily accurate to what I had already planned. Seriously some of you guys are definitely mind readers or can see into the future…or it was a coincidence BUT I like to think it wasn’t because being a mind reader or oracle sounds way cooler. But yeah some you guys gave suggestions that (almost word for word) were things I had literally just written out in my outline! I won’t say who you are, you will just have to wait and see to find out.
> 
> *Please if you have suggestions then you guys can still feel free to let me know, but I should give you guys a quick Status Update about where I am in my outline. So as of writing this Omake I have moved passed the Kamino Ward Arc and thus it would be nice to get suggestions for afterward: seriously, I need some sort-of filler chapter ideas.
> 
> *Speaking of Omakes I think I’m going to do at least one more, I got an idea that I think would be really fun to do. But then after that I hope to be back writing the main story chapters again. I will announce more next time.


	42. Omake: Interviews

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Omnitrix are interviewed and asked about their opinions on the story so far and its future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, I’ve been kinda off the grid for a while so I haven’t been able to post anything until now. Anyway this is the last Omake/sub-chapter before we get back to the real story. I will have more news about it at the end of this Omaki.
> 
> *IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!!! At the end of the Omaki.
> 
> *Real quick this Omaki is a bit different and is not at all canon to the story. I just thought it’d be fun if I temporarily gave each Omnitrix alien its own personality. You’ll understand what I mean when you read it.

**[Camera P.O.V.]**

The camera lens flickers to life opening upon a calm grassy hillside but the main focus of the camera lands on…Terraspin of all things.

Terraspin is looking away from the camera, he’s far too focused on getting a little microphone pinned to his shell. Unfortunately, his giant flippers are really making it a struggle for him.

“Please, give me a moment.” He briefly addresses the camera before the microphone slips out from his grasp.

Terraspin gasps before sulking in defeat of the seemingly impossible task.

\---------------------------------------------------------------

The camera cuts away, viewing upon a scene at Mr. Baumann’s store of all places.

A trio of Dittos seem to be arguing amongst themselves, fighting for the microphone as it would seem.

“I want it!”

“NO! It’s mine!”

“You gotta share!”

“OW! Did you just bite me?!”

\---------------------------------------------------------------

The scene changes once again, now the camera finds itself amongst the stands of U.A.’s Sports Stadium.

Sitting just across from the camera is Heatblast, who has made himself comfortable amongst the stands. In his hands he holds the melted remains of the tiny microphone, looking between and the camera, unsure of what to do about it. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------

XLR8 zips in front of the camera while out on U.A.’s courtyard.

He eyes the tiny microphone curiously. “Wait, what is this for again?”

\---------------------------------------------------------------

Lodestar watches as the tiny microphone levitates between his claws, while the Plumber Base acts as his backdrop. “Come again?”

\---------------------------------------------------------------

Ripjaws leans up on U.A.’s pool’s edge. “I’m not sure if I’m comfortable doing an interview.”

\---------------------------------------------------------------

The camera cuts to Stinkfly who sits atop a tree within the forest near U.A. “Yeah, this sounds kinda annoying.” 

\---------------------------------------------------------------

Buzzshock is literally bouncing off the walls of his glass container, the very same one that’s meant to hold his species. “Hahaha! Sounds like fun bzz!”

\---------------------------------------------------------------

With his arms crossed, Water Hazard leans back on the side of the fake building located within Ground Beta. “I have to disagree. There’s got to be a more productive use of our time.” 

\---------------------------------------------------------------

Now this is a fun sight. Grey Matter is sitting at what appears to be a highly expensive looking desk, which is so small the whole thing is actually sitting atop regular sized school desk!!

Grey Matter spins around in his seat, leaning back while pondering the subject at hand. “Hm, actually I think this can provide our readers with some good insight.”

\---------------------------------------------------------------

From atop an apartment building, Big Chill stares down at the camera below. “It’s certainly a unique spin on things.”

\---------------------------------------------------------------

Within U.A.’s own gym, Four Arms continues with his workout, lifting four pairs of dumbbells all at once. “As long as it doesn’t interrupt with my workout, I have no problem with it.”

\---------------------------------------------------------------

Within the confides of the U.S.J. Diamondhead nods his head in agreement. “I think this will be most beneficial, indeed.” 

\---------------------------------------------------------------

“Well I guess it’s settled then.” Feedback leaps down from the little gazebo onto the sandy shore of Dagoba Beach.

He rises, crossing his arms, and grinning down at the camera. “Alright, let’s get this interview on the way. Shall we?”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

**_Which Class 1-A member do you relate to the best with?_ **

Camera opens up the forest again, the focus on a pondering Stinkfly. “Um, I think I relate the most to…Ashido? Yeah, Mina Ashido. Probably due to our affinity to acids and slime.”

Stinkfly’s arms cross as he ponders more about his answer. “There’s just something about her I just can’t shake off though…” 

\---------------------------------------------------------------

The camera cuts over the Ground Beta and Water Hazard. “Hm, I might have to say that I relate the most with Tsuyu Asui. Not because of powers or anything, but she’s always calm and collected, which is something I admire especially during a fight.”

\---------------------------------------------------------------

XLR8 is quick with his answer. “Tenya Iida, but that’s mainly due to a brothership between speedsters.” 

\---------------------------------------------------------------

Buzzshock ricochets around his glass container. “Denki Kaminari!!” 

No questioning why there.

\---------------------------------------------------------------

Four Arms continues with his work out as he lifts his dumbbells. “Oh, gotta be Eijiro Kirishima.” Four Arms grins at the camera. “He’s the manliest one out of all of Class 1-A. No doubt about it.”

\---------------------------------------------------------------

Terraspin shyly rubs his flipper together. “I say I’m probably most like Kouji Koda, not because of looks or powers or anything, but…” Terraspin looks away becoming incredibly shy. “Due to our similar natures.” 

Terraspin turns away acting even more shy, tucking his head into his shell as to hide it.

\---------------------------------------------------------------

Ripjaws casually flips his tail out of the water as he considers his answer. “I gotta say, Mezo Shoji. We both got the whole freaky looks going for us, and as a result people underestimate us both.” He glares at the camera, his jagged teeth bared for all the naysayers. “Which is so wrong! We’re way cooler than people give us credit for!” 

\---------------------------------------------------------------

Lodestar clicks his claws together. “Hanta Sero.” He gives a sheepish smile. “But honestly that’s just because we have similar color schemes.” He is of course referring to Sero’s black and yellow hero costume. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------

Big Chill glares down at the camera as the wind breezes past him from atop the apartment rooftop. “I think I relate the most to Fumikage Tokoyami.” Big Chill raises his arm in front of his face as if to appear dramatically cool and mysterious. “He understands what lies in the darkness of the world.” In other words, they’re both goths.

\---------------------------------------------------------------

Within the U.S.J. Diamondhead has come up with a response.

“Honestly, I think I relate the most to Shoto Todoroki. We both use our powers similarly (ice and crystals).” Diamondhead frowns becoming serious. “However we also understand that the world can be a cruel place and that we must do what we can to endure it while also moving forward.”

\---------------------------------------------------------------

“Haha!” Heatblast nearly leaps out from his seat, instead opting to lean his arms on his knees. “For sure, Katsuki Bakugou! That guy’s got one fiery spark to him and so much fire power too.” Heatblast furrows as he considers his answer. “But if you ask me, he’s a bit of a hothead, though…” 

\---------------------------------------------------------------

Feedback leans up against the gazebo while soft waves batter against the sandy shore. “I think I relate to Izuku Midoriya the best. Maybe it’s the green aesthetic or maybe in canon he’s got an efficiency to electricity. Or maybe because we’re both so unique.”

\---------------------------------------------------------------

The trio of Dittos have each taken a seat at the counter in Mr. Baumann’s store.

“Hmm, I’m not really sure.”

“Well what about Minoru Mineta?”

“What? No way?!”

“You can’t be serious?”

“I’m not… I only said because we have a similar…stature to him.”

The three Dittos slouch in sorrow. “We understand the troubles of being short.” 

\---------------------------------------------------------------

Grey Matter glares at the camera, his eye twitching in annoyance after hearing his coworker’s complaints, feeling like they have no right to complain about their size.

He shakes his head, shaking off the feelings of annoyance, composing himself. “I must say that I most relate to the one known as Momo Yaoyorozu. Due to the nature of her Quirk she is far more intelligent and resourceful then her peers.” Grey Matter gives the camera a cocky grin. “For a human that is.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

**_Favorite fight, challenge, or event so far?_ **

Terraspin smiles shyly at the camera. “This is extremely biased, but I’d have to say the Mutant Attack on the Mall during the Mutant Mayhem chapters (Ch.4 – Ch.5).” Terraspin shyly cups his fins together. “Not only was it my first appearance, but it introduced a Ben Ten favorite, Dr. Animo. Not to mention it was the start of whom would receive One For All. At least in this story.”

\---------------------------------------------------------------

Water Hazard takes a stroll through Ground Beta as the camera slides along beside him. “You’re not the only biased one. My favorite fight so far took place in Ch.12 Boiling Point. Where with my help, Midoriya was able to settle an old score with his long-time tormentor.”

If Water Hazard could smile, then he defiantly would be. “It was extremely satisfying.”

\---------------------------------------------------------------

“You wanna talk about satisfying?” Diamondhead smirks. “Then let’s talk about chapters 15, 16, and 17 It’s Hero Time.”

Diamondhead goes ahead and begins listing off reasons why the U.S.J. arc was so good. “Many parts of the story were payed off and better yet set up for future arcs: We got a mutated Nue, Todoroki’s flames, The League of Villains, Nomu, and of course a brand-new alien.” He is of course referring to himself.

\---------------------------------------------------------------

“Hahahaha bzz!!” Buzzshock is laughing up a storm from within the large container! “I really liked Ch.20 Last Laugh bzz! Because it starred meeee as the big hero bzz!”

\---------------------------------------------------------------

XLR8 zooms around the camera before coming to a sudden halt with a big grin on his face. “The best arc has got to be the U.A. Sports Festival!!” XLR8 leaps into the air in excitement. “It was epic!!”

\---------------------------------------------------------------

“I concur.” Agrees Grey Matter from his desk atop a larger desk. “I must say that I for one found Ch.21 Roaring Start quite enjoyable. Considering how yours truly bested the other competitors during the Obstacle Course Race.”

\---------------------------------------------------------------

The Dittos all nod their heads in agreement. “Yeah, I gotta say that the Sports Festival was a lot of fun.”

“Are you kidding? We so got gipped on it! We were barely in it!”

“Yeah what a waste.”

“I know right? We would have been perfect for the Cavalry Battle.”

“Yeah, but somehow we got beat out by a bipedal turtle.” 

\---------------------------------------------------------------

Four Arms slams his fist together. “If want to talk about a beating. Then how about the Bakugou vs. Uraraka fight. Now that was something!” 

\---------------------------------------------------------------

“No way, man.” Heatblast flares up a bit in defiance. “The best fight was clearly when Midoriya had to take on Todoroki!”

\---------------------------------------------------------------

Big Chill glares through the camera. “You’re only saying that because you won that fight!” Big Chill huffs in annoyance. “That said I think the result of the Midoriya vs. Uraraka fight was unnecessary. If Midoriya had picked me for that match, he definitely would have won.”

\---------------------------------------------------------------

Ripjaws deadpans. “Honestly I think the Sports Festival went on for far too long.” He brightens up. “But The internship arc was great! I really loved having Gang Orca involved!”

\---------------------------------------------------------------

Lodestar has to disagree. “I actually think Charmcaster will have more of an impact. Especially later down the line.”

\---------------------------------------------------------------

Stinkfly excitedly fiddles in place. “I kinda enjoyed SixSix breaking into Plumber Base actually, it was really cool to see Thirteen go after him.” 

\---------------------------------------------------------------

Feedback’s grin widens. “I think the fight against Stain has been the coolest thing yet! It had everything! Like monsters, stakes, development, the looming fear of death. And of course SixSix!” Feedback frowns for a moment in thought. “But then again it felt a bit clustered especially compared to the canon version of that fight, but I still think it was good.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

**_What are your thoughts about your newest wielder, Izuku Midoriya?_ **

Grey Matter sits up with his leg over his knee and his hands cupped together. “Well he’s certainly smarter than the average human.”

\---------------------------------------------------------------

“No doy he’s smart!” agrees a Ditto clone.

“Yeah!” chuckles another clone. “Cause he’s a nerd.”

“Hey, hey, hey, a hero nerd to be exact.” Another corrects.

“Hahaha!”

\---------------------------------------------------------------

“He always seems to attract trouble.” As to prove his point Lodestar uses his magnet to pull in an alien blaster. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------

Buzzshock frowns looking somewhat irritated and disappointed. “He’s not funny, at least not on purpose.” 

\---------------------------------------------------------------

XLR8 shakes his head in shame. “He’s way too hasty and reckless!”

\---------------------------------------------------------------

Diamondhead has to agree. “He has no sense of self-preservation. Honestly he’s lucky we’re so durable otherwise I’d hate to imagine the kinds of injuries and harm he’s find himself with.” 

\---------------------------------------------------------------

“Honestly,” Water Hazard eyes the camera quizzically. “In canon he’s a bit of a crybaby. Seriously, he produces so much tears that he can give me a run for my money.” 

\---------------------------------------------------------------

Ripjaws frowns with concern. “He had a real rough start, that’s for sure. Being Quirkless and all, he was unfairly judged.” His frown deepens with sorrow. “And as a result…he treated as less than human.” 

\---------------------------------------------------------------

Terraspin looks towards the sun as a breeze flows up the hillside. “But despite all that, he still managed to be such a kind and caring person.”

\---------------------------------------------------------------

Stinkfly couldn’t agree more. “He’s got to be one the most selfless people I know.”

\---------------------------------------------------------------

Four Arms stands tall as he admires his current wilder. “And against all the odds he’s stood back up, now that’s manly.” 

\---------------------------------------------------------------

Big Chill looks up to the sky. “But there’s still more for him to learn.”

\---------------------------------------------------------------

Heatblast smiles. “Of course there is, no one ever really stops growing. No matter how far he’s come so far.”

\---------------------------------------------------------------

“And all of this, makes him a hero.” Feedback’s smile is soft yet proud at the same time. “He’s our wielder, Izuku Midoriya. He’s Deku.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

**_What are you looking forward to next?_ **

Terraspin cups his chin. “I am very curious to see how Hisashi Midoriya’s return will affect the story especially for Deku.”

\---------------------------------------------------------------

The squad of Dittos smile at the camera. “I’d like to see more interactions between us and other My Hero Academia characters.”

A clone raises an eyebrow. “Us as in?”

“You know, Omnitrix aliens.”

“Oh, like more of us interacting with Class 1-A?”

“Or Class 1-B.”

“What about other pro heroes?”

“Why not all of them?”

\---------------------------------------------------------------

Four Arms grins as he puts down his weights. “I’d like to see what’s in store for the Final Exams. I mean, superpowered teens against superpowered adult, sounds like a blast.” 

\---------------------------------------------------------------

Seated in the U.A. stadium. Heatblast cups his chin in thought. “Actually I’m wonder how the dynamic between All Might and Midoriya will play out.” 

\---------------------------------------------------------------

“What about the bad guys?” asks Big Chill. “Just imagine how things will play out now with the League of Villains.” 

\---------------------------------------------------------------

Buzzshock is actually still as he considers something that’s actually of weight. “But that’s the thing. There are so many secrets between characters now. So how will they all play out? Like there’s All Might’s concerns, One For All, of course Hisashi got to be hiding something, and who knows what else?” 

\---------------------------------------------------------------

Lodestar views a screen within the monitoring room of Plumber Base. “ Actually I personally enjoy the chapters that are more original and, dare I say it, on the filler side of things. I just think they’re a lot of fun. You know?” 

\---------------------------------------------------------------

XLR8 scratches the side of his chin. “Well I wanna see more of the Plumbers and the Alien Community on Earth. Seriously both need to be expanded upon!” He demands satisfaction!

\---------------------------------------------------------------

Grey Matter gives the camera a tooth grin. “I’m thrilled to see how I-Island plays out. I know for a fact our author has something special in store for us all.”

\---------------------------------------------------------------

“You say I-Island.” taunts Water Hazard. “But what you mean is the Summer Training Camp Arc. Now that’s going to be one wild storm-NO! If anything it’ll be the calm before the real storm!”

\---------------------------------------------------------------

“And that storm,” Diamondhead shakes with trepidation. “will undoubtably be Kamino Ward.” He looks straight into the camera. “And what may come after.”

\---------------------------------------------------------------

“Woah, why all the grim?” asks Ripjaws. “Look on the bright side, because one thing that comes after is that Class 1-A will move into the dorms. Imagine it, all of Class 1-A stuck with a kid that can become any aliens…now doesn’t tha sound like fun?” 

\---------------------------------------------------------------

Stinkfly grins. “Yeah it does! And so does the Provisional Licensing Exam!” 

\---------------------------------------------------------------

“What am I looking forward to the most?” Feedback asks the camera with a stupid grin.

He huffs a soft chuckle as if the question is too easy. “Well I’m excited to see all the new…teammates that will be joining our ranks soon.” Feedback’s grin grows wider. “And trust me there are a lot more on the way. And that’s a promise.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, so how was the Omaki? It’s going to be the last one we get for a while, so I hope it was good. It’s definitely different that’s for sure. I hope it wasn’t too confusing and it provided some good insight about the story so far and what’s to come next.
> 
> *In case you couldn‘t pick up on it I basically gave the run down of how far I think we’ll get during this next year. So I think we’ll get as far as the Provisional Licensing Exam arc. And if we’re really lucky then maybe we’ll get the Overhaul Arc, but I can’t make any promises at this time. I will be sprinkling in some original arcs of my own that not only will progress the story but also give me the change to introduce new Omnitrix aliens into the mix, too!! So get ready it’s going to be great!
> 
> *IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!* So after two months of being on hiatus I am happy to proclaim that I am officially back! Or at least I’m going to be. So after working on my outline and preparing the first new chapter I feel ready to start posting again. However I want to at least write up one more chapter before the end of the month, so I will officially post the next real chapter either February 2nd or the 4th depending on my progress. So please just wait a little bit longer. Anyway look forward to it.
> 
> *Also once I start posting for real again, I will no longer be accepting suggestions, not until we reach the end of my current outline. Which if things go as planned won’t be for another year from now or so. So if you have any suggestions now is the time, otherwise I cannot guarantee anything at all. Thank you.


	43. A Not-So-Happy Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Izuku deals with his father's return.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HERE WE GO!!! I’m back and ready to begin again!! Here is the long-anticipated Ch.38! I really hope you guys like it, but I have to admit that I kinda struggled with writing this one, especially near the beginning. So please forgive me if the writing isn’t on par. I really tried.
> 
> *Important News!* In the “Special Announcements” I mentioned that I now have an illustrator. And they’re alias is “Voidv25” I like what they do, and I trust them completely. As of now they only have one piece of art related to this story, but more is on the way and I will announce when those posts occur. Please check Voidv25’s content, they just started but I know for a fact that they’re going places.
> 
> Also if you wanna leave comments about the art you can do that in this story too, I will pass on the message to Voidv25. Thanks.
> 
> DeviantArt Link: https://www.deviantart.com/voidv25

‘ _I. Can’t. Take. This!!_ ’ Izuku Midoriya is internally panicking, breaking into a cold sweat, even so it feels like his own heart has stopped beating for far too long as if death itself is taunting him.

And right now he really wishes Death would just finish him off.

“I missed you.~”

“I missed you too my sweet spark~”

Gah, Izuku feels like he’s going to hurl as he watches his parents be all lovey dovie from across the dinner table, rubbing their noses together and holding hands like lovestruck puppies.

Inko Midoriya gushes, her smile is as bright as it can be now that she has the love of her life back in her life. “Hisashi I can’t tell you how happy I am to have you home!” 

Hisashi Midoriya’s emerald eyes gleam with joy. “Trust me Inko, I feel the same way.” He bows, his messy dark hair falling over his eyes in shame. “I’m so sorry it took so long to happen, but as you know my job has been…taxing as of late. The mission took far longer than it should.”

Inko offers up a sympathetic smile. “I understand, you did what you had to do. It’s always been like that.” Her smile widens in joy. “I was so excited when I received your last letter a few days ago. But it doesn’t feel real until this moment.”

Hisashi lights up. “And believe me things are going to change.”

Inko gasps. “Do you mean?”

“Yes.” Hisashi grips his love’s hands and looks her right in the eye and makes a solemn vow. “Inko, I’m not going anywhere.”

Tears well up in Inko’s eyes, she even sniffles a little, out of pure joy. “Really?”

“Really, really. I’m here to stay.”

Inko gasps and practically throws herself at her husband, enveloping him in a deep embrace that he happily returns, all before they exchange one big smooch.

“Blehh…” Izuku really isn’t used to this and he definitely doesn’t want to be. It’s just so…weird and wrong at the same time. 

And how did it even get here? This was supposed to be a normal dinner but then HE showed up unannounced and from out of nowhere! Okay that’s not true, apparently Mom knew he was coming and she wanted to surprise him…boy was Izuku surprised. 

As Hisashi and Inko settle down, Izuku’s father finally draws his attention to him, a sad yet proud smile curves up on his lips as he eyes Izuku longingly. “I…really can’t get over it.”

Izuku gulps nervously. “Get…over what?”

Hisashi smiles, speaking softly like a man who’s finally found the thing he once lost. “How much you’ve grown. You’re really becoming something aren’t you?”

Izuku isn’t totally sure why but…something inside him…nervous almost like he’s…scared “What…what are you saying?”

Hisashi, however, seems oblivious to Izuku’s discomfort, smiling none-the-wiser. “I’m saying that, it’s really great to see just the kind of person you're becoming.”

Izuku remains quiet, his blood going cold as a sense of dread begins to swell up within him.

The turmoil of emotions must have shown on his face because Hisashi frowns concernedly for a moment, puzzled by Izuku’s reaction.

Inko however missed the look on her son’s face and is more concerned with Izuku’s lack of response to his father. “Izuku, do you have anything you’d like to say to your father?”

Izuku averts his eyes sitting in miserable silence. He doesn’t know exactly why but…but he just can’t bring himself to be happy to have Hisashi home. But whatever it is…it’s definitely making his stomach twist and turn making him feel like he has bile stuck in his stomach and it can’t escape, letting the horrid emotions boil inside. 

“There’s so much I need to catch up on.” Hisashi smiles softly figuring he might as well try to reach out himself. “So tell me, what have you been up to lately?”

Izuku’s lips seal themselves, almost subconsciously as the pit of dread in his stomach continues to grow.

Inko frowns, disapprovingly, but Hisashi either hasn’t noticed or isn’t bothered by Izuku’s reaction and instead continues to reach out with a friendly smile. “Oh, there’s got to be something. What about friends? I’m sure you got plenty of those! So how about it, like to tell me about some of them?”

Izuku shrinks further into his seat, averting his gaze down and away from Hisashi.

Inko frowns, disappointed with her son’s behavior. “Izuku.” She scolds sternly.

Izuku shrinks back even further avoiding his mother’s disapproving gaze. 

Inko frowns ready to scold him, but Hisashi quickly holds her back. “It’s fine.” He’s being remarkably patient but even Inko can tell that Hisashi’s a bit put off by Izuku’s behavior too. “I know. How’s U.A. treating you? I bet it’s changed a lot.”

Izuku briefly looks up from the floor and knowing his mom’s already not happy he decides he might as well try to respond. “Yeah, I guess.” That’s all he can bring himself to say.

Hisashi cracks a smile, glad he’s getting somewhere at least. “Well, who are your teachers? I know All Might’s, he’s your favorite hero, right? What’s he like?”

Izuku goes stock still, like a hand is clenched around his heart.

“I bet he’s amazing! He’s All Might after all!”

 _‘Yeah, he is…’_ Izuku can’t help to think, sadly.

“I bet you’re happy to have him as your teacher. He even gave your medal at the Awards Ceremony.”

The hand squeezing Izuku’s heart squeezes even harder, stopping the flow of blood for a brief moment as dread boils up from the depths of Izuku’s stomach. “What…?” Does that mean he…?

Hisashi is oblivious to Izuku's turmoil, going on with an excited smile. “Yeah, I saw you on TV during the Sports Festival, you were so great!”

Izuku gulps, his mind still trying to process it all. “You saw…?”

“Of course I did! And it was incredible! I’m so proud”

Really, now he’s proud? Was…was he not proud before?

“And your…Quirk. It’s so cool! And you’re so talented with it, it’s astounding!”

And like that, Izuku can feel everything around him shatter like someone took a bat and took a big swing at his frail heart. “Is that why…you came back?”

“Huh?” Hisashi frowns leaning forward. “I’m sorry what was that?”

Izuku’s hair casts over his eyes, shrouding them away from his parents. His breathing is quiet, deadly silent, and he speaks with a heavy yet soft tone. “Why did you come back?”

“Um, because of work. I got reassigned back here in Japan.”

“Really? Then…” Izuku’s fists clench from under the table, he doesn’t understand it, but he feels…frustrated? No that’s not it, but whatever it is, it’s eating at him from within. “What was it?”

Hisashi frowns even more confused.

Izuku, still looking away, finally asks the big question. “What kept you away for so long?”

A stunned silence washes over the table, both parents and even Izuku seem taken back and surprised by the sudden question. No, it wasn’t a question. It’s a demand.

Hisashi’s face washes with worry and sadness, but he doesn’t speak allowing Izuku the time he needs to process.

With a shaky breath Izuku continues. “Why now? Why now of all times?”

Hisashi understands the question right away. “Izuku. I wanted to be here sooner, I really did, but my work…” He doesn’t know how to explain it, his eyes momentarily shifting to his wife, who hadn’t noticed his gaze.

That sounds like an excuse, and for some reason that gets to Izuku. “That’s another thing…” He sounds…angry, his teeth clenched as his fists clench even harder. “What exactly were you doing that whole time?”

“Excuse me?”

Izuku gazes up at his father, who flinches back at all the boiling fury behind his emerald eyes. “Where were you? What were you doing? You already know what I was up to, so what about you?”

Hisashi is taken back, but he frowns apologetically. “…As part of the… Self-Defense Force, I…I’m not allowed to discuss that.”

“Meaning you don’t trust us.” Izuku spits out accusingly. “So…so why should I trust you!” 

Inko snaps. “Izuku! That’s no way to talk to your father.” She raised him better than that!

“Father?!” Izuku snaps too, his bottled-up frustration spilling out. “I barely know him!!”

The harsh truth sweeps across the little household, all the cheeriness and warmth washing away as Izuku finally snaps.

“If he was my dad then he would have been here! He would have been helping you, helping me, but he wasn’t! Instead he’s off doing who-knows-what? And whatever it is he’s not even willing to share!” Izuku is hurting, it feels like his insides are on fire!! Tears streaming down in face, as if expelling the sadness and frustration he’s feeling. “How do we even know you were faithful?”

Inko gasps. “Izuku!”

“Quirkless!!” roars Izuku.

That silences them all once again.

Izuku tries to take a breath, but it feels like he’s choking down air. “When the doctor said I was Quirkless…where were you?”

Hisashi blinks, rattled by it all. “Izuku…I…”

“You were gone.” Izuku doesn’t bother, he doesn’t want to hear another stupid excuse. “And finally after I got myself a Quirk…you come back. So, why?” Izuku glares right at the matching set of eyes before him. “Why now? Why did you come back?”

Hisashi’s mouth gaps open and close like a fish gasping for its breath. Not a single word is able to escape his lips and so he goes silent, unable to look his own child in the eye.

That’s not going to do! The growing anger erupts forward and Izuku finally roars out in outrage, springing out of his seat. “Is it…is it because your pathetic son finally has a QUIRK?!”

“No!” Hisashi shouts back defiantly, hastily shooting out in his seat too! “Izuku I never left because of you! I swear!”

“YOU ABANDONED US!!!” Izuku roars out that there’s no doubt their neighbors heard him. “You not only left me, but you left Mom to raise me all on her own! How could you do that?!”

Hisashi’s hurt, more than hurt actually. “Izuku, I promise you I…I didn’t have a choice.”

Izuku scoffs, growling under his breath. “We all have a choice…”

And with that Izuku’s had more than enough excuses, storming off for his room without a bit of dinner.

“Izuku!” Inko calls after him but Hisashi holds her back. “What are you…?”

Hisashi shakes his head sorrowfully. As he sits back down he knows that if they do anything else it’ll only make things worse.

Inko frowns worriedly. “Hisashi…”

“No…I deserved that.”

“Honey…”

“I…should have expected this…” A sad smile graces Hisashi’s lips, like he knows it’s the sad truth. “I’ve been gone for too long… And so in a sense he’s right…unintentionally, I did abandon you both.”

“Hisashi…”

“I think we all just…need some time to adjust.” Hisashi tries to offer his wife the most comforting smile that he can right now. “I promise we can get through this.”

Inko hesitantly agrees, she has to believe that it will get better. Izuku will come around, he has to. “Yeah, as a family.”

Hisashi, already feeling a bit better, takes his wife’s hands into his own and gazes up at her with all the love in the world. “Of course.”

Meanwhile, Izuku slams the door to his room with a bang before slamming his back against it. His breathing is fast and shaky like his lungs are on fire, and his head’s pounding like someone’s jackhammering away at it.

 _‘Why? Why now?’_ He slides down the door and collapses onto the ground, holding his head as he tries to make sense of all these strange emotions swirling in the pits of his stomach.

As he sits there his gaze wanders over to his open closet and there sitting in the back, hidden away and casted in the shadows is his dark secret. A little shoe box filled with his father’s letters, letters he never bothered to even open.

Izuku whips his head away, not wanting to see anything related to that man right now. “Where have you been…?”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

*DING! DONG!*

The bell rings, signaling the end of homeroom.

“All right. That’s it for homeroom.” Shota Aizawa files away the stack of worksheets at the podium. “There’s only one week left before your final exams begin. I’m sure you’re all studying constantly, right?” That’s a rhetorical question of course. “Don’t forget to keep training. The written exam is only one element. There’s also the practical portion to worry about.” Aizawa heads for the door opening it up before taking one last look at his class. “Good luck.”

And so he leaves and the moment he shuts the door the class is springing out of their seats in an uproar.

Especially Denki Kaminari and Mina Ashido, Kaminari [20th] cries out in despair while Mina [19th] laughs it off like it’s a hilarious joke. “I’ve barely even taken notes this semester!!”

Kaminari grabs his head. “And with the Sports Festival and internship, I didn’t have time to read the textbook.”

Fumikage Tokoyami [14th] seems calm but he bears the exact same cross. “It’s true that we haven’t had very much free time lately.” Like that would explain his grades.

Rikido Sato [12th] leans over to talk to Koji Koda [11th]. “We barely learned anything when we took our midterms so they didn’t seem all that hard, but I’m kinda worried about these.”

Koji nods in agreement. 

Sato continues. “We’ve been through a lot, and they probably won’t pull any punches when it comes to testing us.”

Nearby, Minoru Mineta overhears and gives his classmates a very overconfident and cocky smirk from his desk. “As someone ranked in the top ten, I’m not that concerned.” Yeah who would have guessed that he’d get 9th place out of the whole class?!

Kaminari and Mina still can’t believe it. “WHAT!?! You were ninth in the midterms?!”

Even Mina can’t find this funny. “Aw, man, and here I thought you were one of us!”

Kaminari cries out in anguish. “Don’t you know weirdo little creeps like you are only likable if they’re kind of stupid?! Who’s going to love you now?!”

Mineta, still acting cocky smirks up at the morons. “Everyone. Trust me.”

“Mina, Kaminari!”

The two morons peer over and see Ochaco Uraraka [13th] smiling at them, although calling it a smile is a stretch.

Ochaco looks like death is upon her, but despite that she puts on a mask of optimism that isn’t fooling a soul. “W-we c-can’t give up h-hope, we can still pass.” She says in a shaky voice, although she has clearly given up all hopes of passing.

Mina’s antennas twitch. “Don’t feed us false hope!!”

“No, Uraraka is right!” Tenya Iida [2nd] stands tall at the front of the class. “As class rep, I have high hopes that we’ll make U.A. proud!”

Shoto Todoroki [5th] stares blankly at them all. “It’s pretty hard to fail if you just pay attention in class, isn’t it?”

Ochaco winces in pain, his cold calm stare just makes the comment hurt that much more.

Kaminari despairs clenching at his heart. “Why you gotta cut me down like that?!”

But here’s a saving grace, their savior appears in the form of Momo Yaoyorozu [1st]. “Hey, don’t worry about it, you two, I can catch you up to speed on the important topics, if you want.”

Kaminari and Mina are so grateful; they literally sing her praises. “You’re the best, Yao-momo!!”

Yaoyorozu wants to be glad, but she slouches in her seat in despair. “I’m afraid I won’t be any help when it comes to the practical, though.”

Kyoka Jiro [7th] shyly approaches her. “I’ve been studying, but…could you help me out, too?” She holds up her notebook. “I’m having some trouble understanding quadratic functions.”

Yaoyorozu is surprised, she didn’t think Jiro would need her help too. “Really?”

Hanta Sero [17th] leaps in, clapping his hands together, begging for her help too. “Tutor me, please! Classical Japanese is killin’ me!”

“Is there room for one more?” Mashirao Ojiro [8th] strolls up with an embarrassed smile. “I’m afraid I’m falling behind a little.”

All three look to Yaoyorozu and beg. “Pretty please!” 

Yaoyorozu gasps in delight, her eyes sparkling with joy. “Wonderful!” She springs out of seat, fully determined to help them! “Yes, let’s do it!”

All three cheer in unison. “All right!!”

Yaoyorozu takes the lead, already having a plan. “Okay, then. We can hold a study session at my residence over the weekend.”

Mina gasps in surprise. “Seriously?! I can’t wait to see your fancy digs!”

Yaoyorozu is so happy she’s radiating with joy and delight. She’s so happy that everyone can feel all the positive energy bouncing off of her in waves. “Oh! I must call Mother and have her prepare the great hall for us to set up; it’ll be the perfect spot.”

The group of five goes pale, taken back by her comment.

Kaminari and Jiro stand stock still in surprise. ‘Great hall?’

Yaoyorozu‘s so overjoyed, she doesn’t notice the stunned look. “What kind of tea does everyone like? I’ll have her make sure we’re stocked.”

Ojiro and Sero internally gasp. _‘That’s overkill!’_

Yaoyorozu continues to gush with happiness, totally oblivious to them as joy and delight bounce off her. “In my family, we always drink Harrods or Wedgewood, so if you have any other preference, let me know!” She spins around as if to declare her intentions to the world. “When we’re finished, you’ll all be model students! I’ll make it my personal duty to push you forward.”

The group of future model students all just smile on not wanting to spoil her mood.

Kaminari puts on the best forced smile that he can. _‘Is she humble bragging? Or does she not even realize what she’s saying?’_

Jiro’s smile is equally as forced. _‘She’s so excited and bouncy that I don’t even care.’_

Kaminari goes ahead and speaks up. “About that tea, I’m not so sure about the harry one.”

Yaoyorozu frowns. “No, it’s from Harrods.”

Eijirou Kirishima [15th] grins after listening in to them, but he goes ahead and turns back towards Bakugou. “Sounds like I should be studying with her.”

Katsuki Bakugou [3rd] takes offense to that!! “You think I don’t know enough?! Maybe I should beat the lessons into your skull!”

Despite the threat, Kirishima laughs it off. “I’m counting on it.”

Nearby, Mezo Shoji [10th] strolls by Yuga Aoyama’s desk, the latter acting all suave and showy as ever. “Hah. Everyone’s panicking right now, but it won’t do them any good to cram this late in the game.”

Shoji frowns. “Shouldn’t you be more concerned? You didn’t do very well in the midterms.”

Aoyama’s facade breaks if only for a few seconds. “Are you talking about moi? I did just fine, thank you.” If you call 18th place fine that is?

Ochaco takes it all in and seeing everyone getting themselves geared up to work hard is affecting her too. It’s like she’s getting secondhand encouragement by watching them all! And you bet she’s going to work her ass off too for the exams!

“Are you ready, De…ku?” She hadn’t noticed until now but…Deku’s just been sitting in silence at his desk all morning.

Weird, usually he’d give his thoughts on things by now, especially school stuff. Huh, maybe he didn’t get enough sleep, he does look tired and his eyes look a little puffy and red too. 

_‘Maybe I should check on him?’_ As she’s about to, the bell rings and Present Mic bursts through the door. _‘Oops! Later then.’_

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Oohh! Guys, I’m freaking out!” Ochaco drops her head down onto the lunch table in defeat. “I bet the practical exam’s going to be insane!”

Seated beside her are Tsuyu Asui and Toru Hagakure while sitting across from them are Tenya, Shoto, Izuku, and even Hitoshi Shinso who they practically dragged to their table.

Tenya prepares himself to dig into his meal. “Hard to believe they’d give us anything too crazy.”

Tsuyu [6th] thinks about it for a moment. “Well the written Exam shouldn’t be a problem. It’ll be all stuff from class after all.”

Shinso is a bit more skeptical. “Yeah, but do you really think the practical is going to be just as simple?”

Hagakure [16th] has to agree. “It’s a comprehensive test of everything we learned this year.”

Tsuyu nods. “Yup, and that’s about all we could get Mr. Aizawa to tell us.”

Ochaco frowns, picking her head off the table. “Huh, so then it’ll cover combat training and rescue training. Oh, and basic training.”

Shinso shrinks down into his seat, feeling very uneasy all of a sudden. “But some of us are… admittedly behind then the rest of you.”

Ochaco frowns worriedly. “Don’t be like that, Shinso.”

Hagakure leans over the table. “Yeah I’m sure you’ll be fine.”

“Of course he will!” proclaims Tenya a bit too loudly! “He is a member of the Hero Course now! There’s no doubt you’ll be able to pass.”

Shinso looks away trying and failing to hide his smile.

Todoroki continues to slurp up his soba. “Just be sure you all remember to study for the written exam. *SLURP!*” As he slurps away his judgmental gaze falls towards Ochaco.

Ochaco flinches under his gaze. A part of her is certainly offended, but what’s worse is that…he’s right.

Noticing her discomfort, Tsuyu and Hagakure can’t help but laugh at her expense.

As Ochaco reels back from the insult, she notices that once again Izuku’s off to the side with a faraway look in his eye. He still hasn’t said a word, actually he hasn’t said a word all day not even during class!

“Hey Deku.”

He doesn’t answer, heck he doesn’t even seem to hear her.

The others all look at Izuku wondering why he didn’t reply, but all they get is him staring silently at his food.

Hagakure whispers into Tsuyu’s ear. “Is…he okay?”

“He’s been like that all day.” Tsuyu replies in a hushed voice.

Ochaco gasps. “You noticed too, huh?” 

They all look back towards the greenette, unsure what could have him in such a state. But they could only guess what he could be thinking about. 

_‘Why?’_ That’s the number one question that’s been running through Izuku’s mind since late last night.

Why is Hisashi back? Why now? And what is Izuku feeling? He doesn’t get any of it. Everything just feels so wrong and weird, like something’s boiling inside of him every time he thinks about it.

“Um, Deku?”

He still can’t hear it, lost in his own worries and turmoil.

Tenya, unable to sit by any longer, grabs Izuku’s shoulder. “Midoriya?”

And like that, Izuku snapped out of his trance! “Huh?” He blinks and a part of him wonders when he even arrived at the cafeteria. “Y-yes…?”

Everyone at the table internally gasps. _‘Did he not hear a thing?’_

Tenya frowns worriedly. “We were wondering what you think about the exams coming up.”

Izuku slouches over, he ponders for a moment before speaking. “Oh, um I thin-Ah!!” Izuku yelps out in pain, grabbing the back of his head after rudely being elbowed.

“Oh, sorry.” Says a very annoying and overly confident voice.

Wincing, Izuku spins around and finds Neito Monoma was the one who elbowed him. The guy looks just as cocky as ever, holding a tray of expensive food with even a wine glass!

Monoma snickers. “Your head’s so big that it’s hard to miss.”

The entire table internally screeches. _‘What the hell dude?!’_

Izuku winces, turning away. Feeling even more discomfort and the boiling in his stomach increases, he can almost feel his patience being wielded away at this point.

Tenya frowns disapprovingly up at Monoma. “If I’m not mistaken, you’re from Class 1-B correct? Monoma, wasn’t it?” With that Tenya shoots out of his seat, his arms karate chopping the air. “Please be sure to condone yourself! That was extremely rude and uncalled-“

“I heard you guys stumbled across the Hero Killer.” Monoma taunts looking at the rest of the table.

Tenya gasps. _‘He ignored me!!’_

While Tenya gasps the rest that actually were part of the Stain incident glare up at Monoma. They can already tell this is going somewhere that they don’t want it to go.

Monoma smirks down at them, sticking his chin up to be sure he’s literally looking down on them. “Just like in the Sports Festival, Class 1-A isn’t happy unless they’re the center of attention.” His shifty eyes drift over to Izuku who’s been shrinking away in his seat from the start. “Especially you, the supposed Rising Star.” He spits it out like it’s an insult.

Izuku frowns, feeling his patience getting cut away even more.

“But you do realize you’re not in the spotlight because you’re a good hero, right? It’s just that you keep getting into so much trouble.”

Ochaco’s glare hardens and even Tsuyu and Hagakure are starting to lose their cools too, glaring up at Monoma for daring to target their friend and classmate. 

Monoma looks very satisfied with himself, happy that he's getting a rise out of them. And so he decides to hit it home with this one! “Here’s food for thought: Someday the rest of us might get caught up in your mess, and then we’ll all become unwitting victims as well.”

Izuku worriedly bites his lip, because…he’s right. One day that might just happen, the Omnitrix has painted a giant target on his back…or rather on his wrist! Who knows what trouble will come knocking next? And…that scares him. 

Monoma’s smirk widens, he’s practically gleeful he got to Izuku. And now with his ego stroked he doesn’t realize that he should cut his losses before he goes way too far. “What kind of horrible villains will you bring down upon us? What demons---”

*CHOP!*

And he’s down!!

“That’s not funny, Monoma.” Itsuka Kendo scolds the annoying blonde as she catches him by the back of his shirt, as well as catching his tray of food. “You heard what happened to Iida! Chill out.”

Tenya gasps in surprise. “Kendo.”

“I apologize for him.” Kendo offers up an apologetic smile to the table. “I’m pretty sure there’s a hole where his heart should be.”

Their eyes all cast down to Monoma’s limp body, hanging under Kendo’s strong grip.

Ochaco’s just a little bit terrified. _‘He’s…out cold!’_

Izuku eyes Monoma’s limp form and…shamefully he can’t help but feel just a bit better.

Kendo hesitantly and shyly smiles down at Ochaco. “Hey Uraraka.”

“Y-Yes?!”

“I was wondering.” Kendo looks away rather shyly. “If you wanted to meet after class and train?”

“Train?”

“Yeah.” Kendo smiles excitedly. “Remember at the Sports Festival we talked about sparing and about me teaching you some moves.”

Ochaco lights up, they talked about after the Cavalry battle! “Oh, yeah!”

“Well we can start after school. I think it’d be really beneficial for the both of us.”

“Oh, yeah, sure. I’d love to!”

“Great!” Kendo looks absently delighted. She needs to get better too and there’s no better way than to take on the person who came in first place!

Wait, there was something else she wanted to say to them. “Mm. So I was listening…” Kendo scans the cafeteria making sure no teachers are within ear shot. “I know you’re all worried about what’s going to be on the big final practical. I heard it’s gonna be combat against robots, like the entrance exam.”

The entire table sits up at attention.

“What?” gasps Ochaco. 

Hagakure tilts her head. “Really?”

Even Izuku looks surprised.

Shoto frowns up at her curiously. “How do you know that?”

Kendo rubs the back of her head out of embarrassment. “One of my friends who’s a few grades up filled me in. I know. Cheating. But oh, well.”

“That’ll be so great!!” cheers Ochaco.

Hagakure nods, raising her hands into the air. “Yeah it will!” 

“Robots would make the test incredibly easy!” adds Tenya but then he notices that not everyone feels the same.

Shinso actually looks scared, sweating bullets and his face going pale as if an invisible Aizawa is strangling the boy with an invisible capture scarf around his neck.

Ochaco cries out in fright. “Shinso?!”

Tsuyu cups her chin. “Oh, right…your Quirk won’t work on robots will it?”

Shinso shakily responds. “No…it won’t.” He sounds frustrated, and for good reason, robots were part of the reason he couldn’t even get into the Hero Course!

“Don’t worry Shinso!” Ochaco throws her fist into the air! “I’m rooting for ya!!”

Shoto puts down his empty bowl of soba and speaks with a rather bored tone. “With all your special training, not even you’ll struggle against them.”

The coloring returns to Shinso’s face in full force, like for real his entire face’s red now!

The table and Kendo laugh at his embarrassing blush but as they laugh Izuku quietly chimes in. “No…”

The table quiets down and looks to him to explain himself.

“I don’t think that’s…right. Robots just sound way too…easy.” That just doesn’t sound like U.A. not at all. Especially not something Principal Nezu would go for.

“What kind of idiot are you, Kendo?” Oh, it seems Monoma has woken up. “You just gave away our whole strategic advantage.”

The table and Kendo glare down at Monoma who’s really desperate to cut them down now. “This was our chance to finally pull ahead of that class full of idiots. EH!!”

And with another chop, he’s out cold once again!

“They’re not the idiots!” Kendo scolds as she literally drags him away.

The table watches them go and Ochaco can’t help but think. _‘I’m getting a big sister vibe from her.’_

As they watch the big sister figure go, Ochaco changes her focus back to Deku but she finds him staring down at his food again in silence.

_‘What’s going on with you?’_

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Eventually the end of the school day comes around and those that were able to get answers from Kendo were finally able to get the rest of the class into the know.

“All right!!” Both Kaminari and Mina cheer out, grateful for the news!

They’re both extremely happy and they even seem to be way calmer than before. 

Especially Kaminari who’s grinning like an idiot. “This’ll be super easy if it’s just robots!”

Mina cheers! “Such awesome news!”

Shoji frowns, he just doesn’t get it at all. “Why do you sound so happy? You both have a hard time controlling your Quirks.”

Despite that, Kaminari is still overjoyed. “Yeah! But I can let loose with robots!”

Mina is just as optimistic! “And melting them’ll be a cinch for me!”

Sero grins and chimes in. “Now you just need Yaoyorozu to help you study and you’ll be all set for finals.”

The two morons cheer out in unison. “We’ll definitely be able to go to the training camp now!”

Ochaco stares at her fist. _‘I need to get stronger. I need to be ready.’_

“It shouldn’t matter if it’s robots or actual people.”

Everyone’s attention is drawn to the front of the room where Bakugou is glaring up a storm. “Why are you morons so excited?”

Instantly Kaminari and Mina get upset. 

Kaminari even points an accusing finger at the mad bomber! “Hey, who are you calling a moron?!”

“Shut up!!” barks the ash-blonde!

Both Kaminari’s and Mina’s faces pale in fear as they go quiet.

“You need to learn how to control your Quirk! Ya got it?!” The scowling Bakugou scans the rest of the class until his eyes land on his next target. “Hey! Deku!”

Izuku snaps out of his trance, once again being lost in his worries, but as he looks up and meets Bakugou’s furious gaze, he can’t help but allow for the stewing sense of irritation to boil within him.

“It’s bullshit.” He growls his red eyes flaring in anger. “You shouldn’t be as good as you are, and there’s no way a loser like you could ever out stage me!!” But he has. “You were never meant to. Do you really think you can surpass me? If you do.” His glare hardens. “Then it’s seriously pissing me off.”

“Uh-oh.” Ochaco silently gasps as she approaches Mina and Kaminari. “He must mean how Deku took down the Hero Killer.”

Mina nods. “Oh, yeah, totally.”

Bakugou twirls around and glares right at the brunette. “This goes for you too, Uraraka!”

Ochaco yelps in fright at being called out!

“I won’t hand over another win like in the festival.”

Ochaco frowns, glaring back just as defiantly.

As for Izuku well, his hair casts a dark shadow over his eyes as he gazes downward. How dare he, how dare he mock and deny everything he’s accomplished up till now. He’s had to work just as hard as everyone else. It’s not fair! It’s not right!

“We’ll be getting individual scores in the upcoming finals. New rankings.” Bakugou growls, aiming his finger at Izuku, and declaring for all to hear. “So we’ll all know exactly where we’re standing! I’ll show you all how much better I am.”

With his intentions out in the open, his declaration has put the entire class on edge. The entire room feels tense and heavy especially as the students look between Izuku and his tormentor. They’re not sure why but in that moment many of them could have sworn that they heard something snap! 

“Bakugou.” Izuku’s voice is soft, yet far away, almost like he’s in a trance, lost in his own world. A world of swirling confusing emotions. In that moment Izuku could feel all the frustration, anger, irritation, and loss that’s accumulated since his father came home, since Monoma berated him, and now when his long-time (too long) tormentor dares to spit dirt on his hard work!!

With a shaky breath, his fists clenching so tight they turn white, the maddening Izuku peers through his green locks, his emerald gaze piercing into Bakugou’s and with a dangerously soft voice he speaks. “At least I’m not a whinny bitch…”

The entire room is thrown into a stunned state of shock. Everyone’s breath hitches, even their hearts stop in place, as they all take in the words that have left Midoriya’s mouth, THE Midoriya’s mouth. Words that they never thought he’d even be capable of pronouncing…he stated with such defiance and anger. It’s almost…terrifying. Hell even Bakugou looks like he’s just taken a punch to the face!!

With nothing else to say, Izuku grabs his bag and marches off, not daring to meet anyone’s eyes, not at all proud of his little moment. And after marching past the stunned Bakugou, he’s gone.

As the door gently shuts behind him, Bakugou finally snaps out of his shock. His face turning red and furious with anger. And with a huff he turns and stomps off, throwing the door open before stomping away to leave too!! Upset that Deku somehow once again got the better of him again!

As the door shuts behind him, the rest of the class is finally able to breathe again. Some even sigh in relief. They never thought they’d ever see Midoriya angry, not ever! And honestly a pissed off Midoriya fighting a pissed off Bakugou doesn’t sound that fun for anyone.

Meanwhile, just outside the doorway, Mr. Aizawa is leaned up against the wall with a clipboard in his hands as he watches Bakugou’s retreating form. ‘ _Bakugou… You’re getting worse than I thought.’_ He frowns, sighing as he shakes his head in disappointment. _‘You even managed to get to Midoriya…’_

Just what will he have to do with the two of you? What will it take for the two of them to move on?

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

The weekend finally rolls around, and for Izuku it could not have come sooner. Things at school have been…awkward to say the least, especially after his little…outburst in front of everyone. Thankfully the class seemed to have all decided to give him his space, which honestly, he’s really grateful about.

*Yawn!* “Oh, morning Izuku.”

Izuku’s mood instantly drops as he rounds the corner to the bathroom and finds Hisashi standing there in his maroon bathrobe in the middle of the hallway. Stuck in his mouth is a toothbrush and he’s holding what Izuku assumes is coffee.

Hisashi removes the toothbrush. “Morning, champ. How’d you sleep?”

Izuku instantly turns away heading for his room, leaving Hisashi to gape and flail about in a panic. It’s been like this for the last few days, with Izuku doing all that he can to not interact with that man. But Hisashi is clearly determined and has tried to reach out on several occasions, but all it’s led to are awkward encounters and forced smiles. And today is no different.

And so not wanting to be stuck at home with the one person he can’t stand to be around right now, Izuku grabs his favorite black and green hoodie, slings it on, and heads for the door.

Hearing the door unlock, Inko is thrown into a panic as she scrambles into the hallway. “Izuku what about breakfast?!”

Izuku doesn’t even bother to look at her. “I’m not hungry.” And with a shut of the door, he’s gone and out of sight.

“Oh, dear.” Tears have already started to well up in Inko’s eyes as she begins to worry. “Where is he going? Is he alright, maybe I should-?” 

“He’s okay.” Hisashi states as calmly and reassuringly as he can. “Like we discussed he just needs time.”

Inko sighs in defeat. “Yeah, you’re right. But I still can’t help but worry.”

“And that’s fine, it’s okay to worry.” Hisashi slowly turns away and heads for the bedroom. “Alright I’m going to go get ready.”

“Oh are you off too?”

“Yeah, after eating I gotta head out. Now that I’m back in town.” Hisashi throws his wife a giant grin. “There’s a few friends I need to go see.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

*Hiccup! Belch!* “Excuse me…” Izuku slouches over the store counter, sinking into his seat after downing another glass. “Why…?”

God he feels awful, he thought coming here would help distract him but his stomach feels even more queasy than before. Damn it! He just can’t seem to get a handle on his emotions! It’s all so confusing, right now!

“Another…”

Mr. Baumann goes ahead and refills Izuku’s glass.

The moment it’s filled Izuku chugs it down like a shot, all before collapsing his head back onto the counter. “Gah!

Mr. Baumann deadpans. “Stop with the theatrics. It’s only soda.” 

“Another!”

Mr. Bauman’s glare hardens as he recollects how much Izuku’s already had. “I think you’ve had enough.”

“Mr. Baumann, please…”

“Just be happy I haven’t kicked you out yet.” 

Out of fear, Izuku straightens up in his seat. “No, please just let me stay a little while.” He’s begging! 

He doesn’t have to beg for long because Mr. Baumann has already given in. “Fine. But the moment you cause trouble, you’re out! You understand me?”

“Yes!”

Mr. Baumann accepts the answer with a nod of approval. And so he heads off for the back of the store counter, probably to go get some more soda.

As alien customers browse the aisles for groceries, Izuku finds himself alone at the counter and so he decides to lay his head down for a little bit. In truth one reason he came here was that he knew that there was no way Hisashi would ever appear in a place like this! He just really needs some space away from the guy, for some reason every time he’s near him his stomach gets all twisty and gross inside. Like something’s boiling in his stomach, but what he doesn’t know. 

“You look…miserable.” Says a new arrival.

Izuku instantly spins around in a panicked haste to see just who called him out! “Uraraka?”

Sure enough Ochaco’s standing just behind him with a worried smile and her phone in her hand.

“What are you doing here?”

“I uh…” She smiles sheepishly as she holds up her phone. “Got a text from a ‘concerned citizen’.”

Izuku’s rightfully confused, what kind of citizen would call Uraraka about him?

Unbeknownst to him, Ochaco’s gaze slowly drifts over to the side. And she spots Mr. Baumann peeking out from the corner.

“So.” She takes a seat beside her friend. “Wanna tell me what’s been eating you?”

Izuku panics! “Nothing’s been eating me!”

Ochaco isn’t convinced, and her whole face says so too.

Izuku cowers away under her judgmental gaze. “W-what?”

“Deku, something’s clearly bothering you. We can all see it.”

“We?”

“Our friends. We’re all really worried about you. You’ve been acting really weird, lately. And we don’t like it.” 

Izuku doesn’t know what to say. Instead he stares down at his empty glass contemplating what to say.

He looks back at Ochaco who gives him a comforting look. “You can tell me.”

Izuku stares back down at his glass and finally after another moment of contemplating he decides maybe it’d be best to share exactly what’s troubling him. “He…he came back.”

Ochaco blinks in confusion. “Who? Who came back?”

“Hisashi came back.” Izuku takes a deep breath before exhaling. “My…father came home.”

“Ohhhh. Is that it?” Ochaco’s totally confused. _‘I feel like I’m missing something here.’_

Izuku shivers in his seat, the unsettling and boiling feeling in his gut just won’t quiet will it?

“Do you…wanna talk about it?”

Izuku shakes his head. “Not really…” 

And so they both sit in silence, Ochaco allowing Izuku the time he needs to come around. And after a little while he finally speaks up especially after the boiling in his stomach settles down a bit. “I…I hate it.”

“Hate what?”

“This feeling. This feeling of…of…I don’t know!” Izuku shouts exasperatedly! “I just feel so lost and I guess angry? Maybe? I don’t know. It’s just all so weird having him home for the first-time in years.”

“Years?’ Ochaco is almost nervous to ask. “How many years?”

Izuku shakes before answering. “He’s been gone…ever since I was diagnosed as Quirkless.”

“That long?!’ Holy cow that’s a long time! No wonder they’re having issues!

“He left us.” Izuku continues needing to get all of this off his chest while he has the chance. “And all he has to say for it is his job took him away. And sure he says he wanted to come home, but he didn’t! So he just shows up and what expects us, expects me to be happy for him? He should have been there from the start. He should never have left!” It’s so absurd and crazy! “And what’s worse is that I don’t want to be upset, I want to be happy, but I can’t.” Especially with all the twisting and boiling in the depths of his heart and stomach. “I feel so…so wrong and I don’t know why.” 

“Deku…” Ochaco can’t help but worry, she can almost hear the underlying anger in Izuku’s voice. But mostly she can hear just how much pain he’s really in. Whatever the relationship is between these two, they need to work it out otherwise it might just get worse. “I get you’re feeling…off, and that’s okay. You just need time.” Also, oh boy how can she say this? “And maybe you’re just jumping to conclusions.”

Izuku raises an eyebrow.

So, Ochaco continues. “I mean maybe he really did want to come home, but his job kept him super busy or was like really strict.”

Ochaco can relate to both aspects. Due to her financial troubles, Ochaco can recall days when her father or mother had to stay at work for long periods of time due to the workload or demands of their client. She recalls even having to spend time at her grandparents’ or being watched by her neighbors for periods of times; whenever, her parents took on a difficult or long distance job.

Ochaco frowns as this all comes to her mind. “You don’t know. And you won’t know not until you at least talk to him.”

“I did talk to him!”

“But did you ‘talk’ to him?” questions Ochaco.

Admittedly… No he didn’t. He didn’t give Hisashi a real chance to explain himself, did he? “No…I didn’t.”

“Then maybe you should.”

Izuku ponders her words for a moment or two allowing silence to wash over them with only the sound of customers going about their business filling the void.

And after another moment of silence, Izuku breaks it with a heavy sigh. “Yeah, I probably should.” He reaches at his heart. “But will it stop how I’m feeling?”

“I don’t know.” Ochaco replies honestly. “All I know is that you need to fix this before it gets any worse.”

“Gets worse?”

“Yeah, Deku…seeing you snap at Bakugou was…let’s just say out of character for you. And no one is comfortable about it.”

Izuku smiles sheepishly out of embarrassment. It’s nice to hear that others care about him, but also embarrassing they had to see him snap like that.

“But then again I’m glad to see you standing up to him.” Ochaco waves a disappointed finger at him. “Even so you can’t let your anger build up too much.”

“Angry?! I wasn’t angry?” Izuku shakes his head, denying everything.

“Well whatever the case.” Ochaco places a hand on his shoulder and tells him straight up. “You need an outlet.” 

*Crash!!!*

“Eeeekkk!”

“Somebody help!”

Ochaco and Izuku wheel around at the sounds of crashing and aliens screaming just as an alien crashes out of the store aisle and makes a run for it.

The alien looks like a large pink caterpillar that’s wearing a large life-support power suit. The suit is silver with purple and black accents, but the most prominent feature is the large glass dome over the alien’s head, it almost looks like a bubble in fact. A Bubble Helmet if you will.

Bubble Helmet takes off down the aisle, right towards the hero students, with a large grin on his face and a purse gripped tightly in his hand. Behind him an alien woman is screaming bloody murder for her purse’s return!

Izuku actually smirks, looks like he found a good outlet after all.

Bubble Helmet grins, laughing back at the cursing victim. “Haha so long losers-Ooof!” Bubble Helmet slams into something big, bouncing back and falling to the ground with a thud. He grips his helmet and shakes his head before snarling up at the interloper. “Hey watch where you’re going will ya?!”

Four Arms grins down at the robber, standing tall and as menacing as possible. “You picked a really bad day to rob someone.” Especially because he’s not in the best of moods right now.

Bubble Helmet shoves himself off the ground and despite the obvious size difference he still acts defiant. “Oh, yeah and who’s gonna stop me? You and what?” He peers around Four Arms and spots Ochaco at the counter. “A little girl? Haha! Yeah, I’m so scared.”

“Naw, you should be scared of my other friends.” Four Arms lifts up his fists one after the other starting with his upper right fist. “Meet Claw,” He lifts his left fist, “The Hammer,” he raises his lower left fist “Slamson,” and with a cheeky smile he introduces his lower right fist. “And Lil Poundcake.”

Bubble Helmet raises an eyebrow, not at all intimidated. “Oh, yeah well I gotta friend too.” And with a draw of his free hand, he aims a freaking laser gun at the red hulk! “Eat laser, dumbass!!”

“Get down!!” Four Arms springs into action, spinning around and grabbing Ochaco all before leaping behind the counter for cover just as Bubble Helmet releases a hail of lasers at them both!

“Hahahaha!”

Four Arms and Ochaco duck down under the counter as bits and pieces of it shatter and are blasted away by the intense laser fire.

Holder her head down in cover, Ochaco snaps up at Four Arms. “Why didn’t you just grab him?!” Seriously that’s all he had to do but instead he talked his ear off!

Four Arms ducks down avoiding a laser to the head. “Then I’d miss out on all the witty-banter!”

“Eh?!”

“Izuku!!”

Four Arms and Ochaco peer over to see that Mr. Baumann is cowering nearby. “You promised not to cause trouble!!” He shouts accusingly!!

“It’s not my fault! I swear!” Cries the hulking red mass!

Ochaco mumbles under her breath. “It kinda is…”

“Fine then.” Despite the incoming laser fire, Four Arms leaps up and grips the counter and with a few pulls he rips the counter right out of the ground!

“NO!!! My store!!”

“Take. This!” With a mighty swing Four Arms chucks the counter right at Bubble Helmet. 

“Whoa!!” Bubble Helmet fires at the counter but it’s not enough and so he ducks allowing the counter to fly over his helmet! “You’re crazy!”

No, he’s a genius. Because that counter was just cover fire allowing Four Arms the opening he needed to charge in close.

“I got you!” Four Arms throws his hands forward but Bubble Helmet is far limber than he looks and so he leaps away, out of Four Arms’ reach.

From behind the counter Mr. Baumann cries out! “Don’t you dare break anything else!!”

“Don’t worry, I won’t!” Four Arms charges in, his fist reeled back.

Bubble Helmet has no chance to defend as Four Arm’s fist comes flying in and slams against his helmet!!

And with one hit Bubble Helmet goes down, and the helmet breaks away leaving a gaping hole in it.

Four Arms holds his pose, feeling very confident and proud of himself for how he handled things, but the situation is short-lived as Bubble Helmet cries out in anguish!!! 

“Gah!1 I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe!!” He’s suffocating!!

A green gas is pouring out of the gaping hole, whatever it is it’s the gas Bubble Helmet needs to breath! He’s dying!!

“Oh, my gosh!!” Four Arms’ in a total panic, hovering over the gaping and choking Bubble Helmet. “I’m so SORRY!!!” Oh, god, what should he do? What should he do?! Does he perform CPR? Does CPR even work on aliens? Oh, no he’s going to kill him!!Ahhhhh!! 

“WHAT DID YOU DO!?!”” Ochaco comes charging in, just as panicked and freaked out as he is!!

Tears are streaming Four Arm’s four eyes. “I didn’t mean to!! I swear!!”

As Ochaco and Four Arms continue to panic, Bubble Helmet grins glad to have the perfect distraction. He grabs a dial on his suit and with a flip the broken helmet bounces away and a new helmet takes its place. And with another push of a button, blue flames rocket out form his back and launch him away!! “Hahaha way to screw up, suckers!!”

“HE TRICKED US!?!” The Hero Students shout!! “After him!!” And off they go racing after the flying criminal!

“No wait!!” Mr. Baumann cries, chasing after them!

He should have kept his distance because Four Arms with Ochaco piggybacking on his shoulder race past a stack of cans. They may have been moving way too fast because the stack comes crashing down on the poor store owner!

The cans come crashing down completely burying him. “I knew I should have kicked him out.”

Meanwhile, Bubble Helmet is rocketing between the aisles leaving the hero students far behind. They’re so far behind that there’s no way they can catch up. Not unless they have superspeed. “Hahaha! I’m home free!” He can see the exit! Just a few more seconds and he’ll escape these losers! “Hahaha!! Nothing can stop me now!!”

He’s close!! He’s so close! He can practically taste it! Oh, the doors are opening on their own, this couldn’t get any better! Wait, there’s someone there, who is that?

“Ahhh!!!” Bubble Helmet screams out as flames erupt in his face, blasting him back and knocking him to the ground. “Owww!” Bubble Helmet glares up at the interloper. “Huh? What the he-Eeee!!” Bubble Helmet shuts his mouth as a red boot slams down on his helmet pinning him in place.

The newcomer smirks down at Bubble Helmet, an air of confidence radiating off of him like an old pro. “I’d say freeze.” A huff of fire spews out the man’s mask. “But that’s going against my image.”

Bubble Helmet gulps as he takes in the one who stopped him. It appears to be a human that stopped him. The man is tall and slender with a mop of messy dark hair. But his outfit, it’s a Plumber suit and not just any suit but a red suit, an Alpha Squad suit!! This guy’s an elite that much for sure! The only addition to the uniform is the red respirator covering the lower half of his face. The respirator is red and kinda looks like a slimmer version of a gas mask with an air slot for flames to escape from.

The sight of the red suit, that respirator, the fact that this guy is human, Bubble Helmet begins to panic as recognition kicks in! “Wah!! You’re back!!” Somehow this alien is sweating bullets! “You’re Cinder!!”

Immediately other aliens poke their heads out from the various aisles!

“No way!!”

“Cinder’s back gugg?!”

“What?!”

“I can’t believe it!”

In a blink of an eye, Cinder finds himself surrounded by aliens all of whom are welcoming him back and showing their appreciation. Even so he still has a job, cuffing Bubble Helmet and sitting him to the side to prevent an escape.

As the crowd grows more rambunctious, Four Arms and Ochaco finally arrive to find Bubble Helmet has already been arrested.

Four Arms tries to peer over the crowd to see what all the commotion is about. “What’s going on?”

They overhear the crowd.

“We love you Cinder!”

“It’s been way too long since you’ve been back.”

“When’d you get back, Cinder?”

Ochaco leans over Four Arms’ shoulder. “Who’s this Cinder person?”

They still can’t see a thing.

A huffing and puffing Mr. Baumann finally catches up to them. “Wait…you mean…you don’t know?” He asks between breaths.

Four Arms raises an eyebrow. “Don’t know what?”

For a few seconds the crowd clears away allowing Four Arms and Ochaco just enough time to spot the human man standing within the crowd!

They recognize the suit, Thirteen showed them what a Plumber suit’s supposed to look like, but why is it red? Wait a minute, Four Arms knows that guy. He seems familiar.

Cinder smiles and waves at the crowd, but as he scans the crowd his emerald eyes land on Four Arms.

Four Arms does a spit take, as he instantly realizes just who that person really is!!

Ochaco gasps. “Wait, Cinder’s human?!” She doesn’t get an answer instead Four Arms begins shaking underneath her. “De-Deku?!” She gasps at how pale he looks, how does someone go from such a bright red to a deep pale?!

Cinder turns away from Four Arms to address the crowd. “Yes, folks. Haha, I’m so glad to be back on Earth. It’s really been a while hasn’t it.”

“We missed ya, Cinder.”

“Yeah, Earth hasn’t been the same without ya.”

Bubble Helmet groans from the side with his hands bound in cuffs. “I could do without ya though.”

“Speaking of.” Cinder flashes his Plumber Badge at the criminal alien. “Congrats you’re my first arrest since I’ve been home.”

Tears stream down Bubble Helmet’s eyes. “I’m not sure if the tears are because I was caught, or because it’s such an honor.”

Cinder peers up and notices Mr. Baumann, he lights up and pushes his way through the crowd who politely get out of his way. “Ah, Mr. Baumann so nice to see you.”

Mr. Baumann offers up a kind, respectful smile. “Likewise, I had no idea you returned. You should have stopped by sooner.”

Cinder chuckles, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. “Yeah, I know. But I needed to see the family first.” Cinder turns away and peers up at the very pale and very still Four Arms. “Speaking of, you probably have a lot of questions.”

Four Arms is too stunned to even move, remaining stock still with his jaw hanging open.

Ochaco confusedly looks between Four Arms and this strange Plumber man. “Wait…do you two know each other?”

“Oh, my mistake. We haven’t met have we.” Cinder goes ahead and removes his respirator revealing his lean face covered in stubble. “I’m Izuku’s father, Hisashi Midoriya!”

“AN OLDER VERSION OF DEKU!!!” He even has freckles!! Amazingly, it’s like looking into a mirror that shows the future! Although his hair is a different color.

Hisashi can’t help but laugh at Ochaco’s face. “Haha! Do we really look that alike?!”

Mr. Baumann growls in annoyance. “You both certainly cause the same amount of trouble.”

Hisashi chuckles, sheepishly. “No denying that.” Hisashi turns back to Ochaco. “But you must be Ochaco Uraraka, am I correct?”

“Y-yes, sir!!” Is this what it feels like to talk to a superior?! He is a Plumber so he definitely outranks her!

“No need for that sir stuff. Makes me feel old.” Hisashi waves it off before bowing in respect. “Anyway I wanted to thank you for being friends with my dear son. He’s always struggled making friends.”

“Oh, uh, no it’s my pleasure.” Ochaco hops down from Four Arms’ shoulder and offers back her own bow.

With that out of the way, Hisashi turns his attention to the big mass that is his son. “I bet you’re surprised, aren’t you Izuku? Or should I call you Deku? Or maybe Four Arms?”

Four Arms finally snaps out of his shock! “I…I have so many questions!!” 

“I bet. Feel free to let them rip.”

Almost immediately, Four Arms cups his chin and begins muttering away at full speed. “How? Why? I don’t get it?! You’re-you’re a Plumber? I’m so confused but yet it all makes sense now. Why didn’t you say anything, earlier? Does Principal Nezu know? And if so, why didn’t he say anything? Huh does Mom know? Wait, do you know about the Omnitrix? Hang on, I thought you worked for the Self-Defense Force. But you were with the Plumbers the whole time?! If so then what in the world were you doing?!”

Ochaco frowns. “Deku there’s no way he got all that.”

“Yes, I am a Plumber.” Hisashi replies calmly and without a hint of hesitation.

Ochaco gasps! “You understood him?!”

Hisashi continues. “And I couldn’t tell you due to the policies in place. Gotta keep aliens a secret and all that. And of course Nezu knows, but I made him promise not to pull you into this work. Guess that’s been thrown out the window at this considering all this.” He gestures to Izuku’s current form. “And no your mother isn’t aware of all this, which I think you’ll agree is for the best. Her little heart may not be able to take it. And yes I know all about you and that Omnitrix.”

Ochaco internally gasps! _‘He really is Deku’s Dad!’_ He not only understood everything Deku said but he answered just as freakily! 

“As, for why I was gone.” Hisashi’s smile turns sad, like this part he does regret and is ashamed of. “Well that part wasn’t a lie. The Magistrate of the Plumbers forced me to be repositioned. Taking on missions all across the cosmos especially with everything that’s going on.”

“Things going on?” Ochaco blinks, tilting her head to the side. “Like what?”

“The usual.” Hisashi says matter-of-factly. “Wannaba conquers, alien armadas, planetary destruction, that kind of stuff.”

Ochaco is just a bit concerned. _‘Why is he saying it so casually?!’_

Hisashi thinks about it for a moment. “Oh there was even this one time I blew up a moon-sized super weapon and saved an entire planet! With nothing but my ship and my wits.” Yeah that was something, he even got a cool medal out of it!

Ochaco frowns. _‘Why does that sound so familiar?!’_

“But why now?” Four Arms asks quietly, still trying to process it all. “If it was the Plumbers that took you away then why did they suddenly change their minds?”

Hisashi smiles up softly at his son. “Because of you.”

“Me?”

Sort of. “Well because of you, Nezu, and Vilgax that is.” Hisashi states a matter-of-factly.

Four Arms is a little lost here. “What?”

Hisashi goes ahead and explains. “The broadcast of the U.A. Sports Festival has made the head honchos aware of Earth’s situation, especially with the Omnitrix in the mix. And of course they finally became aware of Vilgax’s interest in the device. So they mercifully sent me back to ensure your safety, as well as Earth’s.”

 _‘So, that’s why…’_ The morphed Izuku gets it now. But…it doesn’t make him feel any better, like at all.

“Hang on, but why you specifically?” interrupts Ochaco. “I mean no offense but why’d they think you were the one to help.”

“No offense taken.” Replies Hisashi with an embarrassed smile. “Actually you can say that Vilgax and I have a bit of a history.”

Four Arms gasps! “You do?!”

Ochaco gasps in awe as her imagination runs wild! “I bet it’s something tragic. You both trained as Plumbers but Vilgax got greedy and cut corners. And you were forced to choose what’s right versus your friend. You chose to follow what’s right and turned on him and now he’s out for revenge!!”

“Hahaha! That’s such a fun story! But no.” Hisashi states with such a dopey grin. “We just hate each other, simple as that!”

Ochaco face faults, the pain of being wrong sure does hurt.

Four Arms frowns, he still doesn’t feel right about all this. But at least he got some answers.

“Izuku.” Hisashi reaches up, reaching out to his son and grabbing him by the shoulder. “I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you. Not right away a least, but I hope this clears things up between us.”

Izuku can accept the truth, but…he can’t exactly forgive Hisashi yet. He may have had a reason but he still lied to them and he still left them! That can’t be overlooked, even if he didn’t mean to. Even so…he can’t bring himself to say any of this outloud. “I…understand.”

The answer is acceptable, because Hisashi’s grin widens.

“But…that can’t change how I feel.” Four Arms is seriously ashamed that he can’t change how he feels. “I’m sorry, but…” 

“It’s fine, I…can’t blame you.” Hisashi’s hurt but he’s happy to say the least, at least it’s a start, and that’s all he can ask for. “I should have been honest with you from the start.”

Four Arms nods in understanding.

Off to the side, Ochaco flinches a bit at Hisashi’s comment. _‘Be honest from the start.’_ Oh, boy. Maybe she should follow that advice. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that was Ch.38. How was it? I hope it was good, I tried my best, but I feel like some elements of this chapter were a little weak. Let me know what could be improved on and such, please. Also to be clear I basically have Ch.39 all ready to go but I’m not going to post it until late next week, I wanna try to start Ch.40 because that one’s going to be a long one and I rather not have you guys wait two weeks for a new chapter. Again Ch.39 will probably be posted Thursday or Friday of next week.
> 
> *Important News!* In case you missed my announcement above, I now have an illustrator. And they’re alias is “Voidv25” I like what they do, and I trust them completely. As of now they only have one piece of art related to this story, but more is on the way and I will announce when those posts occur. Please check Voidv25’s content, they just started but I know for a fact that they’re going places.
> 
> Also if you wanna leave comments about the art you can do that in this story too, I will pass on the message to Voidv25. Thanks.
> 
> DeviantArt Link: https://www.deviantart.com/voidv25
> 
> *It’s official Hisashi Midoriya is now part of this story! I’m sure many of you have questions but please hold off until next time. Next chapter I will explore more of Hisashi Midoriya: where has he been, his Quirk, experiences, and more! So stay tuned.
> 
> *Also should I mention this…maybe? No. But should I tell you guys? No. Why should I tease you guys like that? … But then again this could be fun. Okay, I’m going to say it. A NEW Omnitrix Alien is on the way!! Oh, shoot I said it! But which one is it? Guess we’ll have to wait and find out in another chapter or two.  
> ¯\\_( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)_/¯


	44. Wild Encounters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Izuku, Ochaco, and Hisashi head out to learn a little bit more about each other. But something fierce is stalking the mountain side and they must overcome their turmoil to stop it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So before we begin, I should mention that the window for “suggestions” is officially closed. For the most part I have everything figured out (mostly) and if I require more suggestions, I will announce it: most likely this will be months from now.
> 
> *Also just a reminder that my Illustrator “Voidv25” now has a piece of art up on DeviantArt.
> 
> *Speaking of Art a kind fan, Bacara Best Clone Commander, drew up their own piece of art labeled under “Ben 10 X MHA: Uraraka Go! By Gero223” go check it out too.

‘ _I…I still can’t believe it…_ ’ Izuku Midoriya peers down at his feet as the elevator begins to slowly descend down into the depths of Plumber Base.

His eyes drift over to his left where Ochaco Uraraka is standing there with a brimming smile on her face. She’s staring up in awe struck by the Plumber before them, of Hisashi Midoriya, his father.

“I still can’t believe it…” mumbles Izuku, but then again it hasn’t even been an hour since he found out.

Hisashi smiles, as he lowers his respirator. “Believe it, I’m a Plumber.”

Cuffed and being escorted by Hisashi is Bubble Helmet who looks a lot like a regretful puppy that was caught peeing in the corner. “Just my luck, filthy Red Spot.”

Hisashi flashes the criminal a smile but it’s only a facade, disguising his malice underneath. “Behave yourself, alright?”

Bubble Helmet flinches, scooting away out of fright. “Y-yes, s-sir.”

Ochaco’s eyes sparkle with awe. “So um, Mr. Midoriya?”

Hisashi turns his attention away from the captive. “Yes.”

“Those aliens…they all called you something else, didn’t they? Um, was it Cinder?” She’s of course referring to how the aliens at Mr. Baumann’s store reacted to his entrance.

“Yeah it was.”

“Why was that? Is it because of your Quirk?”

“Yeah, kinda, but really it’s because that’s my hero name.”

“Hero name?!” Ochaco spins and gasps at Izuku, her mind completely blown! “You never said your dad was a hero!”

Izuku winces in guilt. He’s known but…he never saw him that way. 

Hisashi tries to think of the best way he can explain this. “Well, I have a hero license, but I consider myself more of a Plumber than a pro hero.” Besides that’s how it’s been for the last decade anyway. “But for Plumbers on Earth it’s standard procedure to gain a hero license to help disguise our activities. Hence a hero name is just part of the gig.” Easy to cover up villain attacks and missions if it’s all disguised as hero work. “And Cinder is my codename.”

Somehow her eyes sparkle even more. “So, cool.”

Hisashi chuckles. “Thanks. Of course though the aliens here on Earth have taken up to referring to us as our hero names.”

Bubble Helmet, who’s been quiet so far, chirps in. “It’s because those names are easier to remember.”

Hisashi glares. “Quiet you.”

Ochaco gasps as she remembers something from before. “Oh, you mentioned your Quirk is related to your name. Is it because you can breathe fire!”

Hisashi let’s out a hearty laugh! “Hahaha, yup, Fire Breather, is my Quirk.”

“Woah, so you can like produce your own flames?!”

“Not exactly.”

“Huh?”

Hisashi gestures to his throat and mouth. “My Quirk doesn’t allow me to produce flames but instead it allows me to manipulate fire through my mouth. Specifically through special breathing techniques, as well as the amount of oxygen I have stored up, I can alter the intensity of the flames as well as direct them to a certain extent.”

“Huh?” She’s a bit lost here.

Alright he needs another way to explain this. “Okay, um, have you seen this really old cartoon show about a monk boy that can manipulate the four elements?”

“Oh, I sure have! Avatar, right?”

Hisashi throws her a pair of thumbs up! “Correct!”

“Yay!” Ochaco lets out a cheer, funny enough Toshinori actually lent her the DVDs a while back. And she has to agree, it was worth the watch.

“Think of me as a fire bender but I can only bend fire through my mouth.”

“Oh!” She gets it now: control flames through his breathing.

Izuku has been fidgeting to the side, even though he feels so off about his father and the situation, he can’t resist Quirk talk. “So then…where do the flames come from?”

Hisashi smiles, glad his son wants to know more. “My respirator.” He gestures to the red mouthpiece around his neck. “This respirator comes equipped with an igniter that produces the flames. And these filters ensure that a great deal of oxygen can enter. Finally this mouthpiece allows for the flames to exit.” He grips the device. “It also protects my source of power from other countermeasures.” Like preventing water, or slime from cutting off his oxygen supplies and mouth.

Okay even Izuku has to give props when they’re due. “That’s…really smart.” He says rather softly and half-heartedly, although he really does mean it.

Hisashi smiles, grateful that Izuku is at least talking to him.

Finally after what feels like a dragged-out elevator ride, they arrive at their destination.

Hisashi shoves Bubble Helmet forward just as the doors open wide.

“Welcome home!!” Without warning both Principal Nezu and Thirteen spring into view, wearing party hats and blasting confetti cannons that fire out streams, confetti, and glitter!

Hisashi laughs as confetti and glitter get tangled in his hair. “Haha thanks!”

“Pft! Oft!” Ochaco spits and blows her tongue, spitting out bits of confetti and glitter. “Guh, it flew into my mouth!”

Izuku annoyingly tries his best to wipe away the confetti stuck in his hair. Curse his messy hair!

Thirteen lights up at Hisashi. “Welcome back, senpai. I’ve held down the fort to the best of my abilities while you’ve been away.”

And he’s grateful for that. “And I’m sure you’ve done a fine job.”

“Thirteen certainly has.” confirms Nezu. “And I have to agree. It’s a pleasure to finally have you back.”

“Nezu, it’s great to be back.” Hisashi takes a moment to scan the base like a college student finally returning home for the first time in years. “This place hasn’t changed one bit.” His smile fades though, becoming a frown. “Although…this place is lacking.”

“Lacking?” Ochaco blinks. “Lacking in what?”

“Plumbers.” answers Hisashi like it’s the most obvious thing, before he turns his attention on his boss. “Where is everybody? They can't all be out on assignments.”

Nezu’s smile falls. “I’m afraid many of the higher ups saw fit to interfere with our assignments and staffing, many of which have been reassigned to other planets that were deemed more necessary than Earth.”

“The Higher ups huh…” Hisashi scowls out of annoyance…and regret. “That’s such a shame.” 

Thirteen nods, sadly accepting the reality of the situation. “Unfortunately there hasn't been much we can do. Most of the aliens here don’t cause any trouble so the Magistrata doesn't see any need in giving us more Plumbers.”

“Can’t say I’m surprised.” Hisashi says with annoyance. “A shame, this place just seems so empty now, what a waste. What’s worse it feels like after they pulled me away, they forced the others away, too.”

Wait, something just occurred to Izuku. Not only is Hisashi a Plumber but Thirteen and Principal Nezu knew about it! “So, you all knew then…? ”

Thirteen blinks. “Hm?”

“You all knew that…he was a Plumber.” Izuku frowns advertising his eyes downward. “Yet none of you ever said anything.”

Ochaco frowns worriedly. “Deku…”

“Why?” Izuku looks up, his eyes locking onto Thirteen. “Why didn’t you bother saying anything?”

Thirteen’s gaze falls, and even though Izuku can’t see their face he can tell they’re ashamed. “Sorry Midoriya…I just felt like…it wasn’t my place to tell you.” And that’s fair, it really wasn’t their place to tell Izuku that they know something about his family that he doesn’t. 

Izuku gets it, but what’s his response? “And you…Principal Nezu?”

Nezu too looks ashamed, and a bit regretful, even so he makes sure to look the young man right in the eye. “Mr. Midoriya, if it were up to me, I would never have let your father go.”

Izuku frowns, unsure.

Hisashi nods. “He means it. He really did advocate for me to stay but the Magistrates forced our hand.”

“The Magistrates?” Now that he thinks about it, this is not the first time that term has been thrown around.

Judging by the boy’s confused face, Thirteen goes ahead and tries to clarify. “Magistrate is the rank given to the highest-ranking Plumbers. Think of them as our bosses.”

Ochaco frowns. ‘ _Nezu has a boss?_ ’ That’s hard to imagine.

Izuku frowns. So the Magistrates are the head honchos and they were the ones that forced his father to leave… ‘ _So he was forced to leave…’_ It’s nice to have a reason why but…that doesn’t mean it hurts any less.

Principal Nezu claps his paws together, gathering their attention. “I’m sure we all have a lot of questions, but I think it would be best if we move this to our conference room.” He looks to Hisashi. “We have a lot to catch you up on.”

“Sure, let’s go gang.” Hisashi goes ahead and shoves Bubble Helmet forward. “And let’s get this one processed. Shall we?”

“Of course.”

Nezu leads Hisashi and Bubble Helmet away as Ochaco and Thirteen follow along. Izuku however, is hesitant, he hangs back a moment, unsure, and he briefly looks to the elevator as if he’s thinking about leaving…

After a moment of hesitation he follows, but the twists and vile in his stomach have not lessened one bit.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“There you should be all filled in now.” Nezu clasps his paws together before leaning back in his seat.

Finally after an hour of sitting at the conference table, Nezu’s finally been able to catch Hisashi up on all of the most relevant and recent events: from the U.S.J. attack, to Vilgax, and even Stain.

^Yes, your noggin should be brimming with joy!^ cheers Glad-One, the happy side of One-One, from atop the large table. 

^Or mindnumbliy dead inside.^ adds the ever-pessimistic Sad-One. 

Hisashi let’s out a hearty laugh at One-One’s comments. “Haha! You’re certainly a Fun-One!”

^Hahaha!^

^Kill me.^

Meanwhile, at hearing that pun, Ochaco silently gasps from her seat. ‘ _He really is Deku’s dad!_ ’ He likes puns too! Although she’s not exactly sure if that’s a good thing or not.

“Haha.” laughs Nezu. “Yes now that you're aware of the state of things hopefully your transition back into the Japan branch will play out smoothly and efficiently.”

“I hope so to.” agrees Hisashi. “Although I have to admit, it’s a bit disheartening to see just how small the population’s gotten since I left.”

“Well I’m afraid many of our resident aliens moved on after your departure, they felt rather unprotected without you.”

Thirteen frowns, sadly. “Especially after we lost so much of our staff.”

Hisashi leans back in his seat, reminiscing about those they lost. “Such a shame. I miss those guys.” Even so a smile graces his lips as he turns to their newest cadets. “But hopefully things can change with the two of you around.”

Ochaco’s smile widens, she then begins to pester Hisashi more questions about his time as a Plumber. Thirteen joins in as well adding in their own answers from time to time.

Meanwhile, Izuku shrinks back into his seat with a grimace on his face, averting his gaze away from Hisashi and the others.

Unbeknownst to him, the head Plumber happened to take notice, frowning in the process.

^Bring! Bring!^ One-One’s entire body shakes as a ring vibrates through him like a phone.

Ochaco eyes the little bot worriedly. “What’s with him?”

Thirteen answers. “That happens when we get an emergency alert.” Thirteen waves One-One over.

The little bot rolls its way to them, he aims his eye up and then a holographic screen pops into Thirteen’s view.

Ochaco tries to read the screen but she can’t quite make anything out. “What is it?”

“There’s trouble in Endori.”

“Endori?!” That’s her hometown!! “What happened?!”

“Not sure an alien cargo ship is reporting a stowaway that managed to escape and is now running around the mountainside.”

Hisashi cups his chin in thought. “Endori? I don’t recall a very big alien presence there. Why would a cargoship stop there?”

Thirteen scrolls through the report. “According to the report they made an emergency landing in the mountainside to make repairs, that’s when they discovered their stowaway.”

Nezu frowns. “Who is this stowaway?”

“Um, unclear. They didn’t say.”

“Well,” With a shove, Hisashi pushes himself up onto his feet. “Mind if I take this one. I’d like to get back into the swing of things. If you don’t mind?”

Nezu smiles up at his top Plumber. “I expected as much, please feel free.”

“Alright!”

As Hisashi rechecks his gear Nezu looks over and spots that Izuku is still silently shrunk back in his chair.

And after a moment of thought, a smile, a terrible scheming smile, forms. “And why not take our young cadets with you?”

Ochaco gasps. “Really?!”

“Huh?” Izuku blinks in confusion, unclear of what was just said.

Hisashi’s smile widens. “Sure I’d love to.”

Ochaco jumps out from her seat. “Great! I grew up in Endori so I can really be of help!”

“Fantastic.”

Izuku couldn’t feel more different. Honestly, for once he rather not go…no he’d still go. He can’t just ignore this, even with Hisashi around… 

“Wait!” Ochaco screams out in shock as she realizes something very important! “How are we going to get there? Endori is like four hours away by train!” That’s why she had to get an apartment near U.A. there’s no way she could take that kind of commute day-in and day-out. “Plus…the stowaway could be long gone by the time we get there.”

A cocky smirk forms on Hisashi’s face. “Who said we were taking the train?”

“Huh?”

Even Izuku blinks in confusion. 

Hisashi smiles humorously at their bewildered faces. “How are you two with motion sickness?”

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“Whaaaaaa?!” Ochaco’s and Izuku’s jaws drop, drop right to the floor at the sight before them.

Hisashi grins, loving their amazed expressions. “Hahaha! I take it neither of you have gotten a chance to ride one of these huh?”

They shake their heads in unison, their eyes glued to the beauty before them.

“Well let me introduce,” Hisashi spins around throwing his arms up towards his most prized possession! “say hello to the Razor Crest!!” Hisashi’s very own SPACESHIP!!!

The Razor Crest is large, it’s bigger than the Midoriya’s own apartment!! The cockpit sits atop the front, lined with a pair of front-aimed guns. The large metal wings sit over the middle of the ship with large bully engines on the ends. The ship has a side ramp that is currently lowered and it’s clear that the back end of the ship is also a ramp that leads into its main haul.

Drool slips out the side of Ochaco’s open maw. “So, cool.”

Even Izuku looks like he’s in stunned amazement, he’s speechless.

Hisashi grins. “Beautiful, isn’t she?” That’s a rhetorical question, he already knows the answer.

Nezu strolls up beside the amazed teens. “The Razor Crest. A fine reliable ship capable of long-distance travel across the void and reaching record breaking speeds.”

“It’s a relic.” deadpans Thirteen before they turn to Hisashi. “And…didn’t you leave here with a Plumber Ship? ” They give their senpai a suspicious look.

Hisashi thinks on it for a moment. “Oh! That thing got blown up.” He waves it off like it’s no big deal.

“What?!” shouts a stunned Thirteen!!

How could he?! Those ships are expensive, and he got it blown up?!

“How’d you even get this thing?” They shout pointing their finger at the offending ship!!

“I won it in a game of Savak believe it or not.” The Plumber grins, amusedly. “It was an Idiot's Array.”

Thirteen facepalms, finding Hisashi’s story exasperating.

But none of that matters to the teens who are just blown away by it all!

Hisashi makes a show as his feet dance him over to the lowered ramp leading into the side of the ship. “Well what are you waiting for?” he gestures towards the inner haul. “Get in there!”

Without skipping a beat, Ochaco rushes into the ship, her excitement getting the better of her.

Izuku, however, stays back, as he returns to his somber tone from before, hesitating.

Hisashi notices the frown on his son’s face. “Why do you look so confused? How do you think I got back to Earth? The bus?”

Izuku embarrassingly turns red, that was not at all what he was thinking!

“Haha. Relax!” Hisashi slaps his shoulder. “I was just kidding.”

Hisashi may be smiling, but Izuku averts his gaze, his frown unmoving.

“Eeeekkk!!” Ochaco’s scream echoes out from within the haul of the Razor Crest, shattering the peace.

The Midoriyas shout out in worry. “Uraraka!!”

In response, a screaming Ochaco scrambles out of the ship as various alien-tech, tools, and ship parts come flying out at her from behind. “Eeeek!! The trash can attacked me!!”

Izuku blinks. “Trash can?”

^Bwop! Bwop!^

A robotic trash can wheels out from within the ship, bopping and beeping with a tone of a grumpy cat. The droid has an orange top with a pair of circular eyes and an antenna dish atop its head. Its lower half is a dirty gray, its hub is littered with all sorts of various gadgets and slots. A pair of mechanical legs that allow it to wheel forward as a pair of wrench-like mechanical limbs flail about, tossing trash at the ship’s intruder. ^Bwop!! Wap-wa! Wap-waa!^

“Easy Chopper!” Hisashi grabs the droid, shoving it back by its head. “She’s a cadet, relax.”

The pair of wrench-like mechanical limbs wave and flail in defiance. ^Blop baw!^

“Hey, watch your language.” Hisashi scolds like he’s talking to a child.

The little droid swats his owner’s hand away, before he leans over to have a look at the cadets. And instantly Chopper’s eyes land on Izuku and even though he doesn’t have a face it’s very clear by his voice and flailing arms that the droid is flipping out. ^Waa! Waa! Waa!^

“No, he’s not a clone. That’s my son, Izuku.”

Izuku jolts up at the mention of his name. “What? Is that thing?”

Chopper takes offense to that! ^Bawp! Bawp!^ The droid swiftly wheels around his owner, charging at Izuku, his head spinning just before he delivers a few swift smacks to the teen’s leg.

“Ow!”

^Waa! Wap!^

“Hey!” Hisashi grabs the droid, pulling it back away from Izuku. “Sorry about him. He can be a bit…emotional.”

Is that what he calls it? 

“Izuku, Uraraka.” Hisashi pulls the droid back, who eventually settles down, and smiles. “This is C1-10P, or as I like to call him, Chopper. He’s my astromech.” As if to emphasize his point he leans on top of Chopper, using his arm to stabilize himself with the droid’s orange head.

The teens blink. “Astromech?”

This is when Thirteen butts in with their own explanation. “He’s like One-One. A droid partner that helps and aids their Plumber with maintenance, monitoring, and everything in between.” From behind their helmet, they smile. “And they can make good companions.”

Chopper whacks Hisashi’s hand away, his mechanical limbs shaking at him what one could assume are rude gestures. Although Hisashi just laughs it all off.

Thirteen sweatdrops. “Most of the time.”

With a laugh, Hisashi gives the droid a light shove, pushing him aside. “Alright kids. Who’s ready for their first spaceship ride?”

Despite the very grumpy droid onboard, neither Ochaco nor Izuku would dare to pass up this chance. And so they excitedly, and hesitantly, come aboard.

The interior is large, large enough to fit a couple of small cars or three. The walls are lined with pipes, storage units, and lined with various alien devices and tech. A ladder is positioned nearby leading up to what they can assume is the cockpit.

Izuku climbs up and sure enough he’s in the cockpit. The cockpit isn’t too big, with a single pilot's chair and two passenger chairs behind it. Surrounding the pilot’s seat are a number of consoles that are littered with all sorts of blinking lights, buttons, screens, and of course the steering.

Izuku takes the passenger seat to the right of the pilot just as Ochaco climbs up and takes the left seat. Behind her Chopper flies into the cockpit, literally, a rocket is propelling him up from his underside.

Chopper lands on the metallic floor with a clang, but it doesn’t seem to bother him as he wheels over to one of the side consoles.

Izuku and Ochaco watch as Chopper pulls out a metallic port that inserts itself into the dataport of the side console.

The little droid turns and shifts the dataport as Hisashi climbs up and takes his seat at the helm.

After a check on the ship’s systems, Hisashi turns in his seat and smiles at the cadets. “You ready?”

They both nod, nervously, in unison.

And so with a flip of a few switches and a pull at the yoke the Razor Crest begins to take flight, slowly rising up into the air.

Izuku and Ochaco lean forward peering out the sides of the cockpit, they watch as the ship slowly rises inside the hanger and as the ship’s landing gears fold back into the ship itself.

“Opening bay doors.” With a flip of a switch the ceiling above the hangar pries itself open. Above the grassy hillside opens up to the dense forest, shielding the hanger’s entrance from view.

The sun shines down on the passengers as they rise higher and higher.

But just before they can fully exit the hanger, Izuku begins to panic! “Wait!!”

Hisashi nearly jumps from his seat, turning to look at Izuku to see what’s wrong.

“We can’t!” Izuku shouts. “We can’t fly out of here! People will see!” This thing doesn’t exactly look like a plane, people will know! They’re going to see an alien spaceship! How are they supposed to explain that?!

“Oh, don’t you worry about that.” Hisashi states with such ease. “Chopper engage the cloaking device.”

^Bwap. Waa.^ Chopper rotates his data rod, rotating the dataport which gives him certain control over the ship’s mechanics.

Izuku and Ochaco watch on in amazement as a glitching-static field sparks off the ship’s exterior. Just as the ship exits the hanger it’s metallic and grey haul becomes holographic in nature as it camouflages itself in midair, becoming almost invisible to the eye.

Ochaco gaps as the ship becomes virtually invisible. “No way!”

Izuku looks to Hisashi. “Cloaking Device?”

Hisashi nods. “Ships that enter Earth are required to have cloaking devices installed.” He points to several monitors and dials to his right. “It produces a hyper holographic field around the entire ship, camouflaging into the surrounding environment. The holograms can even extend quite a distance from the ship allowing us to look like clouds, trees, and even a building.” Which makes it quite handy, especially when aliens cause more of a ruckus than they should. 

“Amazing.” Ochaco’s eyes widen as she realizes something else! “Oh, so that’s why we don’t see alien ships just flying around!”

“Exactly. They're just…out of sight.”

And so the cloaked ship rises over the tree-line, the canopy sways and moves due to the thrust of the humming engines, and coming into view in front of them is U.A.

“Let’s start off nice and easy.” He doesn’t want to freak them out, it’s better to ease them into the ride.

Too bad he didn’t give Chopper the memo.

^Waaa!!^ With a single rotation of his data rod, Chopper takes control.

And BLAM!!! The spaceship literally rockets away, breaking the sound barrier in less than a second!!

The teens are flung back into their seats, their fingers digging into their seats as the rush throws them back. They’re moving so fast it feels like their skins are going to peel off!!

Hisashi isn’t faring any better as he shouts out at the top of his lungs. “Chopper!!”

^Wawawa!^

The Razor Crest soars up and over U.A. flying so close they’d be scraping the roof if they were a foot lower, just before they speed onward to their destination!

And so the ship soars and races through the air, gliding over Musutafu and the neighboring cities. At some point Chopper pulls the ship up and into the clouds, breaking the fluffy clouds like a breaching whale.

“AAAAAAAHHHHH!!!” The teens scream out like they’re riding the world’s most terrifying roller coaster, all the while Hisashi’s trying and failing to regain control over his ship!

He takes the ship through the clouds like they’re swimming through them, diving in and out, at one point a passenger plane comes into view and Chopper circles around it as if to taunt the oblivious pilots.

This goes on for who knows how long, but it’s been far too long for the cadets!! Seriously, how can aliens do this all the time?!

Without warning Chopper shuts off the engines sending the ship plummeting down to Earth.

“AAAAAAAHHHHH!!!”

The teens are nearly floating off their seats as they freefall, falling faster and faster with each passing second! And in no time at all the ground is quickly coming into view!

“Chopper!!

^Wawawa!^

Hisashi has had enough, finally with some more tinkering with the consoles he regains control over the Razor Crest. Acting fast he begins the engines back, although the rushing wind blocks out their roars, and with a pull of the yoke he levels out the spacecraft. But that’s done very little to their velocity as they continue to plummet!! In a matter of moments they’ll be pancakes!!

And so with one finally pull of a lever the Engines roar and aim down, bringing the ship to a sudden halt!!

Hisashi let’s out a sigh of relief as the ship hovers in place. “Nailed it.” He may be acting like that was normal, but that’s far from the truth for Izuku.

The boy is shaking, his knuckles white and frozen to the seat, even his hair is frozen in place as it was pushed back by the sheer force of their take off.

“Woo!” Ochaco springs out of her seat, her hair too is unmoving after being forced back. “Let’s do that again!”

The greenette shakily and fearfully shakes his head.

^Wawawa!^ laughs Chopper, who can’t help but find Izuku’s terrified expression hilarious.

“Haha!” Hisashi sympathetically pats Izuku’s shaking shoulder. “Don’t worry you’ll learn to love it.” He turns and looks out through the glass. “And there’s our cargo ship.”

Ochaco rushes to the window, while Izuku slowly and shakily follows after peeling himself off the seat.

He looks out too but all he sees is a large mountainside, filled with trees, and large boulders. Guess in all that supposed flying, they arrived to Endori.

“This is Lothaal Mountain.” comments Ochaco as her eyes take in the all too familiar mountain with its forested slopes, mountain trails, and the vast valley below it. “But I don’t see a ship.” Yeah, there’s no sign of a spaceship anywhere.

Hisashi turns his attention to a nearby console, with a press of a few switches and buttons a holographic light emits outward from the front of the Razor Crest that showers the entire area before them. A holographic field expands all around them hiding the ship from view but as a result a large cargo spaceship has been revealed. The ship is large, sitting within a large clearing as several tan-skinned squid-faced aliens mill about.

The Plumber rises from his seat before climbing down the ladder. “Come on, let’s go. You too, Chop.”

^Wap. Bwa.^ Chopper begrudgingly follows as Hisashi slides down the ladder.

Ochaco follows suit whereas Izuku takes a minute before coming along too. Now that all the excitement of the ride has passed, those twisted feelings come back, boiling within him.

The moment they exit the Razor Crest, Hisashi or rather the pro hero/Plummer, Cinder, gets right to work. Greeting the cargo ship’s captain who is apparently an alien species called Quarren.

Cinder readies his pad, making sure to collect and write down every detail the Quarren can remember. “Alright what can you tell us about the stowaway?”

The captain strokes the tentacles off his face, like a human would stroke their beard. “Not much I can say. While we were entering the troposphere, one of my engineers was going over the ship manifest when he heard some noise from the back.” The captain points to a fellow Quarren who is seated on a nearby log, looking disheveled and frightened. “He’s pretty shaken up after the whole thing.”

Cinder frowns, concernedly. “Was he attacked?”

“In a way.” The captain rubs the back of his head. “That beast jumped out at him, roaring and snapping, before ripping its way through our engine room out of the freaking haul. That thing damaged my ship!”

Cinder follows the captain’s gaze, and sure enough near the ship’s engines is a gaping hole. And judging from the scratches and the way it’s bent something definitely tore its way through it. “A beast you say?”

“Yeah, it wasn’t a being. It was some sort of animal. Couldn’t tell you what though, afraid that my cargo bay doesn’t have much lighting.”

“No, it’s fine.” Honestly, Cinder’s had far less to work with. “The beast couldn’t have gone far, especially in an unfamiliar place. Whatever it is, we’ll find it.” 

“Uh, that’ll be a relief.”

“I recommend you stay with your ship, make your repairs, and then be on your way.” Cinder turns to his astrodroid. “My astromech can even give you a hand if you like.”

“That’d be appreciated.”

“Great.” Cinder smiles. “Get to work, Chop.”

Chopper clearly doesn’t want to participate. ^Bwa. Bwap!^

“Yes, you have to. Get to it.”

^Bwaa…^ Chopper does his version of dragging his feet as he follows the captain.

Ochaco looks to Cinder for guidance. “So what are we doing?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Cinder equips his respirator. “We’re going hunting.”

Ochaco gasps! That’s so morbid!!

“No, no, I mean we’re tracking.” he corrects. “We’re not really going to hunt anything.”

The girl sighs. “Oh, that’s a relief. So how are we going to find it? What exactly is it?”

“Don’t know, but I’m sure we’ll find out eventually.”

Ochaco internally deadpans. “You’re acting way too calm.”

Cinder smiles, pointing his thumb back at himself. “Relax just stick with me and everything will be alright.”

At that, Izuku frowns. He still doesn’t feel totally a hundred percent comfortable with Hisashi yet. There’s just something…wrong. If only he could get some space even for a little bit.

An idea pops into his head, and so, pocketing his hands into his black and green hoodie, Izuku quietly and somberly begins to walk away. 

But his fellow cadet, of course, spots him. “Deku, where are you going?”

Izuku stops, but he doesn’t turn to face them…to face him. “It’s best if we split up.” He says quietly and somberly. “You know so we can cover more ground…”

“I…guess.” But she’s not so sure about it still.

Izuku doesn’t wait for any more questions, instead he strolls away, disappearing down a nearby trail.

Cinder frowns as he watches Izuku leave, a part of him feels guilty for not attempting to stop him, but…he can’t really blame the boy. Sometimes it feels like he’s trying to be too casual with Izuku, especially after being away for so long… Maybe it’s best if he allows Izuku to have his space…for now. Besides he can handle himself. Right?

Cinder turns tapping Ochaco’s shoulder, drawing her attention away from Izuku. She snaps to attention in response. But he just gestures for her to follow and so they both take a stroll down a different path. 

They stroll down the mountain path for some time, not a word is exchanged between them.

‘ _This is so awkward._ ’ thinks Ochaco as she scans the woods for signs of aliens, beasts, monsters, or whatever there is! But it’s so hard to focus when your friend just walks off without much of an explanation. “So, what exactly are we looking for?”

“Everything.” Cinder states a matter of faculty his eyes never leaving the tree line.

“That doesn’t help!”

“Sorry, what I mean is anything.” Cinder explains. “Anything that could lead us to the alien beast.”

“Like footprints?”

“Exactly, or anything for that matter: scales, fur, slime, heck even scat will do too.”

“Cool.” She’ll do her best to keep a lookout for that stuff…but her mind still can’t help but worry for Deku. He was acting really weird again…

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Izuku continues down the game trail, his eyes cast downward as he brushes past the tall ferns and overhanging branches. A cool breeze flows down the mountain, making it seem like his hair is waving in water. Birds sing their songs as the sun shines down, illuminating the path ahead.

But despite the beauty of the nature around him, Izuku doesn’t use a second to appreciate any of it. His heavy heart and swirling mind just won’t let him, and he knows the source, Hisashi.

For some reason, his return has just made him feel so…so…god he doesn't know but it feels wrong. Like a slow pain is boiling inside him. He knows it wasn’t Hisashi’s fault, but…it still hurts that he left them. That he left him.

But he knows why! He understands but…why won’t he just let it go?

Even if he doesn’t fully understand it, he can understand one thing he’s feeling. And honestly, he thinks it’s frustration. Frustration that Hisashi is acting so casual and knowing about all this alien stuff that Izuku, himself, is still trying to figure out. Today he thought that aliens and his own knowledge of aliens would give him an escape from Hisashi’s return. But now…now it seems like everything related to aliens is a reminder of Hisashi and that he left for so goddamn long. Even the Omnitrix, the device that’s literally fused to him, is now a reminder that Hisashi was part of this world the whole time and Izuku was oblivious to it all.

And so with a heavy heart, Izuku pockets his arm into his hoodie, hiding the Omnitrix from view. And so he continues down the game trail, oblivious to the slight rustling of the shrubs down the path behind him.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Ochaco frowns, that awkward silence has fallen upon them again as she follows Cinder down the forest trail. They haven’t found a thing as of yet, and because they’ve been keeping their eyes peeled, they haven’t spoken for a little while now. Hm, maybe she should try to start up a conversation?

“So…” Ochaco strolls forward making sure to be in the hero’s peripheral vision “you were gone a pretty long time huh?”

Cinder stops, jolting up like he’s been accused of a crime, but then again that respirator is making it difficult to judge his reaction. He peers back at Ochaco before turning away and continuing down the path.

Ochaco internally panics, scolding herself! ‘ _Way to go! Starting off with what he did wrong!_ ’ Not to mention her attempt at a conversation totally failed as they continue down the path without a word.

But that ends when Cinder or rather Hisashi, comes to stop, pulling down his respirator.

Ochaco stops as well, unsure of why he’s not moving.

Without looking back at her, Hisashi frowns. “He’s mad at me…isn’t he?”

Ochaco grimaces. “I’m…sorry?”

“Izuku, he’s not at all happy with me being back.”

If Ochaco has to be honest, then no Izuku is not all that thrilled. It’s been clear since yesterday, he’s been acting so weird and off at school and now…now she knows why. “No, I don’t think he is.”

That may not have been what Hisashi wanted to hear, but he knows it’s the truth. “I knew it.”

Okay, maybe she shouldn’t have been so honest. “Hey, but it’s not your fault. You were forced to go!”

“That’s only an excuse.” Hisashi regrettably smiles from behind his mask. “I should have done more to be there for him.” Instead he sent letters, with the hope that those would be enough. “And now I’m paying for it. I haven’t earned his respect or his love. It’s…clear I lost that a long time ago.”

Ochaco frowns, finding the whole situation rather unfortunate. He didn’t want to leave but…that doesn’t really matter anymore. The damage really has been done. “I’m…sorry…” 

“What for? It’s not your fault. It’s mine. I didn’t trust my family with the truth, and now…my truth is to atone for it.”

That hits home for Ochaco, because she may be in the same boat as Mr. Midoriya. She’s kept…keeping a truth from Deku too. One For All is just a world-changing secret as aliens are. And she’s been purposefully hiding it from him, although that’s what All Might said she should do. But if she told him…will he be mad at her too? 

And so with much hesitation she answers. “Deku’s…not an angry person.”

Hisashi frowns.

Ochaco continues. “He…will understand…I’m sure. He just needs some…space.” For some reason it sounds like she’s saying that more for herself than for him.

“Yeah…you’re right.”

She sure hopes so.

They allow a moment of silence to pass as they both consider and worry about their individual predicaments, all before Hisashi decides that’d it be best if they continued forward.

However, he doesn’t even take a step as his eyes catch something on the ground. “Uraraka.”

Ochaco stiffens as the Plumber takes a knee, as he leans down to observe something within the ground. “What? Did you find something?”

He nods. “Answer me this? You’re from, here right?”

“Yeah I grew up in Endori just down the mountain.” But what does that have to do with anything right now?

“So you’re familiar with the area?”

Ochaco internally grumbles as her mind flashes back to all the times All Might had her trekking up and down this same mountain. “Too familiar.”

“So, you know the wildlife, too right?”

“Um, yeah I guess so”

Hisashi gets up, turning to her, and looking her straight in the eye with a serious glint. “Are there any large dogs or bears in the area.”

The cadet takes a moment to think about it. “Um, I think there used to be wolves, but they died off a long time ago. Why?”

“Not good.” The Plumber becomes visibly stressed as he quickly reaches for his phone and begins to dial away.

Okay now Ochaco’s worried. “What’s the matter?!”

His phone begins to make the call. “I figured out what’s out here.” Cinder gestures to the ground, specifically to what he found.

Ochaco peers down and gasps at what she finds: a very large four-clawed footprint.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Izuku snaps out of his somber daze, slowly and hesitantly answering his phone. His mood drops upon seeing that the call is from Hisashi, a part of him wants to ignore it, but the more rational part of his brain tells him that it could be important.

So, he answers. “Hello?”

Cinder’s voice worriedly shouts out from the phone. “Izuku, where are you?! Are you alright?”

Izuku frowns, wishing he did ignore it. “I’m fine, I’m just down the trail.”

“Turn around and get back to the Razor Crest!”

Really, now? “Huh? Why?”

As Izuku waits for Cinder’s response, the rustling of leaves catches his ear. But it's probably just a passing deer so he doesn’t bother looking.

“The stowaway I know what it is it’s a-”

“RAAAAAWR!!!”

Izuku screams as an ear shattering roar pierces the air, and without warning he finds himself shoves to the ground as something very large and very furry lunges at him, knocking him down.

As Izuku tumbles down to the ground, he drops his phone, but even so he can still make out Cinder’s voice shouting. “Vulpimancer!!”

The Vulpimancer raises it head and lets out a bloodcurdling roar! “RAAAAAWR!!!”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Cinder flinches away from his phone as the roar pierces his eardrum.

“Deku!!” screams Ochaco upon hearing the roar.

Without missing a beat, Cinder takes off in a run. “We gotta go!!”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Izuku scrambles to his feet, raising his fists like he’s going into a fist fight. But that may as well be useless as the large predatory beast stalks across the trail before him.

The Vulpimancer is a large alien that’s more beast than humanoid. His large curving claws dig into the earth as it stalks, its large fangs are barred, as it growls a bit of drool seeps down its maw. It’s fur is orange and lined with reddish stripes running down its back leading to a long slender tail. But his most noticeable feature is his face! The beast doesn’t have any eyes! Instead all it has are three pairs of gills running down the sides of its neck.

‘ _A Vulpimancer? Is it a dog? Or a bear?_ ’ Izuku eyes the beast taking it all in from its bristling quill-like fur to its eyeless face. _And why doesn’t it have eyes!!_ ’

The Vulpimancer snaps and growls. “Ra-rah!!”

Izuku fearfully steps back, as the beastly alien growls. “Nice doggy, good doggy.” Damn, this is dumb! What is it going to do? Just roll over and ask for a belly rub?! Yeah, right!

The Vulpimancer growls, and Izuku has the feeling it didn’t appreciate his comments. “Raarr!!” With a push of its powerful legs the beast lunges forward, its jaws open and ready to tear into the boy’s flesh. “RAAAAAWR!!!”

“Whoaaa!!” Screaming in fright, Izuku reflectively grabs for the Omnitrix and good thing too because as he disappeared behind a veil of green light the Vulpimancer leaps through the veil only to fly right through it without slamming into its target.

Somehow his prey evaded his strike. “Rrrh?”

“Woah you almost took my head off pal.”

“Too bad, it would have been an improvement.”

“What did you say?!”

“Quiet you two! Behave yourselves.”

“Rrrh?” The Vulpimancer’s face is scrunched up, like it’s confused, his prey’s scent just changed somewhat, and not only that the changed odor has split into three identical scents. 

The trio of Dittos eventually stop their bickering, turning their attention to the furry predator. “So you’re the stowaway, huh?”

Ditto (2) frowns curiously. “How did they not notice someone like you on board?”

Ditto (3) nods as he pinches the area where his nose would be. “Yeah, especially with that smell.”

Ditto should really learn to stop talking because the Vulpimancer leaps forward, its claws bared and shining under the hot sun. “Raahh!!”

“Waahh!!” The three Dittos scream as they dive out of the way!

“Why’d you have to insult him!!”

“Me?! What about him?!”

“Don’t drag me into this!!”

The Vulpimancer hums a low threatening growl gaining the three’s attention, as it crouches its hair standing on end as its tail sways behind it.

The Dittos stand, raising their heads high in defiance. “So you wanna play?”

Ditto (2) gestures for the beast to come closer. “I’ll play with you.”

Ditto (3) laughs. “Haha!”

“Raahh!!” The Vulpimancer launches forward, its intention clear.

The three Dittos act quickly, gripping each other's hands as a line of Ditto clones morph out from the right flank. And then the original Dittos reform with the news clones creating a chain reaction as the clones disappear, leaving a lone Ditto who is a fair distance away from the attacking beast. This of course all takes place within a few short moments.

The Vulpimancer slides across the dirt, growling and snarling in annoyance. Before charging forward, its claws tearing the grass as it kicks forward.

Ditto acts fast creating another chain of Dittos that he uses to pull himself away just as the beast’s claws and fangs can rip him apart.

“Too slow.”

The Vulpimancer charges again.

Ditto continues with the chain dodge. “Nope.”

The beast swipes its massive paw but only to miss thanks to the Ditto dodge chain.

“Oh, I felt the breeze on that one.”

“Grrr!” The Vulpimancer growls in frustration, finding this toying around insulting.

Ditto frowns, he may be acting coy but that’s nothing but a facade. A way for him to keep himself calm. He wouldn’t dare underestimate this creature: he’s agile, and clearly powerful judging by the hole it left in the cargoship.

But what really has Ditto on edge is he doesn’t know anything about this thing. Mainly, it doesn’t have eyes so how is it able to sense where he is?

Ditto eyes the beast's paws. _‘Maybe it can sense the vibrations through the ground.’_

Without a second thought a chain of Dittos appear, standing atop each other, the clone at the very top grabs a thick branch. When he’s secured the other clones morph into each other allowing the remaining Ditto to climb atop the branch.

‘ _I should be fine up here; he can’t see me after all._ ’ Ditto peers down to see if his hypothesis is true.

Answer: it’s not.

Not giving a moment of rest, the beast’s fangs snap through the large branch like it was a toothpick!!

“Waaa!!” Ditto goes tumbling down, tucking his head and rolling as he crashes through the shrubs and ferns.

“Rwaar!!” The Vulpimancer gives chase to his prey.

Quickly Ditto shoves himself to his feet and takes off into a run using his smaller stature to weave between the shrubs and rocks. He can feel the beast breathing down his neck as he gains ground, he gets so close that he can feel drops of its spit landing on him as it snarls and barks.

“Waaaa!!” Tears are gushing from Ditto’s eyes; he doesn’t want to be eaten!!

But wait, there might be a chance to escape. A large wall of thorn bushes lie just ahead, if this creature can’t properly see then he might just crash into the thorns and give Ditto the chance he needs to turn this fight around!

“RAAAAAWR!!!”

“AHHH!!!” Ditto dives, rolling his body across the ground allowing him to slide right underneath the thorn bushes without getting scraped up and tangled!

“Alright!” That animal can’t get him now!

*SLAM!!!*

“Grrrrr!!” The Vulpimancer growls as leaves fall around him, after he used the nearby trees to leap up and over the wall of thorns.

_‘HOW!?!!’_ Ditto internally screams. _‘How’d it know?!’_

“Grrrrr.” The gills around the Vulpimancer’s neck expand and contract as it lets out low angry growls.

Ditto’s eyes widen. ‘ _Those aren’t gills! Those are its nostrils!!’_

Holy Shit! He feels like he just cracked a mind-blowing mystery! No wonder he’s been able to track the Splixson. The Vulpimancer’s nose must be so sensitive and in tune that it acts like a sonar allowing him to sense his prey. In other words, it may not have any eyes, but this beast can actually see even more than a being with eyes can!!

Amazing!! He’s gotta make sure he writes this down in his notebook later.

“RAAAAAWR!!!”

But that’ll have to wait, because right now he’s gotta fight for his life!!

Ditto dives out of the way as the Vulpimancer pounces.

Acting fast Ditto unleashes links of clones from his left and right, the clones multiply until they form a circle around the raging beast.

“Rgh?” The Vulpimancer is wary, he knows his prey is up to some other trick. Or perhaps his prey has given up and is providing his hunter with a feast of prey.

The circle of Dittos ready themselves, clenching their fists, and grinding their teeth as they glare down at their target.

Suddenly clones begin to morph out from the Dittos, using each other as steps until columns of clones rise high above the ground. The risen Dittos all glare down at the very wary Vulpimancer.

The Dittos begin to call out. “Improvised-”

“-Special-”

“-Attack!”

“DOGPILE!!!” They all shout in unison as they all tumble downward, right at the shocked Vulpimancer!!

BLAM!!! They literally dogpile the beast under a mountain of Dittos, each clone flails and thrashes with the aim of subduing their attacker. They punch, scratch, and a few even bite at the beast hoping to do something.

But like a bear breaking through its pen, with a great rush of strength the Vulpimancer breeches the dogpile.

“Rwaa!!” The Vulpimancer claws at the ground but the pile Dittos hang on pulling him back and preventing his escape.

“Where ya think you’re going?!”

“Get back here!”

“Don't run off with your tail between your legs.”

But Ditto has never been known for his combat prowess or strength.

And so after a minute of tug-of-war, the Vulpimancer starts to swipe and claw at the offending prey items. One of its claws snags a Ditto, cutting him just enough to warrant a reaction.

“OW!!!” Not one but all of the Dittos shout out in pain, each one letting go to tend what feels like a cut arm!

And in their moment of weakness, the Vulpimancer pries himself free and leaps away into the woods. He knows that a prey that fights back isn’t worth the effort.

The mountain of Dittos collapses as the beast takes off; the Dittos merge back together becoming three separate beings.

Ditto (1) glares at his clones. “Way to go guys.” 

Ditto (2) points to Ditto (3). “Hey, don’t lump me with him!”

Ditto (3) glares. “You jerks.”

Ditto (1) takes off into a run. “Come on, he’s getting away!”

The Dittos take off, doing their best to run down the alien.

Thankfully it doesn’t take them long to track him down, the beast may be big but he’s not exactly stealthy. Crashing and mowing through the vegetation like a thrashing bull.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Cinder stops his eyes peeling, as he scans the trail ahead of them. Something’s caught his ear.

Ochaco stops right behind him, she’s about to ask why they stopped but she hesitates as something catches her ear too. “What is that?” It kinda sounds like someone’s shaking a bag of chips around.

“RAAAAAWR!!!” The Vulpimancer leaps out from the woods, rustling leaves scattering all around him, just as he charges the duo.

Cinder reacts quickly, throwing himself and Ochaco out of the way! “Look out!”

“Raawr!!” The Vulpimancer, however, isn’t after them as he leaps up and over their heads before continuing down the trail.

“What was that?!” cries Ochaco. “What was that a mutated dog or something?!”

Cinder leaps to his feet. “No, that’s the stowaway!”

Another rustling of leaves, forces Cinder to turn around. A bit of flames hover before the mouth of the respirator, but the flame is unneeded as three Dittos rush out from the shrubbery.

Ditto (1) spots Cinder and Ochaco. “What are you guys doing?!” He asks while him and his clones run by.

Ditto (2) breathes. “If it escapes-”

“-and makes it into town-” adds Ditto (3).

Ditto (1) finishes. “-the whole place will be in an uproar!!”

And with that the three Dittos sprint off after the monster.

“Izuku, wait!” Cinder calls after them but the clones continue running; it is unclear if they didn’t hear him or…they ignored him.

Cinder gestures for them to follow. “Let’s go!”

“Right!” Ochaco runs after him, hopefully they can catch up before things get worse.

Thankfully, it doesn’t take them very long to catch up to the Dittos.

“Izuku!” Cinder calls out. “If you can flank then I can-”

“No need!” The Dittos rush forward. “I can handle it!”

“No, wait-!” Cinder doesn’t get a word as the Ditto speeds forward.

The Dittos morph into one being, and while running Ditto generates a clone ladder of himself, the last clone grips a tree branch and the moment his hands grab the limb the rest of the Dittos merge back into him.

The Ditto unleashes a chain of Dittos forward only for them to all merge back into the forward moving Ditto, and so on and so forth. The chain of Dittos swing and spring forward, multiplying and reemerging with each other to gain ground.

“Grrrr.” The Vulpimancer clearly isn’t too happy that Ditto can keep up with him and so he changes his strategy.

With a sudden skid across the earth, the beast makes a hard right into the shrubbery.

Ditto generates a clown chain from his right, the last clone gripping a tree, and together they all swing around the tree before merging back together and continuing the chase.

The beast continues to make hard turns just before Ditto can reach him, but he’s not giving up no matter how many times this beast tries to juke him out.

A chain of Dittos latch onto a tree branch, before merging back together. _‘I can do this!’_ Ditto launches himself downward, diving for the beats.

A chain of Dittos launch forward, quickly catching up to the creature. He’s so close he can practically feel the monster’s fur on the tips of his fingers. _‘I have him!!’_

Without realizing it, the Vulpimancer and the leaping Ditto crash through the shrubby finding themselves back on the trail!! And more importantly right in front of a sprinting Cinder!!

That darn beast circled back around!!

Ditto’s and Cinder’s eyes widen in shock just before they crash into each other!! They both go tumbling down as the Vulpimancer gallops away into the thick woods.

“Oh, my gosh!” Ochaco gasps. “Are you two okay?”

Ditto growls in frustration, gripping his head, as he turns to Cinder. “What was that?!” In a flash of red light, Izuku props himself to his feet. “I had him!!”

“No you didn’t.” Hisashi gets up, brushing himself off as he pulls down his respirator. “He out played you.”

“Then why’d you bother following us?!”

“Because I was worried.”

“Worried?!” There it is again the sense of frustration…the…the anger and disgust boiling inside of him. “I’ve been fine, without you so far. Why worry now…”

Ouch, if Hisashi was shot with an arrow at that moment, it wouldn’t have surprised anyone. Because his face just portrays the pain he’s feeling. “Izuku…”

“Just stop alright…” Izuku turns away not daring to look Hisashi in the eyes. “I can take care of myself…”

Hisashi stumbles back a moment, like he’s been shoved back by an invisible force.

Ochaco frowns, worried and concerned with the two of them. She so desperately wants to address it but… “H-Hey, so the Vulpimancer’s getting away.”

Izuku chokes, his hair casted over his eyes. “I’ll get him.”

“No!” Hisashi straightens up, taking on the more authoritative and serious posture. “We need a plan, that thing is too agile, especially in this environment. Even your Kineceleran form will have a hard time.”

Izuku takes great offense to that. “XLR8’s more than enough.” He grips the Omnitrix, pinching the faceplate, but the red-glow of the hourglass symbol taunts him, unable to activate.

Frustrated and annoyed, Izuku marches off in the direction the Vulpimancer escaped.

“Izuku! Where are you going?!”

“After that thing!”

“You can’t, you’re defenseless.”

Izuku halts, insulted and furious. “No I’m not!” He isn’t useless!! “I can do this!”

Ochaco watches on, looking between the two, unsure and scared of what to do.

Hisashi sighs, exasperated. “Listen to me alright. I know what I’m talking about.”

Ochaco frowns and looks to Deku.

Izuku snaps back. “And so do I!”

That’s it! She can’t take this anymore! “Enough!!”

Hisashi and Izuku snap out of their argument, looking to Ochaco with surprise.

Ochaco breathes, regaining her composure. “You both know what you’re doing! But that doesn’t matter if the alien gets away, does it?!”

The two Midoriya's go quiet as they frown, ashamed of their behavior.

“Deku.”

Izuku looks up, her eyes locking with his.

“We all know you’re capable but your head’s not in it right now.”

Izuku shrinks back, knowing that’s true.

“This whole time we’ve been learning about aliens on the fly.” She speaks gently, yet firmly; Deku needs to hear this. “But Mr. Midoriya actually knows these aliens: how they act, how they think, and what they can do. We have to listen to him. Okay?”

It hurts, and his insides still feel all twisted, but…she’s right. “I…understand.”

“Good.”

A soft grateful smile graces Hisashi’s lips, glad Ochaco was able to mediate them, and get their attention back on track.

Ochaco turns to the pro hero/Plumber. “Mr. Midoriya. All we need now is for you to make a plan.”

“Hm.” Hisashi cups his chin, following her orders and ponders. “Uraraka, you said you know this mountain, right?”

She nods. “Of course!”

A cocky smirk stretches across the older Midoriya’s face. “Perfect.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

He hasn’t sensed hide or tail of his pursuers for some time now, perhaps they have given up the hunt. Either way the chase wore him down and now is the time to replenish his strength. As such he allows for his senses to guide him.

The Vulpimancer strides out from the thick woods, his tongue hanging out as he pants as his nostrils are greeted by the scent of fresh spring water.

A waterhole sits before him at the bottom of a steep cliff, a small spring waterfall pours down from the cliff, feeding the watering hole. Reeds and aquatic plants fill the edge of the watering hole giving it much more color.

The alien beast raises his head, his nostrils flaring, taking in the greater area. Not a scent of danger, especially those strange monkeys, pierce his senses. So with no danger in “scent” the animalistic alien feels safe to dip his head down into the water, guzzling the fresh mountain water.

The rustling of leaves can be heard just a few meters away, and immediately the Vulpimancer snaps his head up, aiming his face towards the source of the rustling. He inhales and exhales, taking in his surroundings again but once again nothing comes into range: not a squirrel, not a deer, nothing.

So with nothing alarming present, the alien turns back to his drink.

Wait, smoke? Heat? FIRE!?!

“Rrrahh!!” The Vulpimancer snaps around his gills flaring. “Grahh!!” Smoke rushes his gills as the heat of the flames scorch the ends of his fur.

A ring of flames have circled around the beast and the watering hole, snaring him between the inferno and the steep cliff. In other words…he’s TRAPPED!!!

“RAAAAAWR!!!”

Cinder watches from behind the flames, as a little flame licks the mouth of his respirator. “We got you.” Cinder eyes his suit, what was once red is now brown with dried mud, perfect for suppressing his odor. “Haha. Talk about getting my hands dirty.”

Cinder let’s out an exhale of air, and a flamethrower whirls through the air from his maw, the flames feed into the ring of fire, expanding the flames and consequently the smoke.

The wind carries the smoke, right towards the snarling Vulpimancer.

Cinder smirks under his mask. “And a little smoke sure does help too.” Now it’s up to the cadets to do their parts.

As for the flames, they slowly encroach towards the waterhole, forcing the Vulpimancer to make a move. He wheels around and sprints for the cliff, his sharp claws and dexterity allow him to easily scale the cliff. And in just a few short pulls he’ll escape the flames.

“Ryou Sphere!!”

A pink sphere slams into the rocks above the Vulpimancer, the rocks break apart and with it the Vulpimancer loses its grip!

“Raaah!!” Like a cat, the Vulpimancer lands on his feet, before baring his teeth up towards the top of the cliff face. “Grrrrr.”

A mud-covered Ochaco glares down at the beats from atop the cliff. “You got nowhere to run!”

The Vulpimancer lets out a few barks in defiance. “Rah! Rah!” The heat of the flames lick at his fur, making the beast jump back. “Raagh!”

The flames are slowly burning closer and closer, the smoke getting heavier and heavier as the circle tightens.

With nowhere else to go, the Vulpimancer backs away into the watering hole. He backs away until the water reaches past his knees. Hopefully he can wait out the flames and heat within the fresh mountain water.

*Sniff.*

Wait, there’s a scent. A…living scent!

The Vulpimancer wheels around only to be met with a whip to the head! “Grahh!” He howls in pain, stumbling back a bit.

A soaked Feedback chuckles as his tendril retracts and he spits the hollow reed out from his lips. “You’re one bad dog, aren’t ya?”

“Grrr.” The Vulpimancer growls before he begins to charge forward.

*Crack!*

Feedback’s tendril cracks like a whip, forcing the beast back. “Back you horrid beast, back!” The ends of his tendrils spark with electricity. “Time to put you down.”

“RAAAAAWR!!!” The Vulpimancer charges, mud and water splashing all around him as his claws crash through the spring.

“Good! Night!!” Feedback launches his tendrils not to the beast but right into the water!! “And sweet dreams!!”

A blast of electricity surges through the entire spring and as such shocking the beast in the process.

“GRAAAAAWW!!!” The Vulpimancer howls in pain as electricity courses through his entire body, his fur smokes and stands on end as he withers in pain. And then it all goes black.

The electricity cuts away just as the Vulpimancer crashes down into the water, his tongue hanging out and his breathing labored as he loses consciousness.

Feedback grins as he wipes away the water on his brow. “Got ya.”

But for safe measure Cinder cuts through the flames and quickly throws a net over the sleeping beast. “Just in case.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Wow, this is convenient.” Hisashi smiles, pulling down his respirator, as he stares up at the floating beast.

The three Plumbers have just arrived back at the Razor Crest. Thankfully Ochaco’s Zero-Gravity made transporting the Vulpimancer easy, she made him weightless and with the use of the net, Hisashi pulled him back like a balloon on a string.

The gravity manipulator smiles. “Thanks.”

“No, thank you for the help.”

Hisashi places the Vulpimancer down allowing Ochaco to release her Quirk. Peering up they only have a few more meters to the ship, but the ramp isn’t down yet. But that’ll only take a moment, after Hisashi calls Chopper over to open it up.

“And thank you for your help too, Izuku.”

Izuku catches up, and he briefly peers up at Hisashi before turning away again. “You’re…welcome.”

Admiralty he still feels a bit off about his father, but he has to admit that he sure knew what he was doing. And it was a good thing he listened to him; in fact he might actually found some respect for the Plumber. But…does he have it in him for more for Hisashi…? 

Ochaco watches on as the Midoriyas interact, she notices that Izuku is once again averting his gaze much like he did before he snapped at Hisashi before. _‘Deku…’_

She had no idea he could get so hung up on something like this. But then again, she’s not sure if she could forgive her own father if he took off without a proper explanation for years on end.

But if Deku’s acting so off after his own father was forced to keep a secret from him then…how will he act if she told him about her own? Will he be upset? Angry? Would he forgive her? She…just doesn’t know. And that’s what’s bothering her. 

“Grr.” If she was paying attention, she would have seen the Vulpimancer stir within the net. “RAAAAAWR!!!” The Vulpimancer rips through the net, he breaks through so easily it might as well be paper!

The moment he’s free he charges, making a wild beeline right for the Midoriyas!!

“Mr. Midoriya! Deku!”

Both of the men barely have a moment to react before the Vulpimancer’s jaws clamp down on Izuku's left arm.

“Ahhh!!” Izuku screams as the Vulpimancer drags him away!

“Deku!!”

“Izuku!!”

The Vulpimancer comes to a screeching halt, turning his back to the end of the Razor Crest. This way his back is defended allowing him to keep his fangs and claws aimed at his foes.

Izuku tries to slug the beast with a few punches, but none really have any effect. “Stop! Let go!” Izuku struggles to pull his arm free and what’s worse is that the beast is chowing down on the Omnitrix, meaning he can’t even use it!

“Izuku!” Cinder steps forward but a snarl from the Vulpimancer keeps him at bay.

Cinder scowls. _‘Damnit, he took Izuku as a hostage.’_ What a clever boy.

Ochaco scowls, she gets the message too. “What, what do we do?”

Cinder’s eyes furrow, he’s got nothing. _‘Dang it!’_ Why are hostage situations always so difficult? If he makes the wrong move, Izuku’s going to lose his arm, and he really doesn’t want to have to explain to his wife why their son’s an amputee now.

And so it becomes a stalemate as the two sides square off waiting for one to make the first move. Izuku remains still not wanting to lose his arm even as the beast’s drool slides down his arm. And boy those things smell like wet-dog of all things too.

“Grrr.” The Vulpimancer moves a paw forward, Cinder and Ochaco back off in response.

The Vulpimancer grins, knowing he can escape as long as he has his new chew toy. He takes another step forward away from the end of the Razor Crest.

And then BLAM!!! The back ramp comes crashing down onto the large animal, pinning him down while knocking him out!

“Ahh!!” Izuku is launched forward as the Vulpimancer loses its grip and practically spits his arm out.

Hisashi and Ochaco rush forward. “Are you okay?!”

“Yeah…” Izuku wipes away the saliva covering the glowing Omnitrix in disgust. “I just need to take a shower.” He gives his arm a sniff before wincing in disgust. “Or maybe three.”

Izuku turns to the pinned Vulpimancer, who’s being squeezed down by the large ramp. “But what caused that?”

^Ba. Ba. Baw!^ C1-10P, better known as Chopper, wheels his way down the ramp, spinning around with his limbs in the air like he’s flexing nonexistent muscles. ^Wawa. Wawa!”

Hisashi smiles. “Thanks Chop. You really saved our bacon.”

^Wa. Wa!^

Hisashi kneels down to inspect the unconscious alien. “Now help get this fella put away. Will ya?”

^Baw!^

“No! We can’t just leave him here!”

Ochaco chuckles awkwardly watching as Hisashi scolds the droid. Judging by their reactions this must be normal for the two of them. But now that Mr. Midoriya is personally overseeing the beast’s capture; it gives her and Deku a moment to themselves.

Izuku finally gets up after wiping away what he can of the Vulpimancer’s drool. All in all he’s just happy to still have his arm in one piece, oh and the Omnitrix, another huge plus.

Ochaco watches Izuku before her eyes trail down to the Omnitrix. ‘ _He’s trusted me so much._ ’ Deku trusted her with his Omnitrix, his problems, his…secrets!

And yet she’s refusing to treat him with the same respect. Why? Why won’t she just tell him the truth about her powers? Is it because All Might told her not to? No…that’s not why. Is it because the truth can make him a target? Well, that’s not really fair because he’s kinda already been a target thanks to the Omnitrix, so not much would change would it? No, it wouldn’t. So then why? She knows why, the answer being she’s scared. Scared of how he will react. If he’ll even trust her anymore.

She shakes her head, shaking away those thoughts. No! If she holds back now, then it’ll only be worse later on! The longer she holds onto this secret the more damage it’ll do when he eventually finds out! She needs to tell him; she needs to tell him now!

Ochaco gasps. _‘Now? Really?’_ Should she? Is now really the best time?

She eyes Izuku as he toys with the glowing Omnitrix, his face focused on the device like he’s studying a new feature.

Yes, she has to tell. She needs to get this off her chest before she has to pay for it later.

“Hey, Deku…”

Izuku turns his attention away from the alien device. “Yeah?” He blinks oblivious to her intentions.

“Can we talk for a moment?”

“Um, sure?” Izuku frowns. _‘She’s acting weird, why is that?’_

Ochaco breathes, calming her nerves. “Cool, then follow me… Please.”

“Sure, Uraraka.”

And so he trails behind her as she leads him towards the tree line.

Without turning to face him, Ochaco slowly stops moving forward. “Deku?”

Izuku stops, nervous of her deposition. “Yes.”

She chokes back a breath, her nerves getting the best of her. “You trust me, right?”

“Of course.”

There wasn’t a moment of hesitation in his voice, and that gives Ochaco the confirmation she needs. And as such she moves forward ready to tell Deku exactly what he should have known from the start. 

Izuku, unaware of what awaits him, follows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that wraps up Ch.39 Wild Encounters. I know a lot of you were probably expecting the Final Exams stuff, but I wanted to really address Hisashi Midoriya (Cinder) some more. Speaking of which the next chapter will not be the exams quiet yet, instead I wanna introduce a few more things. Some of which you guys can probably guess. Anyway I really hope you guys liked this chapter, I know it was definitely a lot of fun for me.
> 
> *I’m still working on the next chapter and I hope to have ready for next week but honestly the chapter’s turning out longer than planned so it may take 2 weeks. Darn because I wanted to update week after week.
> 
> *So for those that never bothered to watch Disney’s “The Mandalorian,” first off go and watch it immedialty it’s a spectacular show! Anyway if you’re wondering what Hisashi’s ship is based off of, it’s the “Razor Crest” ship from Star War’s show “The Mandalorian.”
> 
> *Speaking of Star Wars, the new droid Chopper or C1-10P is also a character from Star Wars. He is from the Star War’s “Rebels” show. Now admittedly I love the Star Wars the “Clone Wars” series more (it’s far superior) but one thing I did like from Rebels were some of the characters. And obviously one of them was Chopper the grumpy yet entertaining mech droid who’ll go out of his way to be a little A-hole.
> 
> *Also for those of you panicking or exasperated by the ending of this chapter. Relax, the truth of the matter will be shown next chapter, promise. 


	45. Survival of the Fittest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Class 1-A participate in some survival training.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heads up this chapter might not live up to what you’ve all been waiting for. Due to some last-minute changes and poor planning on my part this chapter got a little lost and is a bit, how do I say, redundant or more like filler. So just a heads up if this chapter feels unsatisfactory especially after Ch.39. I will explain more at the end in my Author’s Note. 
> 
> That said I hope this chapter is still enjoyable. 
> 
> In short this was not my best work. 

“Oh…man.” Denki Kaminari slumps in his seat, looking absolutely drained and exhausted. “My brain’s still fried.” 

Kyoka Jiro snickers from her desk. “Tell us something new, why don’t ya?” 

“Hey! Why are you always messing with me Jiro?!” 

“Because you’re a dunce.” She flicks his forehead as if that’ll prove her point. 

“OW!” Kaminari grabs at his forehead. “That really hurt!” 

Kirishima chuckles as he passes by. “Trust me you’re getting off easy.” 

Kaminari lights up at the sound of a friendly voice. “Oh, hey Kiri-Woah what happened to you?!” 

Eijiro Kirishima’s head looks like it was beaten over again and again with a bat or something?! He’s all bruised and battered with scoff marks and scratches. 

“What happened?! It looks like someone used your head like a punching bag!” 

Kirishima laughs it off like it’s no big deal. “Haha. What this? It’s nothing. Bakugou was just helping me study.” 

“Study what?! The physics of breaking a skull?!” 

In truth, no one in Class 1-A is bothered by the fact as each of them are just mentally drained. Each and every one of them have spent the weekend studying and preparing for the upcoming exams. And that’s no surprise, considering the exams are literally just around the corner. 

Hanta Sero leans over his desk as he has a conversation with Sato and Ojiro. “Seriously dude, her house is a castle! I wouldn’t be surprised if the bricks were made of gold it was so fancy.” 

Rikido Sato can’t believe his ears. “Woah, seriously?” 

“Yeah…Yaoyorozu’s place was too much.” Mashirao Ojiro sweatdrops. “Got to admit, some of us felt a bit out of place.” It was way too much! And with all of them in casual clothes they really felt out of place. 

Speaking of the she-devil, Momo Yaoyorozu strolls by catching her name being mentioned. “Oh my, what are you three discussing?” She asks innocently enough. 

The three boys go stiff, like a group of startled mice getting spotted by a feline. 

Ojiro tries his best to act normal. “Nothing much!” 

Sero nods, while a fearful grin is plastered to his face. “Y-yeah, we were just talking about how much your study sessions are helping us.” 

Yaoyorozu gushes, delighted by the news, so much so that she starts sparkling. “Really?!” 

“Y-yeah.” Although he doesn't sound too convinced himself. 

Without warning, Mina Ashido literally jumps into the conversation. “You bet, Yaomomo! You were great!” 

“That’s…so great!” Yaoyorozu is just so honored she could be of help. “I’m so glad I can be of help.” And with that she gains another burst of determination! “Then we’ll reconvene at my home again, tonight!” 

“EH!?!” The boys gasp, but Mina happily stands off to the side, excited for the help. 

“Yes, we still have a lot of work to do until you’re all top students!!” 

Ochaco Uraraka smiles on, as the boys secretly dread that they have to return to that castle. “Everyone seems to be working hard.” Unlike her, she’s been putting the study part on hold!! She’s doomed!! Doomed!! 

Mina’s antennas twitch, just before she turns and approaches Ochaco’s desk. “Everything okay, here?” 

Ochaco snaps up, surprised to see Mina there. “Oh, I’m fine. Just dreading the Exams is all.” 

“Oh, come now it’ll be easy!” She’s being really peppy about this. “All we gotta do is destroy some robots! Easy peasy!” 

“I guess.” But something tells her it won’t be that easy. 

Mina’s antennae twitch again as she frowns, she then turns and looks towards the opposite end of the classroom. “Hey, what’s with him?” 

“With who?” 

“With Midoriya?” Mina points towards the greenette. 

Ochaco takes a look and yeah she has to admit it but something’s definitely eating at Deku. He’s seated at his desk, drowning out the world around him in what she assumes is his thoughts. His gaze is far off even if they’re aimed down at his desk. And there’s this air around him, a quiet somber air. 

Ochaco internally winces, as a pang of guilt pierces her. “Oh, um, I-I’m n-not sure.” 

Mina doesn’t buy that for a second. “Really?” She leans in close, giving Ochaco a very skeptical look. “You know something. Don’t you?” 

Ochaco instantly panics, waving her arms in denial. “Wha?! Me?! No way! I don’t know a thing!” 

A malicious smirk stretches across Mina’s lips. “Oh, I don’t think so.” She leans in close, giving off a manipulative aura. “Spill it, you got something juicy don’t ya?” 

“What?! No, Mina!” 

“Oh come you can tell me!” It’s got to be really juicy! 

“Mina, no!” 

Mina isn’t one to give up so easily, especially when it involves gossip. 

Ochaco does her best to fend her off, but nothing she does proves to be effective. But even as she fends off the gossip happy Mina, her eyes drift back over towards Deku. 

And a part of her can’t help but feel at fault. Maybe…maybe she should have handled the situation differently. Or maybe she should have told him everything so soon…? 

“Come on tell me!!” 

“Mina! I said no!” 

As Ochaco defends herself, someone else takes notice of Izuku's somber demeanor. 

Katsuki Bakugou tsks as he stands off to the side, finding Deku’s silence irritating and insufferable. Not to mention he’s still bitter about how Deku treated him the other day. He’s pissed at himself for allowing Deku to just walk away without putting him in his place! He’ll show him, he’ll show just how much better he is! 

And he’ll definitely have the chance to do so. 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Shota Aizawa stands before his class while Ground Omega stands behind him. 

Ground Omega is an extensive wooded area where there are some rocky hills in the distance. The entire area is surrounded by a great wall and has a single entrance with the letter omega above it. 

Aizawa yawns, already exhausted even though the day’s just begun. “Alright, is everyone here?” 

“Yes, sir!” responds the entirety of Class 1-A. 

Each and every student is cladded in their costumes, standing before their teacher as the bus that brought them here is parked off to the side. 

“Good.” Aizawa goes ahead and gets started. “Today’s Exercise will be observed by me and one more person.” 

One more? But who? 

As the sun shines down on them a booming laugh howlers down at them from the sky! “ **I AM-** ” Slam!! A suited All Might crashes down beside Aizawa, who remains deadpan even as the ground erupts outward and a dust cloud erupts out. “ **HERE! LIKE A SPECIAL GUEST!** ” 

“WAS THAT REALLY NECESSARY!?!” shouted the ticked off students, they’re all covered by dirt and leaves thanks to All Might’s overly done entrance! 

All Might sweat drops. “ **S-SORRY, MY BAD.** ” 

Aizawa sighs already done with this. “Idiot.” 

Izuku, who had remained off to the side, averts his gaze away from the Number One Hero. And to anyone who noticed he seems even more off than before. 

All Might, in fact, did notice, his signature grin faltering for a brief moment before he focuses back on the task at hand. “ **S-SO, ABOUT OUR LITTLE EXERCISE.** ” He raises his arms in dramatic fashion. “ **WE’RE GOING TO HAVE YOU ALL GO THROUGH SOME SURVIVAL TRAINING!** ” 

Kirishima looks to Kaminari for clarification. “Survival Training?” 

Kaminari is just as confused. “Like some Battle Royal thing?” 

“ **LET ME EXPLAIN!** ” With a press of a button a holographic screen appears beside All Might, displaying the exercise. “ **WITH THREE STUDENTS PER TEAM AND SEVEN TEAMS OVERALL YOU WILL START AT THE PREDETERMINED POSITIONS THAT WE HAVE CHOSEN.** **THERE IS BUT ONE OBJECTIVE. TO SURVIVE!** ” 

Simple enough. 

“ **TO RUN OR TO FIGHT, ANYTHING GOES! VICTORY WILL GO TO THE LAST SURVIVING TEAM!** ” 

Aizawa finally decides to contribute. “If you run into another team and manage to bind your opponents with this Capture Tape you can make them combat ineffective.” He holds up a roll of white capture tape, it’s small but still strong enough to hold even a lion in place. “This should be a familiar item by now.” 

“ **NOW! LET US ANNOUNCE THE TEAMS!** ” With a press of a button, All Might displays the assigned teams. 

Th teams are as followed: 

Team A: Katsuki Bakugou, Ochaco Uraraka, and Eijiro Kirishima 

Team B: Shoto Todoroki, Momo Yaoyorozu, and Tooru Hagakure

Team C: Tenya Iida, Fumikage Tokoyami, and Rikido Sato 

Team D: Minoru Mineta, Kyoka Jiro, and Yuga Aoyama 

Team E: Izuku Midoriya, Koji Koda, and Mina Ashido 

Team F: Tsuyu Asui, Mezo Shoji, and Hanta Sero

Team G: Hitoshi Shinso, Mashirao Ojiro, and Denki Kaminari 

After the teams are announced Aizawa goes ahead with the final statements. “All teams move to your start areas. The exercise will begin without warning in five minutes.” 

“ **MAKE SURE YOU SURVIVE!** ” 

“Okay!” responds Class 1-A. 

The class immediately split into their groups, the moment many of them join up, they immediately begin to strategize coming up with various battle plans. 

Although not everyone has their head in the game. 

“Midoriya! Midoriya, come on!” 

Izuku snaps out of his daze to find his teammates Mina Ashido and Kouji Koda waving him over. 

“Let’s go slowpoke! We gotta hurry!” 

“R-right!” Izuku quickly stumbles his way to them, but the way he’s moving is just lacking that excitement and usual energy he has during Hero Training. 

Clearly something is amiss, and Ochaco is well aware of it. ‘ _Deku…_ ’ A pang of guilt boils within her. ‘ _Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything…_ ’ 

But he understands, he said so himself, but…is that really all to it? No, it’s not, there’s more isn’t there? And if there is? Then did she really make the right call? 

Without warning the massive gates open wide and with all the hype, the students of Class 1-A take-off, flooding into the arena. 

Ochaco snaps to attention, running alongside her teammates as they head for their assigned position. There’s no time to dwell on it right now, she needs to focus on the task at hand. Especially because she's got one giant problem: Bakugou. 

Her eyes drift over towards the ash-blonde, and a part of her can’t help but worry. After all, Bakugou isn’t exactly the most agreeable person to work with. ‘ _Oh, I really hope nothing bad happens!_ ’ 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

As the students disperse across the arena Aizawa and All Might also make their way to a tall observation post that overlooks the entire forested area. 

Aizawa eyes his watch noting how much time has already passed since the students entered the arena. “Five minutes have passed.” 

“ **YEAH, AND NO TEAMS HAVE STARTED MOVING YET.** ” comments All Might. “ **AIZAWA. ARE YOU OKAY WITH SUCH A BORING EXERCISE LIKE THIS? I MEAN IF NO ONE MAKES A MOVE WE COULD POTENTIALLY BE OUT HERE FOR HOURS WITH NO PROGRESS.** ” 

“It’s the time of year where energy and tensions run high in all Hero classes” Thanks to the upcoming exams, even if they’re a week away. “Especially at this time avoiding fights, and reminding them of patience and self-control is important.” 

“ **WELL YOU’VE GOT A POINT…** ” All Might gazes down at the forest, cupping his hands around his eyes like he’s holding a pair of invisible binoculars. 

A pair of explosions ring out in the distance, smoke billowing from below the tree canopy as they occur. 

All Might grins, happily. “ **BUT NOT EVERYONE’S LIKE THAT!** ” 

Aizawa glares at his coworker dryly, not at all enjoying how much he’s liking the activity’s progression. 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Unsurprisingly, Bakugou is on the loose, like a beast released from the pits of hell itself and is now on the hunt for poor souls. “I don’t care, I’ll crush them all!” 

With a pair of thrusting explosions he races forward, sprinting at top speed right for a nearby cliff face. 

At the same time from atop the cliff face, Jiro’s Earphone Jack is inserted into the bedrock, listening out for any disturbances. She can hear Bakugou’s explosions heading right for her and her team. 

Without removing her gaze from where she thinks the enemy is, she whispers to her teammates: Minoru Mineta and Yuga Aoyama. “Bakugou’s voice, only one person’s footsteps.” 

Mineta whispers back harshly. “He’s coming alone…!” 

Aoyama chuckles. “Too confident.” 

They all share a look and nod, all before Mineta and Aoyama take off, following the plan they set before. 

Back down in the forest, Bakugou continues his mad sprint with a maniacal grin on his face. But his grin falters when something shiny catches his eyes from atop the cliff face. 

And just before he can make out what it is, a sparkling laser beam fires down at him!! 

With expert movement Bakugou blasts himself up and over the beam, but he can’t relax as a shower of purple balls come flying down at him from the opposite direction! 

‘ _A concentrated attack._ ’ Bakugou uses his blasts to ricochet himself around the Sticky Balls, while still racing towards the cliff face. ‘ _They know that I’m alone._ ’ A mad cocky grin stretches across his face as he rockets up and over the cliff. ‘ _That means-!_ ’ As he approaches the cliff’s top he unleashes a booming explosion into the earth!! ‘ _Earphone-Girl!!_ ’ 

“REEEEE!!!” Jiro screeches in pain, grabbing her poor sensitive ears as tears gush out from her eyes! 

“Get stuffed!!” From his position, Mineta showers down more of his Sticky Balls. 

From his position, Aoyama comes into Bakugou’s view from further up the cliff. “I’ve got him!” 

The ash-blonde smirks as the two attacks come flying over at him! “Rah!!” He gives his arm a mighty swing, unleashing an explosive veil. 

The fiery veil launches away the Sticky Balls right towards the sparkling foe!! 

Aoyama yelps as he gets splattered by the Sticky Balls, gluing his limbs together. The balls smack him so hard he gets knocked back and ends up tumbling down the side before crash landing by a dazed and crying Jiro. 

Mineta rushes to his teammates, absolutely dismayed to find them out of commission. “Bakugou…” 

“You called?” 

Mineta jolts with pure absolute terror. He shakily and fearfully turns around, and he so wishes he hadn’t because the sight of the mad bomber’s menacing grin is almost enough to make him wet himself. 

Bakugou’s devilish grin widens just before finishes the job. 

And in literally no time at all, the entirety of Team D is tied up in a ball of capture tape: Aoyama covered in Sticky Balls, Jiro still crying and holding her ears, and of course a destroyed Mineta. 

Mineta chokes out a pained groan. “That was mean…” 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

From within the thick brush, Izuku peers up at the sky, a worried expression on his face. “The explosions stopped…” 

Mina is just as worried. “What’s happening out there?” 

Koda shakes his and shrugs his hands as if to say he doesn’t have a clue. 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

The rampage isn’t over yet, as Bakugou now has his sights on Team C: Tenya, Tokoyami, and Sato!! 

Fumikage Tokoyami strikes first, not wanting to give Bakugou a chance! “Go. Dark Shadow!” 

Dark Shadow lashes forward, right for the rampaging bomber! “ _You’re mine!_ ” 

Bakugou reels back his hand, and then. “You’re-” He blasts Dark Shadow! “-nothing to me!!” 

“ _YEAAA!!_ ” Dark Shadow screams in pain, as the light from the explosion holds it back! 

Tokoyami tsks in annoyance, he’s completely useless in this situation. 

Tenya Iida sprints forward. “Leave him to me!” 

Bakugou leaps and aims a blast to his right, the well powered blast propels him sideways, and into the woods and out of sight. 

Tenya makes the sharp turn, after Bakugou! “Get back here!” 

But that was his mistake as a web of capture tape is set before his path!!

Tenya panics, digging his feet into the dirt, but it’s no use he’s moving far too fast! “Curse you, Bakugou!!” 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Ochaco and Kirishima come running in, they heard all the explosions and after following their echoes they finally found their teammate. 

Ochaco sighs, catching her breath after all that running. “We finally caught up.”

Kirishima, grinning like an idiot, raises his fists. “Where’s the enemy?!” 

Bakugou frowns before pointing them out. “I’m already done.” 

Hanging from a tree is Team C who are all tangled up in capture tape like a horribly made pinata. 

Ochaco frowns “You defeated six people on your own?” 

Kirishima is in awe. “You’re too good as an ally!” 

Bakugou however couldn’t care about any of that, there’s only one thing on his mind. “Where’s Deku?” 

Ochaco and Kirishima blink. “Eh?” 

“Deku, where is he?” He snarls, his hands raised and poised like he’s going to set off more explosions in a moment’s notice. “He has this coming!” 

Alright, Ochaco can’t stand for this, they don’t need him going off and picking fights! “Cool it, Bakugou!” 

He just scowls at her. 

“You can’t just go rushing in and picking fights! We need to work together or-” 

“Shut up!” Bakugou snarls, turning his nose away in annoyance. “What the hell is this we stuff? I can handle these losers all by myself! So, don’t start nagging at me!” 

Ochaco scowls, just as annoyed. “Hey, I’m only trying to help!” 

“And who fucking said I needed your help?!” 

“I DID!!!” She screams, why is he being so stubborn about this?! “You’ve been able to handle everyone so far but there’s no way you can win like this! We need to work together!” 

“Like hell!!” He turns his scowl onto her. “You’ll only drag me down.” 

Ochaco glares so hard she could match Bakugou’s own glare. In fact Bakugou returns the gesture glaring back at her with a nasty scowl. They each hold their piercing gaze neither one willing to be the first to back down to the other, like feral dogs holding their ground and refusing to run. 

But there’s one dog who’s way too friendly for his own good. 

“Woah! Cool it guys.” Kirishima literally cuts himself between them. “We’re supposed to be a team.” 

“You’re on her side?!” snaps Bakugou! 

Kirishima shakes his head. “What?! No! I’m not on anyone’s side.” 

Bakugou’s deadly glare says otherwise. He tries to shove his way past Kirishima, but the red-head holds him back. 

Ochaco can’t believe this! Is he really this fixed on showing off?! Doesn’t he realize? “If you fight by yourself…you’ll never win.” 

That must have cut deep, as Bakugou nearly freezes in place before he gazes at her with mild shock. 

“You don’t stand a chance.” she continues, shaking her head. “Not against Todoroki and his team: his ice and flames can match your Explosions, you’ll never see Hagakure coming, and Yaoyorozu can make a number of weapons to nullify your Quirk.” 

Bakugou grinds his teeth, becoming infuriated with her. 

“And then there’s the others!” She needs to make this as clear as she can to him! “Shinso can literally top you with one word! Tsuyu and her team can easily trap you. And Deku…” She locks eyes with the raging boy, making sure he is listening to every word she says, “can become anything he needs to, to defeat you.” 

Bakugou is steaming mad, honestly if Kirishima wasn’t holding onto him he’d probably have slugged Ochaco by now. 

“He’s already done it once, what’s to say he can’t do it again?” 

Bakugou shoves himself away from Kirishima. “I’m not weak.” He snarls. “I’ll crush him, once and for all.” 

Ochaco glares back, exasperated! “Ugh! How then?! How are you planning to beat him?!” 

His palms generate small blasts. “I’m going to blast him to a hundred pieces!!” 

She knew it; he doesn’t have a plan!! “And what happens when that doesn’t work?!” 

“SHUT UP!!!” Bakugou roars out in fiery rage!! “I’M GOING TO SHOW THAT NERD ONCE AND FOR ALL THAT I’M BETTER THAN HIM!!!” 

Ochaco jolts, not of fear but of a cold realization, knowing Bakugou’s actually giving her an honest answer. 

She thinks back to what they’ve all gone through this school year, especially Bakugou. He hasn’t really won a lot of matches or exercises since entering U.A. has he? Not their first Battle Training, not the Sports Festival, and not against Deku. It must be eating away at his pride, in other words he’s feeling inferior…weak. 

He wants to prove he’s gotten better, that he’s made progress… That’s something she can relate to, she wants to get better too. She wants to…needs to get stronger. But alone isn’t the way to do it. 

“Alright.” 

Now it’s Bakugou’s turn to be put off by the sudden change in her deposition. 

“You wanna win, I get that but.” She locks eyes with him, letting him know how dead serious she is. “If you really plan on winning, then you need to use us.” 

“Huh?” 

Bakugou’s not the only one confused, even Kirishima is taken back not sure what Ochaco meant by that. 

“Use us, Bakugou.” she continues, speaking the absolute truth. “You’re a lot smarter than you let on, your grades prove that. And you handle your Quirk so expertly it’s actually kinda amazing! And when you put those together, you get a terrifying combination!” 

Bakugou is taken back and rightfully so, where is all this coming from? She’s actually complimenting him?! People haven’t done that in like forever! 

“So instead of your fists use your head and make a plan.” She’s absolutely serious! “Take the lead and show us how to win! Show us how to beat Deku!” 

Bakugou blinks, did he hear her right? 

“Deku uses his brain when he fights. He knows all of our Quirks and our fighting styles. All he has to do is pick the right transformation and he’ll win.” 

Bakugou hates to admit it, but she’s right. She’s absolutely right. Stupid Deku can become a number of transformations to beat his ass: the walking Fire Hydrant, the diamond headed guy, and even that Speedy Lizard will be a problem for him. 

“But if you wanna win this, then we have to outsmart him. We have to challenge him.” She wants this too, she wants to show everyone how much she’s improved since the Sports Festival. “We have to surpass him.” 

Now that gets Bakugou thinking. 

“If you want to win, Bakugou.” Ochaco leans in close, getting herself pumped. “Then you’re going to need our help.” 

Bakugou ponders, his mind trying to process if this is even worth his time. But as he wonders, he can’t help but remember that annoying Best Jeanist guy saying something similar. 

##########(Flashback)#########

While they were out on supposed patrol, Best Jeanist eyes his young ward after his terrible display of composure. And so the hero grilled the young man about his classmates Uraraka and Midoriya, and why it appears they have progressed further than him. Why is that? Well according to Best Jeanist: 

“My point is this, your friends’ understanding of what makes a hero is different from yours.” 

“What does that have to do with anything?!” snaps an annoyed Bakugou. 

“It has to do with everything.” responds the top ranked hero. “They seek to protect and aid others, you seek your own goals. They are willing to work together, you are not. And they are willing to seek out and listen to those around them, and you…” He trails off wanting Bakugou to finish the thought.

“Could care less…” 

“Exactly.” That’s the core difference. “But there are things between you three that are similar.” 

The blonde straightens up, surprised and intrigued. 

“You all have the same drive to become the best, that is both an admirable and a worthy goal.” He watches for the boy’s reaction. “You have talents and skills but in order to become better than you are now you must be willing to work with and for others. Do you understand?” 

Yeah, believe it or not he does understand. He doesn’t like it though. But…he’s supposed to be the best, he should be the one receiving all the praise and glory, but he’s not. If he wants to get better than…then he really needs to understand how he should better himself. 

########(End Flashback)#######

With a heavy sigh, Bakugou reluctantly agrees “Fine… I’ll lead your sorry asses to victory.” 

Now it’s Ochaco’s turn to be put off! She didn’t think she would get through to him!! Honestly, she was kinda shooting from the hip there. 

Kirishima, however, could care less about the details and is just thrilled they’ll work together! “Yeah! We got this! Haha!” He wraps arm around Bakugou. “We’re counting on you, team leader!” 

“Let go of me, Kirishima!!” 

“Bakugou.” 

Bakugou stops struggling against the grinning Kirishima for a moment and turns his attention to the brunette. 

Ochaco genuinely smiles up at him, her eyes burning with determination. “We won’t let you down.” 

“Yeah, whatever.” Bakugou looks away almost…like when someone can’t look at the shining sun anymore. “I already know you can handle yourself…Uraraka.” 

Ochaco smiles.

And that for some reason gets on Bakugou’s nerves! “Why are you so smiley?! Quiet that weird face! Ugh, it’s so weird!” 

“Haha, sorry!” 

As Team A finally comes together, Team C are at a loss, watching on from the sidelines having been totally forgotten about as they hang from the tree. 

Tenya is at a loss, having heard the whole exchange. “What just…happened?” 

Tokoyami frowns, trying to act cool and ominous even though he’s tangled up in tape. “We witnessed the alliance between an angel of the stars and a demon of the abyss.” 

Sato blinks in confusion. “Um, what?” 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

All Might looks to Aizawa from atop the observation tower. “ **SHOULD WE GET THEM DOWN?** ” 

“No.” Aizawa responds almost too quickly. “Let them take the time to think about how they could improve.” 

“ **SO, YOU WANT THEM TO STEW IN HUMILIATING DEFEAT.** ” 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

The pair of yellow antennae twitch. “Huh, I don’t hear any more explosions?” The kneeling Mina frowns, looking up towards the sky, waiting for any sounds that indicate a fight. “Do you think Bakugou was captured?” 

She looks to her team for answers, but she doesn’t exactly get the responses she was hoping for. 

Koda is shaking his head while shrugging, like he’s silently saying that he has no clue. 

And as for Midoriya…well he’s still out of it, in a daze and a far off look in his eye. 

And that’s not what she needs right now! He can’t be off, lost in thought! “Hey, Midoriya!” 

“Hm?” The greenette snaps out of his daze. “Oh, um, what’s up Ashido?” 

“Were you not listening?!” 

He looks away, disappointed in himself for not listening. “Sorry, I just got other things on my mind…” 

“Focus!” Mina springs to her feet, standing over him with her hands on her hips. “We’re in the middle of an exercise, so stop getting distracted!” 

“Yeah…” 

Her antennae twitch as she frowns concerningly, she can tell that he’s feeling troubled. By what, she doesn’t know, whatever it is it’s really bothering him. A part of her wants to drill him for answers, a gossip’s gotta gossip, but this isn't the time for that. Not at all. Right now she needs to reign him in and get him focused. 

“Come on, Midoriya. If we’re going to survive, we need your head in the game.” She pats his head encouragingly, noting how fluffy his hair really is. “And we need that big brain of yours to do it!” 

Izuku listens, trying to not blush at having his head patted, but as Mina rubs his hair, he can’t help but agree with her. He needs to get his head in the game! “You’re right.” He gets to his feet, ready to help out. All of those negative emotions will just be put on hold for now, although that’s easier said than done. “Right! So then um…um…” And like that his focus withers away again. 

Mina internally deadpans. ‘ _Annnd… He’s got nothing._ ’ 

Or does he? “Wait, Koda?” 

Izuku and Mina turn to the third member of their party, Kouji Koda, who is suddenly very nervous about the attention now drawn towards him. 

“Your Quirk, Anivoice, allows you to control animals, right?” Izuku pulls out his Quirk Analysis journal out, searching for the page he drew up about his classmate. 

Mina mentally gasps in confusion! ‘ _Did he have that thing this whole time?!_ ’ 

“So tell me.” Izuku’s nerdy side is on full display as he scurries close to Koda. “Can you understand them, too?” 

Koda blinks before shying away. 

Mina’s lost though. “What are you talking about?” 

Izuku goes ahead and explains his thought process. “Koda can command all sorts of animals: birds, rodents, bugs, and the like. He does this by talking to them so it stands to reason that he can understand them back.” With sparkling eyes Izuku turns back to the animal manipulator. “Right?” 

Koda shyly and fearfully nods his head while waving his arms about like he’s playing charades; confirming that he can in fact communicate to animals and that he can even have conversations with them, too! 

Mina gaps in awe. “Woah, really?! That’s cool!” 

“Then here’s the plan.” Izuku genuinely smiles as he scribbles away in his notebook. “The objective is to survive but that doesn’t mean we actually have to fight anyone. We just need to be the last teams standing.” He peers up towards the thick woods. “We’re pretty well concealed here so no one should find us any time soon.” He turns his gaze to his teammates. “But to be sure Koda can have the forest creatures be lookouts for us. They can spot our classmates before we do and warn us before it’s too late.” 

Mina nods, planting her fist into her open palm. “I get it. Like an early warning system.” 

“Exactly! Birds can even survey the area for us!” Izuku smiles excitedly at Koda, who looks away all embarrassed. 

Mina frowns. “That’s good and all. But that’s so lame!” Seriously, she was so pumped when she was assigned to his team because she thought they’d get to see some action! What’s the point of having all those powers and not show them off?! “Come on Midoriya, turn into some freaky monster and go on a rampage! It’ll be so cool!” 

“Just what do you think of me?!” Izuku then coughs regaining his composure. “Either way that’s not really viable.” He lifts his left arm, displaying the Omnitrix. “Sure I could go out and hunt people down, but with my time limit in place I can just as easily be cornered myself.” 

“Oh, right. I forgot.” The pink girl pouts. “That’s so lame.” 

“Ugh…” The greenette sweat drops not sure what he can tell her that’ll make her happy. 

“I guess we have no choice but to wait it out.” 

“Yeah.” Izuku turns his greenback to Koda. “We’re counting on you. Just do your best, I know you can do it.” 

Koda shyly smiles, as if unsure about it but he finds the encouragement so reassuring. Plus he doesn’t really want to let them down so… With as much courage as he can muster, he nods, determined to see this through. 

Izuku grins, happy Koda is willing to work with him. 

Mina watches from the side, a slight bored expression on her face. ‘ _I guess I can wait it out, that’s fine but…_ _Why couldn’t I have been in a fun group?!_ ’ 

She watches as Koda squats down so he can whisper to some squirrels and sparrows while Izuku scribbles away in his journal. 

_‘Talk about boring._ ’ 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Bakugou sprints through the thick woods, following his instincts as he searches for more victims. However, neither one of his teammates are anywhere in sight. Just the way he likes it. 

Something catches his attention, forcing Bakugou to dig his heels into the ground and come to an immediate halt, all the while keeping his eyes peeled on the dark woods. His eyes scan the area as a harsh silence washes over, not a sound breaks his focus not the leaves, not a bird, and not the wind. 

Bakugou turns and snarls. “Get yourself out here, Icy-Hot Bastard.” 

After a moment with nothing but the wind to answer him, Shoto Todoroki calmly stolls into view. 

“That was some bullshit ambush.” Growls the ash-blonde as sparks dance out from his palms. “Now you’re going to die!” 

“Calm yourself.” Shoto raises his hands, gesturing that he isn’t actually here to fight. “I just wanna talk.” 

Bakugou’s glare hardens. “Talk?” 

“Yeah, is that so strange?” Shoto frowns. “Although I guess negotiating is a foreign concept for you.”

A tick mark forms on Bakugou’s forehead, he’s really getting tired of being put down. “Guess I’m off my game today.” 

“Yeah, guess so.” Shoto strolls into the open but making sure to keep his distance just in case. 

Bakugou leans back, his palms clutched at the ready. “You have something to say?” 

“Yes.” Shoto looks Bakugou right in the eye and with full seriousness he says. “How’d you like to team up?” 

“Huh?!” What’s up with everyone wanting to work together today?! This is some new trend?! 

“I’d like your team to team up with mine, so we can take out Midoriya.” 

“What?!” Him too?! Why is Deku everyone’s main target?! 

“Midoriya’s the greatest threat, even to you. But if our teams join forces, not even he can win.” 

“Tch. You know I’m really getting tired of people begging for my help. Besides I can kick Deku’s ass myself!” A pair of blasts echo from his palms as he grins madly at the dual-elemental wielder. “But I’ll be happy to kick your ass first.” 

“I’m not even surprised.” The dual-haired teen shakes his head in disappointment. “Guess we’ll have due with what we got.” 

“Huh?!” 

Without warning a pair of large capsules coming flying out at Bakugou from both sides! 

*POP!!!* 

The capsules explode and blast out a pink foam-like substance!! 

Acting with crazy reflexes, Bakugou blasts himself backwards, avoiding the foam completely. 

“Dang it!” Tooru Hagakure frowns from within the bushes as she raises up more capsules. 

“He’s so fast!” comments Momo Yaoyorozu from the opposite bushes, she holds her hand out and generates another capsule. 

Bakugou growls in annoyance, looks like he really did walk into an ambush after all. His eyes widen before he blasts himself to the side, avoiding a piercing icicle ice trail, courtesy of Shoto! 

Bakugou glares over at Shoto, who’s right side is covered in a bit of frost. 

Shoto glares back. “Now this is an ambush.” 

“Damn, Icy-Hot.” Bakugou’s eyes dart to the side, his instincts taking over as he swings his arm around and unleashes a large Explosion! 

“Eeeeee!!” Hagakure screams as she’s blasted back, she was hoping to sneak up on Bakugou without her “costume” but it looks like he spotted the capture tape in her hand. 

“Too slow!” Bakugou grins but his grin falls as Yaoyorozu tosses more capsules at him! Quickly he jumps and blasts himself up just as the capsules explode and release clouds of foam! 

Bits of foam land on Bakugou’s arm as he propels himself away. 

His feet skid across the ground upon landing. ‘ _What is this stuff?!_ ’ He grazes the foam with two fingers, examining it further. He scowls as he realizes what it is. ‘ _It’s fire retardant._ ’ 

He blasts up and away avoiding another ice trail from Shoto. But now their plan is clear: they’re trying to repress his Quirk and give the Icy-Hot Bastard the opening he needs to capture him! 

‘ _You smartass elitists!!_ ’ Bakugou internal snarls as he ricochets and blasts himself around in the air avoiding piercing icicles and exploding foam-capsules. 

Yaoyorozu generates and throws out more capsules. “We won’t lose!” 

“You're outnumbered!” screams Hagakure! 

Shoto launches another ice trail! “You can’t win this alone, Bakugou!” 

Much to Shoto’s surprise, Bakugou smirks. “I know.” 

Shoto blinks in rightful confusion. “What?” 

As Bakugou descends, Yaoyorozu tosses more capsules straight into the air. There’s no way he can avoid each and every one of them for long, no doubt one’s going to him! 

Or not, as pink spheres fly in from seemingly out of nowhere and slam into the capsules, blasting them away from Bakugou! 

The entirety of Team B gasps in astonishment! 

Hagakure yelps. “What th-Ahh!!” She stumbles back hastily avoiding a chop from Kirishima’s hardened arm! 

Kirishima scowls as Hagakure slips away. “Dang, I missed!” To be fair all he really had to work with for aiming was the roll of capture tape in her hand. 

Yaoyorozu’s eyes widen. “Kirishima?!” 

A light whoosh greets her ears before the sound of boots touching the ground echoes behind her. 

Yaoyorozu frowns as she turns to face her own foe. “Uraraka.” 

Ochaco smiles back defiantly, proud that she was able to catch Yaoyorozu off guard. She’s also a bit impressed that Bakugou’s plan worked: having her and Kirishima stay back while he took the front did draw out their classmates. Good thing too, because Bakugou would have been captured otherwise, although not even he would admit that. 

Shoto scowls, realizing they’ve been played. 

“So, you’re actually cooperating with your team. Gotta say I’m surprised.” 

Bakugou lands back on the ground, with a superior grin plastered to his face. “Yeah, I’m just surprising everyone today.” 

Shoto’s glare narrows. “You’re not only one with a surprise up their sleeve.” 

Bakugou scowls, what does that mean? 

Meanwhile, Kirishima is still after Hagakure, but without a proper target all he can do is swing his arms around and hope he lands a strike. “It’s sure is hard to hit a target I can’t see.” 

Hagakure nervously chuckles as she evades another swing. “Maybe you should call it quits?” 

“Ha!” Kirishima’s arms harden in defiance. “Not a chance.” 

Before he can strike again, a familiar voice calls out from somewhere in the woods! “Yo Kiri!” 

Kirishima pauses, looking up in confusion. “Huh, wha?” That sounds like Ashido. 

Sure enough, Ashido’s voice calls out. “Yo, Kiri?! Where are you?! I can help!” 

Kirishima grins, he’s more than happy to accept the help of a friend. “We’re over here!” And just like that his grin fades away as his eyes gloss over. 

At the same time, Ochaco is squaring off against Yaoyorozu, who’s made herself a shield and a bow staff. 

Ochaco eyes the iron shield. ‘ _I can take that out!_ ’ Her fist begins to glow, allowing One For All to power her attack as she swings her fist forward! “Smash!!” 

Before her fist can land, a hardened Kirishima appears and intercepts her attack!! The smash slams into him, launching him backwards, Yaoyorozu ducks, as Kirishima flies overhead until he crashes into a tree, smashing it in half!! 

Ochaco screams out in horror! “Kirishima!!” She quickly dashes past Yaoyorozu in favor of checking on her teammate. “Are you okay?!” 

“Ow!” Kirishima groans, even when hardened, taking a smash from her is no picnic. “Wait?” He sits up, looking around like a lost dog. How’d he get here? And why is he hurting? “What happened?!” 

Ochaco yelps! “You tell me!!” 

While they sort themselves out, Hagakure and Yaoyorozu quickly get into position to strike. 

“Hurry!” Ochaco turns to face them, raising her fists. “We can’t let them take us.” 

Kirishima gets up, standing by her side. “Right.” 

“Kiri!” Ashido’s voice calls out once again. “I can help! Where are you?!” 

Ochaco hears it too, but something’s not right. 

Kirishima excitedly grins “Ashi-hmpf?!” 

Ochaco slams his mouth shut, shaking her head. “That’s not Mina.” 

The red-head blinks, clueless. “Hmp?” 

“Aw man!” whine Ashido’s voice! “I really thought-” Ashido’s voice fades away, altering and becoming a bit more repressed and masculine. “-I had you there for a second.” 

Ochaco glares past Hagakure and Yaoyorozu and whispers. “Shinso.” 

On que, Hitoshi Shinso steps into view from within the nearby brush and boulders. 

Meanwhile, Bakugou is still evading Shoto’s attacks, but with his battlefield awareness even he spots Shinso joining the fray. “Mind Fuck?” What’s he doing here? 

Shinso smirks, lowering his Artificial Vocal Cords, as he stands between the combat ready Yaoyorozu and Hagakure. “How’s it going?” 

Ochaco and Kirishima frown in frustration, not at all willing to give Shinso the edge he needs to control them. Which is easier said than done, because they really want to know why he’s here. 

Yaoyorozu can tell that they have questions and so she takes it upon herself to explain. “Shinso saw the benefits of joining us.” 

Shinso chuckles, scratching the side of his head. “Guilty, can’t say no to a pretty face.” 

Well that explains it: Shoto must have reached out to Shinso like he tried to do with Bakugou. 

“And of course.” Shinso’s smirk grows. “I’m not alone either.” 

Meanwhile, Bakugou lands back on the ground, having just avoided another ice trail, when the hair of his head stands on end! 

Bakugou gasps before rocketing up!! And just in time as an electrical discharge nearly electrocutes him! He kicks himself off a tree before landing back on the ground with a nasty annoyed scowl. 

“What’s up Bakugou?!” Kaminari strolls out, giving the mad bomber a cocky salute. “Bet you didn’t see this coming!” 

Bakugou’s snarl turns dark. “Brain-Dead Bastard.” 

A whoosh greets his ears from behind, and he practically throws himself forward, dodging a swipe from Ojiro’s tail! “Damn, you bastards are really annoying.” 

Ojiro lands before spinning around and raising his hands at the ready, as Kaminari smirks and takes his side, all the while Shoto takes the rear guard amongst his newest allies. 

And the sight makes Bakugou smirk. 

Kaminari smiles nervously in response. “Why are you smiling? It’s really creepy!” 

Bakugou’s grin grows bigger, like a psychotic criminal clown’s. “Because you losers might actually put up a fight now.” 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

All Might isn’t so sure about this anymore. “ **IS THAT EVEN ALLOWED?** ” 

Aizawa nods, not at all surprised or concerned. “Of course, teaming up is a viable strategy.” 

“ **GUESS ANYTHING REALLY DOES GO.** ” 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Back in the arena, Team A is struggling to fight off so many foes. Yaoyorozu had started generating and firing out capsules that releases capture tape! And Hagakure without her gloves and shoes makes it difficult for them to get a read on her. And of course they can’t even communicate unless they wanna get Brainwashed by Shinso!

Unable to get a proper opening to fight back, Ochaco comes to an executive decision, they need to get the heck out of here!! 

“Oh, no you won’t!” Shinso lashes out with his Binding Cloth. 

Too bad Shinso’s not up to Aizawa’s level because Ochaco is able to slip right past the Binding Cloth and rush over to Kirishima, grabbing and giving his arm a tug. 

Kirishima gasps in surprise not expecting to be grabbed! “What-hmpf?!” 

She has to shut his mouth closed again before he falls under Shinso’s control. She quickly gestures with her head that they need to get moving. 

He nods in understanding. 

So the gravity-manipulator does her thing and makes him and herself weightless before using her Gyro-Disc to jetpack them away towards their leader. 

Bakugou blasts Kaminari away but then he has to blast himself to the side in order to not have his head smashed in by Ojiro’s muscular tail! 

Ochaco swoops in, tackling Ojiro and knocking him away. She bounces slightly back in the air, and wheels around still gripping onto a floating Kirishima she turns to the surprised ash-blonde bomber. “We have to go!” 

“What?!” She can’t be serious!! “No way in hell!!” Bakugou’s palms spark. “I ain’t running away from these losers!” 

Ochaco initially snaps back! “Bakugou!” But she catches herself, knowing she can’t force him to do anything. And so with as much poise she looks him right in the eye. “We’ll make them pay, but on our terms.” 

Bakugou’s aggressive expression falters, and he actually considers his options, eyeing the fighting-losers as they regroup. “Fine!” He swings his arms up and over his head. “But just to be clear-” he swings his arms down, unleashing a massive Explosion that demolishes the ground while creating a giant plume of smoke and dust! “this doesn’t count as running away!!” 

The enemy teams brace themselves as a whirlwind and bits of rubble and smoke whip at their faces. 

The plume of smoke and rubble eventually clears away and when it does both teams are not-so surprised to see that Bakugou’s team have seemingly vanished. 

Although if they looked up they’d see a flying Ochaco pulling Kirishima along as a weightless Bakugou latches onto her boot. 

Bakugou scowls down at the two teams, making a silent vow to make them pay later. 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Team E is still hidden away in their little clearing, seated around waiting in silence with nothing but the wind and the brush of leaves to keep them company. There haven’t been too many Explosions for a little while now and in all honesty that only makes their nerves grow. There’s no way Bakugou was captured already, if anything he’s gearing up to do something big and, for lack of a better term, explosive. 

So it doesn’t help matters when some of Koda’s birds come crashing through the treetops, chirping loudly and panicky! 

Mina gasps, jumping to her feet. “What’s going on?!” 

Izuku gets up, looking to Koda. “Did they spot something?” 

The sparrows and pigeon land on Koda’s outstretched arm and begin chirping away hastily. After a moment Koda frantically nods his head in confirmation. 

Unfortunately the warning comes too little too late as a band of large tape flies out at them from the nearby bushes! 

“Get down!!” Izuku throws himself at Koda, shoving him down while his birds fly away in a panic! 

Mina leaps to the side as the tape whizzes by! “Who’s attacking us?!” 

From the side an elastic pink tongue whips out at her! Mina leaps back before she could be licked, but as a result she’s further away from her team! 

“Nice moves, Mina.” Tsuyu Asui’s head pops out front of the shrubbery. 

“Tsu?!” Mina scowls, backing up away from the frog girl. “Should’ve known.” 

Tsuyu steps out, squatting down at the ready. “Probably.” She hops forward, her arms and tongue out to grab the pink girl. 

Mina’s feet spill out slippery acid, allowing her to skate away quickly before Tsuyu could strike. Tsuyu lands on the spot she was previously occupying, so Mina throws her arm out and sprays out a splash of acid! However, Tsuyu's agility is much more impressive allowing her to hop away without any issue. 

But it looks like Mina’s on her own as her teammates have their own problems: named Mezo Shoji and Hanta Sero. 

Sero chuckles as he rips away the tape from his elbow. “Should’ve known that wouldn’t get you.” 

“Yeah, so you should know what’s going to happen next.” Izuku reaches for the Omnitrix but a whip of sticky Tape wraps around his right hand and wrist, pulling it away! “Ahhh!!” 

Sero chuckles as he pulls Izuku in. “Wow, you must really be off your game, huh?” 

Dammit, Izuku should have been more prepared. He totally let down his guard. Guess his head still isn’t in it. 

Izuku struggles, tugging his arm back but Sero’s got more of a foothold to work with! 

“No getting out of this one.” Sero’s grin widens. “You’re up.” 

“Right!” Shoji charges from the side, his arms outstretched and ready to wrap Izuku up. 

Izuku gasps, he’s really been distracted if he forgot Shoji was here!! And without a free hand he can’t transform, and now he’s going to be captured!!

But there’s something else Izuku’s somehow lost track of, his own teammates. A small flock of pigeons and sparrows rush Shoji, pecking and swooping at his head. 

“Quit it out!” Shoji comes to a halt, folding his arms around his head while trying to swat away the pesky birds. 

While still pulling against Sero’s Tape, Izuku looks over and sees Koda commanding the birds. 

The sight brings a smile to Izuku’s but the pull on his arm quickly puts him in check. 

“Give it up, Midoriya!” Sero taunts. “Just accept that you finally lost one.” 

Izuku scowls in frustration, he has no idea what to do. His entire hand and arm is wrapped up in tape, and Sero’s pulling is keeping him off balance. His eyes drift down to his wrapped-up arm, and then they widen with hope. He could almost smack himself for forgetting, he does have a way out of this. 

With a flick of his right wrist, the newly acquired Omni-Shield activates, the 18-inch diameter shield rips right through the tape, setting Izuku free! 

“Huh?!” Sero’s completely baffled by the sight of the shield. “A shield?!” 

Izuku smirks, he's so glad he got this thing. And as a bonus no one in class except Iida, Uraraka, and Todoroki have seen this thing so no one would have known. 

Izuku positions himself with the shield in front, making sure the Omnitrix is covered as he brings his hands together. 

Watching from the side, Shoji swats away the birds and rushes in in a panic! “No!!” They can’t let him transform! 

“Say hello to Heatblast!” Izuku slams down on the Omnitrix and the flood of green light instantly blinds everyone in the area! 

Izuku himself can feel the transformation taking over but it’s different. Rather than the fiery burning sensation of becoming Heatblast it feels rawer and more inhuman. It feels like his eyes are being sealed in, his limbs bending in odd angles, his hair standing on end, and even his teeth feel like they're being pried out! 

But it all occurs in an instant, as a result the green flash fades away all too quickly. 

“RAAAAAWR!!!” 

Everyone comes to a halt, covering their ears as an earth rumbling roar is bellowed out from the terrifying creature before them all! 

Everyone is completely baffled and scared of the beast before them all! Whatever it is it looks like a large mutant dog with orange quill-like fur. But the strangest and freakiest thing is that this thing doesn’t have a defined face: no eyes, ears, or nose!! But one thing it does have is fangs, large, defined, flesh tearing fangs. 

“Rawr?” The crazy-looking beast appears to be examining itself although it seems confused and startled, like it’s just realized it couldn’t see until now! “Raah?!” The beast hastily flails around, swing its head frantically around like it’s desperate to see something and it has yet to figure out why! 

Sero screams out in terror upon seeing the Omnitrix dial on the beast, “What, another transformation?!” 

Shoji backs away nervously from the large beast. “What is it even supposed to be a bear or a giant dog?” 

The dog-thing swings its head down towards Shoji upon hearing his voice. 

Shoji freaks out upon seeing the creature’s face. “Ah, it doesn’t have any eyes!” 

Tsuyu deadpans. “You should be the last one to freak out about that. Kero.” 

“Rhr?” The creature stops flailing and panicking upon hearing his classmates call him a dog. 

His gills flair up and his senses rush with loads of information, he can smell everything: the trees, the dirt, the birds, even the acid sprayed on the ground. Admittedly it’s all really cool, it’s like he has 360-degree vision without the vision! But more importantly he can smell himself: the beastly, hairy scent, mixed with an earthy aroma. 

“Rhr…” But it’s clear to Izuku now he didn’t suddenly become blind, he’s become a Vulpimancer! 

Huh, he should have figured he could become this thing after that Vulpimancer from the other day used his Omnitrix as a chew toy. 

Well it may not be the alien he wanted, he sure isn’t going to complain. 

Shoji isn’t sure but he could have sworn he saw the beast smirk there for a second. “Gah!!” Shoji goes flying back as he gets backhanded by the large beast, landing on his back with a groan. 

Sero gasps! “Shoji!!” 

The multi-limbed teen sits up. “Ow, I’m fine.” He glares up at the beast. “Just thrown off is all.” 

“Yeah, literally.” 

“Grrr.” The Vulpimancer stalks closer, his fangs bared as a low growl emanates from his throat. 

Shoji scrambles back. “Woah, woah! Stay back!” 

Not one to stand by, Sero shoots out a string of tape. 

The Vulpimancer’s gills flare, and with amazing agility he leaps straight up evading the tape. 

“How?!” Sero can’t believe his eyes! How did that thing even see his attack coming?! 

“Grh. Grh.” The Vulpimancer chuckles as descends, the moment his hind legs hit the ground he springs himself forward right towards Sero! “RAAAAAWR!!!” 

“EEEAAAHHH!!!” In a terrified panic Sero fires out dual strings of tape; what he’s hoping to do with that is unclear other than to try and defend himself. 

“Rarh!” With a chomp of his large maw, the beast clamps down on the strands of tape. 

“Eh?” Sero blinks, dumbfounded. 

With the tape tightly gripped in his jaws, the Vulpimancer smiles and takes off in a run! 

“Ahhhh!!! Someone stop this thing!!” 

Both teams watch on in stunned confusion, it’s like a scene of a boy trying to walk his giant dog only for the dog to be walking him, dragging him along like a toy on a leash! 

“Ragh!” The beast comes to a halt and with the momentum he’s built, Sero rolls forward getting tangled up in his own tape!!

“Sero!!” Shoji finally snaps out of his confusion to realize that the beast’s movements were intentional! 

Sticking to the side of a tree, Tsuyu pokes her mouth with a finger in thought. “Guess that really is Midoriya.” To be honest that thing is so beastly they couldn't be sure. 

Mina cheers out in celebration! “Way to go Midoriya!” 

The morphed Izuku gives a big paw up and a fanged grin in response. “Rarr!” He takes off in a sprint charging right for Shoji! 

Shoji braces himself, throwing his arms forward, ready to take the beast’s charge head on! But the Vulpimancer instead leaps up and over him! 

The Vulpimancer lands and thrusts his head back, giving the tape a hard tug! 

Shoji gasps as Sero’s tangled body comes flying at him! And blam!! They’re tangled together in a ball of tape! 

“Yeah!!” cheers Mina while Koda grins excitedly from the sidelines. 

Tsuyu frowns. “Dang it, I really thought we could take him.” She glares up at the beast with a determined spark in her eye. “But if I learned one thing in this class is that we can’t just rollover.” 

The Vulpimancer turns his head to her, tilting to the side like a curious hound. 

Tsuyu squats down on the ground at the ready. “Right Midoriya?” 

The beast grins before spitting out the tape at last and without his “dog-walkers” the beast charges! “RAAAAAWR!!!” 

“Kero!” Tsuyu leaps up and over the charging beast, whipping her tongue out and lashing it downward, right for his gills! 

The elastic tongue smacks into the gills with a loud crack! “Raaagh!!” The morphed Izuku goes down, gripping his stinging gills. 

Tsuyu squats down when she lands. “Guess I was right; those gills are sensitive.” 

“Grrr.” The transformed Izuku should have figured she’d figure him out, she was always the observant type. “RAAAAAWR!!!” He charges again! 

Just like before Tsuyu leaps up and over him, her tongue lashing down once again! 

But the morphed Izuku is more than ready, he swings his body around and grabs the elastic tongue in his meaty paws. 

“Kero?!” 

“RAAAAAWR!!!” With the momentum of his spin, the beast swings Tsuyu down by her tongue.

But she doesn’t end up being smashed into the dirt, instead she catches herself with all four limbs like the frog she is. “That won’t be enough.” 

“Rgh. Rgh.” The beast chuckles smugly. 

Tsuyu’s eyebrows furrow in suspicion, when suddenly someone grabs her from behind, throwing her down as capture tape is wrapped around her hands! 

“Ha! Got ya!” cheers Mina as she shoves herself off Tsuyu. “Good job, Midoriya!” 

“Yargh!” The morphed Izuku barks in approval, letting go of Tsuyu’s tongue, while sticking his own tongue out as he pants. 

After a moment the three members of Team F are tied up around a tree, eliminating them from the exercise. 

“Yeah, we did it!” Mina cheers, jumping into the air in celebration! 

Koda smiles and nods while the beastly creature pants and grins like a good boy. 

Without warning Mina grab’s the dog-like creature's head and begins patting it! “And it’s all thanks to you right, boy?” 

“Rgh?” 

She begins petting away at his head. “And who’s a good boy? You are that’s who!” 

For some reason this feels really nice, so much so he sticks his tongue out on the side and thumps his foot against the ground. 

The tied up classmates all sweat drop at the sight, Sero however is the only one willing to speak up. “Get a hold of yourself man.” 

“Rgh!” The Vulpimancer snaps out of it, scrambling to his feet, trying to regain his composure. 

Mina pouts, surprisingly the beast's fur was really soft despite how it looks. “Hey, don’t be like that, leave Wildmutt alone.” 

“Rgh?” The Vulpimancer looks to her in confusion, or what passes as a confused expression for a faceless beast. 

Everyone seems to be just as confused, looking to Mina for an explanation. 

“What?” She places her hands on her hips as she pouts, insulted that they didn’t get it. “Wildmutt, that’s his name.” 

Shoji raises an eyebrow. “How do you know?” 

“Easy, I made it up!” And she’s certainly proud of it. “I mean, Midoriya always gives his transformations names so I thought hey I can make one up too! Hence, Wildmutt!” 

“Rggh?!” The newly dubbed Wildmutt can’t believe his ears! Wait, where are his ears? “Rawr. Rawr!” She can’t just come up with a name, that’s his job! 

Tsuyu ponders the name. “Wildmutt, huh? It’s not bad, kero.” 

“Rhhhg?!” Wildmutt is stunned, turning away whimpering like a sad pooch. It’s not fair…whenever he comes up with a name, she instantly dislikes it. But she likes the name Wildmutt? Not fair… 

He goes and sulks in the corner, like a regretful k-9 that’s been scolded, all the while whimpering

Sero watches the dog creature sulk. “Um, what’s wrong with him?” 

Tsuyu shrugs. “Who knows?” 

Mina calls out! “Snap out it Mido-Oh, um Wildmutt!” She waves her arms about to get his attention back! “We need to figure out how we’re going to win!” 

“Rawr!” Wildmutt snaps out of his stupor immediately, rushing over excitedly. “Rawr. Rawr. Rawr. Rawr! Rawr!” 

“Woah slow down!” Mina gestures for him to settle down. “I don’t understand what you’re saying!” 

“Rgh” Wildmutt tilts his head to the side. 

Tsuyu’s eyebrows furrow with suspicion. “Um, Midoriya?” 

Wildmutt turns to her. 

“Can you…talk in that form?” 

… “RAGH!?!?” He gasps out in pure shock!! 

“You're just now realizing this?!” Mina shouts out in frustration. 

Tsuyu deadpans. “Called it.” 

“Really?” Sero can’t help but question. “What’s the use of a transformation that can’t talk?” 

“Not only that.” Shoji adds in. “How is it you can even see?” 

“Rawr, ragh!” Wildmutt gestures to his gills but none of his classmates are really able to tell what he’s trying to say exactly. 

“Great!” Mina grabs at her head, scowling in annoyance! “How are we supposed to win if you can’t even talk?!” 

“Raagh. Raagh.” 

“Nope. I didn’t understand a thing!” 

Wildmutt whimpers, this is not working out at all. 

“Looks like it’s all up to me!” declares Mina a little too enthusiastically. “I’ll think of such an amazing plan it’ll put anything you can think of to shame!!” She points at Wildmutt who tilts his head to the side. 

The tied-up Team F stare at her like she’s grown a second head. “We doubt that.” 

“Gah! Hey prisoners aren’t allowed to speak!!” She throws her head back, gripping her hair in frustration! “Grah! This is hopeless!! I can’t think under all this pressure!!” 

Team F sigh. _‘Knew it.’_

Wildmutt whines, wishing he could be of more help. 

Meanwhile, Koda watches on from the side to shy to even contribute. But he seems bothered, almost antsy like he wants to come forward but his nerves get the better of him every time. 

“Ahh! This is hopeless!!” Mina whines! 

“Raawr. Ragh.” 

She sighs, giving up on it all. “Midoriya…please…I don’t understand a word you’re saying.” 

A shy, quiet voice chokes up. “H-he s-said it’s n-ot…hopeless.” 

Mina, Wildmutt, and even Team F all freeze up before they all slowly turn to see a shaking Koda off to the side. 

Mina blinks. “Eh?” 

Koda looks like he wants to shy away, but this is important, so he holds his ground although shakily. “Um, h-he, said i-it’s not hopeless.” 

… 

Each student cries out in shock!! “YOU CAN TALK!?!” Yeah because that’s what’s important/ 

“RAGH!?!” Wildmutt rushes forward, grabbing a terrified Koda by the shoulders, shaking him as he begs for answers. “Raawr! Ragh! Ragh?” 

“Y-yes!” Koda nods trying not to puke. “I can u-understand you!” Actually that makes sense Wildmutt is more beast than humanoid and Koda can understand beasts so why not Wildmutt too? 

“Wait!” Mina gasps! “You can understand everything he’s saying?!” 

“Y-yes.” 

“Then why didn’t you say anything sooner?!” 

Koda turns away, his nerves starting to take over him. 

Wildmutt steps forward, placing his paw on Mina’s shoulder. She looks to him and he gives her a look to back off. She gets it and steps away allowing Wildmutt to step forward. 

“Rawr. Rawr.” 

Koda slowly stops shaking, peeping his eyes open just a bit. 

“Rawr. Rawr. Ragh.” 

Koda looks away shyly, considering Wildmutt’s words. “I’ll…try.” 

Wildmutt nods, giving Koda the friendliest grin he can despite the large fangs. 

Mina however couldn't be more lost as she watches these two communicate with each other. She never thought she’d be the odd one out in a conversation. Guess there’s a first time for everything. 

But she won’t be excluded for long as Wildmutt turns to Mina and begins barking. “Rawr. Rawr. Ragh.” After he finishes, he looks to Koda. 

Koda shys away but a head bob from Wildmutt encourages him on. “Oh! U-um, M-Midoriya has a p-plan.” 

Mina’s a bit weirded out that Koda has to be a translator but it’ll have to do. “Well what is it?” 

“Rawr. Rawr. Ragh. Rawr. Rawr. Ragh.”

“H-He says that Wildmutt can’t see but h-he can smell. Um, he says the gills are his nostrils.” 

Mina eyes the gills, her face becoming disgusted. “Those are his nose?” 

Sero and his teammates are just as grossed out. “Imagine the boogers.” 

Tsuyu sticks her tongue out. “Gugh, and I hit them with my tongue.” 

Wildmutt shys away embarrassed, before turning back to his own team. “Rawr. Rawr. Ragh. Rawr. Rawr. Ragh.” 

“B-because of his s-sense of smell he can practically sense wh-here everyone in the training field is. A-and he can tell who everyone is.” 

“Ragh.” 

“W-well he c-can at least make a guess.” 

“Rawr. Ragh. Rawr. Rawr. Rawr. Ragh.” 

“From what he can it looks like two teams have teamed up, considering there isn’t a hint of struggling between them.” 

Mina gasps! “What, that’s not fair! People have teamed up!” 

Team F look to each other. “Maybe we should have done that, too?” 

Shoji nods. “Yeah.” 

Mina however turns pale at the thought of two teams coming after them. “Not good, they’ll definitely be coming for us then!” 

Wildmutt gives Mina an encouraging nudge with his head. “Rawr. Ragh.” 

Koda translates. “T-they will but…we can still take them.” 

“Take them?” Mina isn’t so sure. “Take them how?” 

“Rawr. Ragh.” 

“N-no one…” Koda gives a shy grin, knowing the implication this could have. “No one knows about Wildmutt yet.” 

Mina’s eyes widen and a grin forms on her face as she realizes that they’ll have a major element of surprise on everyone! “Then let’s go get them!” 

Wildmutt reels his head back, letting loose a triumphant roar! “RAAAAAWR!!!” 

*BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! * 

And in a flash of red light Izuku is back to normal, blinking like an idiot. “Um, but maybe after I recharge.” 

Mina and Koda face fault to the ground, exasperated! 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Further away amongst the trees and rock, Team A has regrouped away from the allied teams.

Although not everyone on this team is exactly happy that they retreated from Shoto and Shinso’s teams. “Why the hell did we run?!” 

Ochaco sighs, rubbing her head before a headache can form. “We were out matched! They got us with our guard down!” 

“And even after I took the lead to smoke them out!” Bakugou huffs in annoyance, plopping down on a nearby boulder. “This is why I hate working with others.” 

Sitting on the ground nearby, Kirishima grins up at the ash-blonde. “Don’t be like that man. We still got this.” 

“Tch.” 

“Kirishima’s right.” confirms Ochaco. “We can turn this around.” 

Bakugou raises an eyebrow. “Oh, yeah, how?” 

Ochaco goes ahead and explains. “You’ve taken out two teams so far, not including us that leaves four teams left. And no doubt by now another team must have been eliminated.”

“So?” 

“So, there’s only three teams left to take down and two of them have teamed up.” 

Bakugou’s eyes widen. “So besides us, only Deku’s team is left.” 

Ochaco grins, finger gunning at Bakugou. “Exactly! Meaning that Shoto and the others will be targeting Deku now that they lost us.” 

Kirishima, who’s been having a hard time keeping up, finally speaks up. “So, what? How does that work for us?” 

Bakugou’s grin turns maniacal. “If Icy-Hot and Mind Fuck go after Deku, they’re going to fight it out.” 

Ochaco nods. “And when they do, they won’t see us coming.” 

Kirishima grins as he realizes the benefit. “Cool so we can fight them all at once!” 

Ochaco aims finger guns at Kirishima. “Exactly! But first we need to get somewhere safe and provide us a good look out.” 

Bakugou’s eyes drift away, looking out towards the distance. “I know where we can go.” 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Kaminari practically drags himself through the thick brush, brushing off the leaves that stuck to his jacket. “This sucks! Ahh! Why do we have to do all the grunt work?!” 

Simple, because they need to find the other teams! After losing track of Bakugou and his group the alliance of Shoto’s and Shinso’s teams split up to locate others. The two groups are actually traveling parallel to each other but still a fair distance away as they all traverse through the arena. Then again, it’s been over ten minutes since they encountered Bakugou’s group so trudging through the thick woods hasn’t exactly proven fruitful. 

Kaminari groans as his jacket gets snagged by some low hanging branches! “This sucks! If only we didn’t miss our chance the first time!” 

Ojiro smiles, accepting the reality of the situation with a smile. “Yeah, too bad, it really would have helped if we were able to take out Bakugou.” 

Hagakure nods, her gloves waving in the air.” And Uraraka, they’re both so strong.” 

“No kidding.” Kaminari plops down in defeat, throwing his head back in exhaustion. “How are we even supposed to find them anyway?” 

Ojiro provides an answer. “Easy, Bakugou will come to us. There’s no way retreating is sitting well with him.” 

Kaminari’s face turns deathly pale, filling with a sense of deep dread. “And…we want that?” He’s not so sure he wants to face off against a pissed off Bakugou, not like they’re any other version of him on any other day. 

Ojiro chuckles, sympathizing with Kaminari’s plight, but then the sound of rustling leaves meet his ear. “Hm?!” He turns, his eyes narrowed, staying peeled for any signs of an attack. 

Hagakure, noticing Ojiro’s tail standing on end, whispers. “What’s the matter?” 

Ojiro gestures to the west of their positions, towards the tall thick bushes underneath the dark shady trees. “I think I heard something. Over there.” 

Kaminari visibly gets scared, biting the tips of his fingernails in an attempt to keep himself calm. 

“I’ll go check.” Hagakure, pushing through the ferns and shrubs. .“I’ll report back when I find whomever it is.” 

The only sign that she’s left is that several ferns and shrubs are shoved aside as she passes through them. After a few seconds Ojiro and Kaminari have already lost all traces of her leaving them alone, scanning the woods for her or anything that isn’t her. 

And so they wait, and wait, and wait for her to report back but…there’s nothing. Not a sound but the occasional breeze. 

“EEEEKKKK!!!” 

“Hagakure?!” Kaminari and Ojiro rush in without a second thought, hurriedly sprinting towards the source of the cry! 

“Where is she?!” cries Kaminari! 

“I don’t know!” Ojiro shouts back, before coming to a screeching halt! “Wait!” 

Kaminari nearly rams into him from behind before peering over his shoulder. “What is it?” 

Ojiro gestures down to the ground. 

Kaminari follows his gaze and gasps when his eyes land on the single glove left abandoned on the ground, Hagakure’s glove. “That’s Hagakure’s!” 

Ojiro flexes his tail as if ready to strike an unseen enemy. “Yeah, but where is she?” 

The sound of rustling leaves instantly makes them jump at attention; their eyes peeled as the rustling continues from the same spot. 

Kaminari gulps nervously. “Hagakure, is that you?” 

Ojiro’s eyes narrow. “No, it’s not.” 

“Wha?!” 

Whatever was making the leaves rustle takes off at full speed crashing through the woods and away from the two teens. 

“There!” Launching himself forward with his tail, Ojiro gives chase after the unknown intruder. 

“Wait!” And Kaminari chases after him! 

“Hurry!!” With another jump via his tail, Ojiro leaves Kaminari behind to pursue the target before it gets away! 

Unfortunately he moves far too quickly for Kaminari as the electrical blonde loses sight of his teammate. “Ojiro, wait! Ojiro!” 

There’s no reply, in fact there’s nothing, no rustling of leaves, no sounds of a fight, and not a peep from Ojiro. 

Kaminari slows down eventually coming to a stop, cautiously scanning the woods. “Ojiro?” 

There’s still no answer, not a sound, it’s almost as if he’s just upped and disappeared… 

“Where are you?!” 

Instead of a proper reply, he is answered by the sound of rustling in the distance. 

“O-Ojiro?” Kaminari shakily turns towards the rustling bushes. “H-Hagakure?” 

Finally he receives a response in the form of a low aggressive growl. “Grrrr.” 

Kaminari gasps, flinching away in fright! “What?! Is there a bear in here?!” 

“Grrr.” 

The rustling is quiet like something big is stalking its way right towards him, moving in slowly and cautiously. 

Kaminari is freaking out! “Stay away from me!!” With a swing of his hands down he unleashed a massive discharge of electricity! 

The electricity cracks and singes the dirt and plants, illuminating the dark forest! “Stay back! Who…w-whatever you are!!” 

“RAAAAAWR!!!” 

“AAAAHHHH!!!” 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Kaminari?! Ojiro?!” Shinso comes crashing through the brush, looking in all directions. 

Yaoyorozu rushes in after him. “Hagakure, are you here?!” 

Shoto, much more calmly, shows up soon after. “Where are they?” 

They heard screaming and Kaminari discharging his electricity and came running but it appears they’ve come too late. 

Shinso checks behind a nearby boulder, shrouded by tall ferns and low hanging branches. “I found them!” 

Yaoyorozu and Shoto rush over gasping at the sight of their fellow members. 

Tucked behind the boulder are their lost teammates: Hagakure and Ojiro are gagged while bound by capture tape, and Kaminari is also wrapped up in the tape but he looks petrified like he witnessed a terrifying sight. 

Yaoyorozu gets down and undoes the gags, she would untie them, but this is an exercise and thus they are eliminated. 

Hagakure sighs as the gag of tape is removed. “Thanks Yaomomo.” 

Shoto steps in. “What happened to you?” 

Ojiro trembles as he recalls their encounter. “A monster.” 

“What?” 

Yaoyorozu is just as stunned. “A monster?” 

“Yeah.” Ojiro takes a shaky breath before continuing. “It was like some sort of mutant beast.” 

“Yeah!” cuts in Hagakure! “It was super scary! It was so fast and strong I thought it was going to eat me!” 

Shinso’s eyes drift over to Kaminari who is too petrified to even acknowledge them. “Sounds pretty nasty.” 

Shoto’s eyes narrow with skepticism. “I’m not so sure.” 

Yaoyorozu eyes him warily. “Todoroki?” 

Shoto continues. “A beast targeted you three and then took the time to tie you up and gag you?” 

Ojiro and Hagakure’s eyes widen as they realize what Shoto’s getting at. 

Shinso came to the same conclusion as well, scowling in annoyance. “Dammit, Midoriya. Why can’t you make things easy for the rest of us?” 

Unbeknownst to them all, a certain fury beast was able to hear that even from a distance. “ARRRROOOOO!!!” 

Shoto, Yaoyorozu, and Shinso nearly jump in response to the ear-piercing howl, as their eliminated teammates cower in response. 

The three don’t exchange a word instead they wait and listen for any signs of their foe. 

There’s a slight rustling but there’s not a breeze to accompany it instead a low growl. “Grrr.” 

Instantly the three spin around towards the direction of the growl but they can’t see a thing, the thick forest inhibiting their line of sight. 

“Grrr.” 

They spin back around the growl coming from the opposite direction this time! 

More rustling like something’s circling around them, but it’s coming from all directions. The reasoning: either there are multiple enemies or there’s just one really fast enemy. Neither option is exactly ideal though. 

But one thing is clear, they are no longer the ones on the hunt but the ones being hunted. It’s funny that often or not humans see themselves as top of the food chain but all it takes is for one beast to show them the harsh reality. And they definitely feel it: the deathening silence, the ominous growls and rustling, and an unseen enemy. This is how prey feels. 

But these prey are not without their own natural defenses. 

Shinso backs up facing away from his teammates, gripping his Binding Cloth, raising it up at the ready. 

Yaoyorozu generates a shield with a matching staff, her left shoulder bumping into Shinso’s. 

Shoto stands with his back to the others as well, forming a triangle, as a cold mist floats off his right side. 

More rustling and more growling, this time though they can tell that they’re predator is far closer. Even though they cannot see him. 

Shinso hates this, he could always try to coax a response out of Midoriya, but he knows very well that he’s too smart for that. 

Yaoyorozu’s in no better shape, even though she’s armed herself her mind is swirling with questions: like what did he transform into, what can she make to stop him, and so on. But without a proper answer she can do nothing. 

Bits of frost and ice form across Shoto’s leg as his eyes remain peeled towards the treeline. He readies himself, exhaling a visible breath, and smiles. “Do your worst, Midoriya.” 

And hidden away within the thick of the branches, the transformed Izuku smirks in response. 

With their backs to each other the remaining alliance prepare themselves, they can sense the change in the air: soon they will face their hunter. The question is now where will he come? 

The answer… FROM ABOVE!!!!

“RAAAAAWR!!!” Wildmutt comes slamming down between all three of them, roaring at the top of his lungs as he tosses the three of them aside! “RAAAAAWR!!!” 

Shoto is the only one able to stay on his feet even as he’s tossed aside. Shinso, although did take a tumble, rolls himself onto his feet, ending in a ninja-like squat position. While Yaoyorozu simply groans in pain from beside him. They all take a moment to take in this beastly form, questions running in their head that have to be put aside until later. 

Wildmutt gives the three a fanged smirk as his gills contract and expand. “Ragh. Ragh!” He charges right for Shoto! “RAAAAAWR!!!”

“Not a chance!!” Shoto launches a bristling ice trail! 

“Rgh!!” With amazing acrobatics, Wildmutt leaps to the side and with a kick of his feet, lunges right back towards the dual-haired teen, who ironically smells of peppermint. “RAAAAAWR!!!”

“Gah!” Shoto slams his foot down and an ice wall bursts out, intercepting Wildmutt’s powerful claws that dig and smash into the frozen wall. 

“RAAAAAWR!!!”

Yaoyorozu shoves herself to her feet, gripping her weapons. “We have to help him!” 

Shinso nods, he couldn’t agree more, adjusting his Artificial Vocal Cords until Uraraka’s voice is emulated. “Deku! Look out!” cries out Shinso with Uraraka’s voice! 

With his paw still slammed against the glacier, Wildmutt turns towards Uraraka’s voice, his gills flare up taking in the scent of teenage angst mixed with a cat cafe. 

And with a slobbery smirk Wildmutt waves his finger. 

Shinso sighs, it was worth a try. 

“Let’s go!” Yaoyorozu grips her staff and steps forward to charge! 

Upon hearing Yaoyorozu, Wildmutt throws his head back at let’s out a loud howl!! “ARRRROOOOO!!!” 

Almost immediately after a flock of pigeons, sparrows, and small birds flood her line of sight, swarming the two teens. 

Shoto generates another ice wall before Wildmutt could slam his claws into him! But even while defending himself he maintains an eye on the rest of the battlefield, watching as a swarm of birds creates a wall between him and them. “Yaoyorozu! Shinso!” 

“RAAAAAWR!!!”

Quickly he throws his hand down and an ice trail races towards Wildmutt who jumps aside grabbing onto a tree to avoid the ice. 

From within the circling flock, Yaoyorozu and Shinso find themselves back to back, wary of the birds. 

Shinso grips his Binding Cloth. “What is this?” 

Yaoyorozu scowls. “It must be Koda’s doing.” 

It sure is, Koda is in fact hidden away atop a tree. His perch is far enough away to keep him safe but close enough to see everything that’s occurring. But then again as long as he’s in earshot of Midoriya, he can follow his orders without anyone knowing what they’re up to. 

The birds stop circling and begin assaulting the two teens: pecking and scratching at them, aiming for the heads specifically. 

Yaoyorozu uses her shield to cover her head. “Stop that!” 

Shinso braces himself with his arms. “Damn, rats with wings!” 

Yaoyorozu scowls. “Enough!!” She throws her hand forward, generating an airhorn! 

*bwAAAAAAAHHHP!!!* 

The birds screech and scatter as the obnoxiously loud siren blares in their ears!! 

Yaoyorozu smiles, she was able to pull something off! 

But the moment is short lived, as from amongst the scattering birds, leaping out from the nearby tallgrass, a wild Mina Ashido appears and challenges her to battle! 

“Haha!” Mina laughs as she slams her hand against the airhorn, burning it away with a splash of acid! 

Yaoyorozu gasps, stunned. “Mina?!” 

“The one and only!” Mina throws herself forward, her hand outstretched! 

Yaoyorozu raises her shield, but that was the pink-girl’s plan as the shield begins to melt away. “No!” 

“Yes!” 

Mina throws her fist forward. 

Yaoyorozu flinches, stumbling back, but she has no need to worry as a Binding Cloth grabs Mina’s arm and pulls her away! 

Shinso pulls Mina away from Yaoyorozu with a tight grip on his Binding Cloth. “Hands off.” 

“Haha. A cool guy, huh?” Mina smirks. “I’m willing to play.” 

She grips the Binding Cloth, grinning as it melts away in her hand thanks to her Acid. 

“You better watch that mouth of yours.” Shinso pulls back the scarf. “Or you might regret it.” 

Yaoyorozu frowns, disappointed in how she handled that. But! She can’t give in now! She gets up a part of her hand glowing as she activates her Quirk: Creation! 

But it’s not to be as the flock of birds return but this time they all conjugate around her, pecking, chirping, and swiping at her breaking her concentration! 

“No! Stop! Get away!” 

Shoto runs in from the side, hurrying to help his teammate! “Yaoyorozu! Hold on!” He aims his right hand forward ready to deliver an ice wall for her! 

But he’s interrupted, i.e. Wildmutt slams into his side, throwing him across the ground. 

Shoto’s not one to give up though, even as he skids across the dirt he slams his hand down on the ground and an ice trail comes crashing towards the wild beast! 

It’s too fast this time for the alien hound and he gets clipped, as a piercing icicle grazes his side! “Raarow!!” Wildmutt whimpers grabbing his aching side, his nostrils picking up the fate scent of copper. 

“Come now.” Shoto gets to his feet. “You didn’t really think it’d be that easy did you?” 

Admittedly, he was kinda hoping it would be. “RAAAAAWR!!!” 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Kirishima blinks, using his hand as a shade as he looks out to the horizon. “I think they’re going at it.” He steps back away from the edge of the cliff face. “Now what?” 

Ochaco grins as she springs to her feet. “We take them all down!” Her grin falls soon after. “Yeah, but…how?” Admittedly not even she has an answer to that. 

Bakugou, however. “I know how. We take them all out in one fell swoop!” He turns his devilish grin over towards his teammates. “And best of all, you two might actually be useful.” His eyes lock onto Uraraka’s. “Especially for you, Uraraka, but it depends on how good you really are with your Quirk.” 

Ochaco isn’t sure if she should be glad, he’s including them or terrified. 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“RAAAAAWR!!!” Ignoring the pain at his side, Wildmutt charges with the tenacity of a stampeding bull! 

_‘Got ya.’_ Instead of a barrage of ice, a wave of flames erupt forth as if summoned from hell itself! 

“Ragah!!” Wildmutt screeches as he tries to turn away, but he was moving far too quickly and the flames are too intense! 

He is barely able to avoid the worst of it as his fur is singed and his nostrils flare due to the intensity of the heat. 

“Rggg. Rgh.” A whimpering Wildmutt falls to his side, bits of his fur smoking as he gingery gets back on his feet. 

Shoto sees his shot and slams his right foot down onto the ground and an ice trail immediately launches forward!! 

“Ragah!!” Wildmutt kicks himself forward, scrambling to avoid capture. 

Shoto’s not done firing piercing icicle after icicle at the beast! 

“Ragh! Ragh!” Wildmutt sprints, leaps, and slides avoiding each and every icicle thanks to his abilities, but they’re all nothing but close calls; the icicles are so cold that the ends of his fur frost over. 

Wildmutt comes to a slow stop, panting heavily with his tongue hanging out. 

Shoto glares at the eyeless mutt his right side frosted over. 

Wildmutt, as if sensing Shoto’s glare, turns his head and bares his fangs at the dual-elemental teen. “Grrr.” 

Shoto’s left side flares up, the flames licking and dancing off his arm. 

Wildmutt ducks his head low, releasing a low intimidating growl. “Grrr-Rgh?” Wildmutt clamps his maw, sticks up his head, and turns away from Shoto like something's caught his “eye.” 

It’s such a sudden change in demeanor, Shoto’s thrown off, his flames fading away. 

Wildmutt’s gills contract, inhaling and exhaling the scents of the arena. Off in the distance moving quickly there are three different scents approaching: one smells of caramel, the other of mochi, and the last smells like…hair-dye? 

Shoto gives in and follows Wildmutt’s “gaze.” “Huh?!” He gasps when he sees them! 

Up high in the sky is Team A! Bakugou is rocketing through the air as a weightless Ochaco and Kirishima each have a hand on one of his shoulders!! 

“It’s Bakugou and Uraraka!!” 

After Shinso dodges a kick from Mina, Mina turns to look up as well. “And Kirishima!” 

Shinso raises an eyebrow. “What are they doing?!” 

Bakugou grins a wicked grin, looking down at his classmates who are nothing but ants to him from this height. “Alright, Uraraka! Do you think you can pull this off?!” 

“Heck, yeah!!” Ochaco let’s go and with her Gyro-Disc she’s able to dive down towards their classmates. 

Shoto glares up at her. “What is she up to?” 

“Ragh?” Wildmutt shrugs in response, even though Shoto can’t understand him. 

Ochaco flying in like a bullet, diving down headfirst from the sky!! ‘ _Alright let’s see if I can do what you said, Bakugou!!_ ’ With a smile on her face, Ochaco reels back her hands, cupped in her hands are several grenades, provided by the mad bomber himself! ‘ _These are filled with your sweat so hopefully they pack quite the bang!_ ’ 

One For All illuminates it in a pink aura around her arms, before the aura concentrates around her cupped hands. The energy swirls until she forms dual Ryou Spheres, but with her hands cupped so close the spheres combine and enlarge becoming one giant sphere, about the size of Ochaco herself!! 

“Here we go!!” She let’s go of the grenades that stay contained within the sphere!! 

And so she swings her hands down, launching the massive Ryou Sphere down at them all!, screaming at the top of her lungs!! “RYOU BOMB!!” 

The Ryou Bomb rockets down, racing towards the earth like... well a bomb!! The bomb explodes upon impact and with the nitroglycerin fueled grenades the explosion is even more powerful!! 

Dust and rubble go flying, the ground beneath them shakes and crumbles, even some trees are knocked over!! 

And the unfortunate souls caught in the blast are no better off!! 

“AAAHHH!!!” Everyone screams out as the blast sends them all flying!! And they keep flying as the effect of the Ryou Bomb’s Zero-Gravity takes hold of everything within the blast radius, including the victims!! 

The explosion created quite the crater leaving everyone exposed!! Shinso can’t even use his Binding Cloth to tie himself down against a tree because they’re either too far away or have been knocked down and torn apart! Even Koda’s been knocked out of his tree and is now beginning to float up into the air! 

But some of the combatants were able to escape the worst of the blast. 

“Bakugou.” Shoto scowls up at Bakugou from behind his thick ice wall. 

“Grrr.” Wildmutt growls, his fur standing on end as his claws dig deeper into the earth. 

Bakugou grins spotting the two of them. “Your turn Kirishima!!” 

“This is crazy!!” Kirishima’s entire body hardens. “But that’s why it’s so awesome!!” 

Bakugou’s grin widens as he grabs Kirishima by his arm and swings him downward. “DIE!!!” 

“You mean to them right?” Kirishima asks just before Bakugou EXPLODES him downward like he’s a cannonball!! 

“In coming!!” Kirishima comes flying down, like a red-haired missile, cutting through the air, keeping his hardened body up and ready!! 

Aimed right towards the stunned Shoto and Wildmutt, Kirishima roars out in pure terror and exhilaration!! “RED METEOR!!!” 

BLAAAM!!! He crashes into the ground before them both!!! 

“RAAAGAGH!!!/AAAAHHHH!!!” Both team leaders are sent flying back at the sheer power of impact!! 

If Kirishima had actually struck them, they’d be down for the count for sure!! 

With them both down and defenseless, Bakugou makes his move!! “Here we go!!” 

*BOOOM!!!* He rockets himself down, moving through the air like a fighter jet that’s aimed right for the floating teens!! 

With an evil grin Bakugou whips out the capture tape letting it unravel and fly out behind him as he grips it in his hands. “Die!!” 

Ricocheting himself he allows the tape to do its thing and wrap up and tangle itself around the floating idiots one after the other! Yaoyorozu, Shinso, Koda, Mina, and next up Icy-Hot and Deku!! 

Bakugou releases the capture tape letting his captured classmates go as he rockets towards Shoto and Wildmutt. “You losers are mine!!” 

Shoto shoves himself up, lashing his left arm out along with a torrent of flames!! 

“Not on my watch!!” Ochaco screams, throwing a One For All powered punch through the air, generating a powerful whirlwind that washes away the flames!! 

With the flames extinguished, Ochaco smiles at her handy work. “Sorry, Todoroki.” 

He seriously doubts that especially as Bakugou throws out more capture tape at him. The tape tangles around him and with one pull from Bakugou, Todoroki is eliminated from the match. 

Ochaco floats down beside Bakugou as Kirishima stumbles out from the small crater he created; covered in scratches, dirt, and bruises. 

Ochaco frowns. “Are you okay?” 

“Y-yeah, fine.” Kirishima grins, holding his arm and trying to tact like it’s all okay. “Never felt better.” A bit of blood drips down from his forehead. 

“You’re bleeding!!

Bakugou’s palms pop and smoke. “Now what do we do with you?” 

“Rgh?” Wildmutt backs away, his head turning from one enemy to another. “Grrr.” He lowers, fur bristled, fangs bared, and claws clenched. 

“Haha!” Bakugou slams his fist into his palm that explodes upon contact. “I can’t wait to put you down like the dog you are.” 

“Grrr.” 

“Hang on Bakugou.” Ochaco steps down, blocking him from moving forward with her arm. “There’s no need.” 

“What?! Why?!” 

“Oh, just a feeling.” Ochaco smiles at Wildmutt. “Right, Deku?” 

“Rgh?” What is she getting at?” 

*Beep! Beep! Beep!* Oh…now he gets it. *BEEP!*

And in a flash of red light Izuku is left vulnerable, crouched on the ground just like Wildmutt was. 

Bakugou’s grin widens. “Oh, I’m going to enjoy this.” 

Izuku gulps, there’s only one course of action that’ll allow him to see tomorrow. “I surrender!!” 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Aizawa sighs, exasperated, as he stands before his class just outside Ground Omega’s gates. “Alright, the winners of this exercise are Team A: Bakugou, Kirishima, and Uraraka.” 

The three stand beside Aizawa looking mighty proud of themselves, especially Bakugou. 

“ **CONGRATULATIONS!** ” shouts All Might. “ **YOU THREE DEMONSTRATED EXCELLENT TEAMWORK AND SURVIVAL SKILLS.** ” 

Aizawa sighs, he’s not sure he can agree with that last part. This was supposed to be a nice easy exercise, but these brats turned it into a mini-war! Talk about bothersome. 

“Alright.” Aizawa scratches his sideburn, tired of all this already. “Those of you who are injured go see Recovery Girl the rest of you report back to class.” 

The class stands at attention! “Yes, sir!” 

The class begin to disperse with Iida leading most towards the bus, but a few stragglers take their time to follow. 

Izuku frowns, gripping his side that was grazed by one of Todoroki’s icicles. Thankfully the bit of blood that spilled out has already dried up. But he’s not exactly picture perfect either, bits of his hair are singed and he’s covered in dirt and scraps thanks to that last fight. 

“Hey cheer up Midoriya!” Mina jumps in, flinging her arm around his shoulders. “It’s over now, no need to dwell on it.” 

Koda approaches too, although shyly. “W-w…w-we did o-our best.” 

“Yeah, I know.” Izuku tries to give them a reassuring smile. “I guess I’m just still a bit off my game is all.” 

“Well shape up mister!” Mina gives him a good shake. “Because we need your head on straight if we’re going to win next time!” 

“Yeah, I’ll try.” He’s not sure why but there’s something about Mina that just generates an air of positivity. 

“Midoriya!!” From out of nowhere Kaminari flings himself at the greenette, grabbing his head around his arm as if to strangle him! “You gave me a heart attack you jerk! I thought I was going to die!!” 

“Gah!” I’m s-sorry Kaminari!” Izuku chokes out, struggling to free himself. “I was just trying to win.” 

The rest of Kaminari’s team approaches: Shoto, Yaoyorozu, Ojiro, Hagakure, and Shinso. 

Ojiro frowns. “Dude, we seriously thought someone let loose a mutant bear or something. It was terrifying.” 

“Yeah!” Hagakure screams. “How’d you even find us?!” 

“Oh, that.” Izuku pulls away from Kaminari’s grip. “I smelled you.” 

Everyone becomes visibly disrupted. “You…smelled us?” 

Izuku realizes how gross that sounds! “I mean Wildmutt! I mean Wildmutt was able to pick up on everyone’s scents! That’s how I was able to find you.” 

Yaoyorozu frowns. “I understand. Hagakure is invisible to the eye but that’s no good against something that doesn't have eyes.” 

“Exactly.” 

Shinso frowns. “Okay but why were you acting like such an animal?” 

Izuku blinks. 

“Why were you growling and barking at us? Was that just to get into the act or something?” 

Izuku goes red from embarrassment. “No-no! It’s just Wildmutt can’t actually talk.” 

…

Shoto blinks. “That…makes a lot of sense actually.” 

Passing the group nearby is Tsuyu who overhears that part of the conversation. “If you ask me it’s your best transformation yet.” 

“Really?!” Izuku’s amazed to hear that from her! 

“Yes.” She looks him right in the eye and says. “It's the only one that can’t make puns.” 

Oooh! Izuku felt that one, so much so he nearly tumbles to the ground. 

Shoto, ignoring Izuku’s pain, continues with the questioning. “How’d you even get a transformation like that and when?” 

Izuku struggles to his feet. “I, uh, um, went on a hunting trip over the weekend. And I got into a little scrape with a feral dog is all.” 

Shoto frowns. “Who won?” 

Izuku freezes before slumping down in defeat. “Would you believe me when I said a trash can won.” 

“A what?” 

Meanwhile still in front of the gates, Kirishima gives his teammates a wide toothy grin. “We really did it!” 

“Yeah we did! We were great!” Ochaco cheers, before turning to their team leader. “Especially you Bakugou!” 

Bakugou gives her a confused look. 

“I knew you could do it! All you needed was to use some teamwork and BOOM we won!” 

Bakugou has to admit but she’s right, he actually won an exercise. He effectively beat Deku, although not in the way he wanted but there will definitely be more chances to truly show his worth! But for now he can settle for this he supposes, besides the exams will be the best time to truly show everyone what he’s made of. Especially because they’ll be ranked on individual levels. 

“No da.” Bakugou scoffs with a superior grin. “I’m going to be the Number One Hero, so of course I was great!” He turns his head away, smirking all the while. “I’m just surprised you two were even able to keep up.” 

“Hey.” 

Bakugou raises an eyebrow as he turns to Ochaco who gives him a dry-blank stare. 

“Don’t ruin this.” she says dryly. “You’re ego’s already bloated enough.” 

“Then why’d you bother saying anything?!” 

“Because I was trying to be nice! But if you’re going to put me down for it then forget it!” 

Bakugou scowls, glaring down at her, but she counters his glare with one of her own. 

Kirishima lets out a boisterous laugh! “Haha! You guys are way too much fun!” 

They both shout without looking away from each other! “Shut it, Kirishima!!” 

“ **HAHAHA! KIRISHIMA IS RIGHT, YOU TWO ARE FUN.** ” 

Bakugou and Ochaco break their glares to awe at their hero. “All Might!” 

“ **YO.** ” All Might grins down at them all. “ **JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT YOU ALL REALLY IMPRESSED ME TODAY. YOU GOT A LOT OF SPIRIT!”**

Ochaco grins! “Thanks, All Might!” 

Kirishima grins up at the hero in response. 

While Bakugou smirks, feeling mighty proud of himself. 

**“AND I WAS TRULY IMPRESSED BY YOU YOUNG BAKUGOU.** ”

Bakugou blinks. “Huh?” 

“ **I’M GLAD TO SEE THAT YOU’RE MORE WILLING TO WORK WITH OTHERS, A TRUE MARK OF A HERO IN THE MAKING.** ” 

Bakugou’s smirk widens, he already knows this but it’s nice to be acknowledged. 

“Careful All Might.” interrupts Ochaco. “Don’t compliment him too much, he’s already cocky enough as it is.” 

“What are you saying, Uraraka?!” 

“You know exactly what I’m saying, Bakugou.” 

“ **HAHAHA!** ’ 

Izuku silently watches from afar, a slight frown on his face, as All Might laughs and chats away with Uraraka…and Bakugou. 

And the feelings he’s been able to subdue so far begin to boil up once again, twisting his stomach into knots. ‘ _All Might…_ ’ 

##########(Flashback)#########

As Hisashi dragged away the unconscious Vulpimancer into the Razor Crest, Ochaco led Izuku off to the side. She led him to a downed tree that they used to sit on while looking out to the beautiful view provided by Lothaal Mountain. 

They sat in silence which felt like a few awkward moments for Izuku but to Ochaco it felt like hours as she slowly built up the nerve to tell him, to finally tell him. 

“Uraraka?” Izuku gives her a concerned look, watching her fidget and frown. “Is everything alright?” 

“Y-yes, I’m j-just nervous is all” 

“Nervous?” What does she have to be nervous about? “Uraraka, I’m not going to judge you. If there’s something you want to say then you should say it.” After all it’s clearly bothering her. 

“Okay.” Honestly, that's just what she needs to hear from him, helping her push up the courage she needs. 

She turns and looks him right in the eye. 

Izuku straightens up, noting how incredibly serious she is about this. Whatever she has to say, it must be important. 

“Deku, do you…remember what I said? When you first saw my Zero-Gravity Field during our first Hero Class.” 

He does. “Yes, you said…you said you got a new power from…someone.” 

Is this what this is about? He has to admit he’s been wondering about it but he didn’t stick his nose into it because she told him that it’s supposed to be a top secret. So, is he finally going to figure out what it is and who gave it to her. 

She looks away, becoming nervous again. “My power: the one that gives me so much power, that allows me to generate my Ryou Spheres and Zero-Gravity Fields…is called One For All.” 

“One…For…All?” 

“Yes, it’s a power passed down through the generations, becoming stronger and stronger with each holder until it passed down to me.” She locks eyes with him. “Passed down to me from All Might.” 

Izuku’s eyes widen, and he doesn’t notice it at the time but his heart drops, and he chokes. “All Might?” 

And so she tells him everything and that does mean everything: how All Might came to her and offered to train her, even how he gave it to her, the percentage she can control, and of course about how the Quirk came to be. How it was a combination of two Quirks forced upon the original user by the villain known as All For One. 

And she doesn’t leave out how even All Might thinks that man, that monster, is still alive and working within the shadows. 

Izuku leans back trying to process it all. Unsure what to say to all this. One one hand it’s amazing that his best friend’s All Might successor and she’s inherited a great responsibility, it’s an incredible tale. And one he should have been able to guess considering the evidence. 

But on the other hand this terrifyingly conniving All For One person, he sounds a lot like Vilgax. A monster hidden away in the shadows, pulling the strings and sending his puppets out to retrieve what he thinks he has claim to. 

“S-so, D-Deku?” 

Izuku turns to Ochaco who looks relatively worried. “W-what…do you think?” 

“What do I…think?” 

She nods, hoping he’s not upset with her for keeping this quiet for so long. 

Well it’s a lot to take in, that’s for sure. And he has so many questions, questions he wants answers to. But for some reason his stomach continues to churn and burn when his mind draws to All Might. But that’s more personal and not something he wants to tell his dear, friend. Instead he’ll tell her what he thinks of all this. 

“ I guess…I’m grateful.” 

Her eyes widen. 

“I’m glad you trusted me enough to tell me. But, and because I’m curious, why didn’t you say something sooner?” A part of him is worried to what her reasoning could be. 

“Oh, well, I wanted to. But All Might said it’s best if I kept One For All’s secret to myself.” 

A part of Izuku is hurt to hear that it was All Might’s suggestion, but he can understand why. It’s the same reason he can’t tell people that the Omnitrix isn’t a support item but the actual source of his transformations. If people knew about the Omnitrix or One For All for that matter, everyone would come after them to get their powers. Villains, the government, and maybe people they know will do anything they can to take the power for themselves. And that is a terrifying thought. 

But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt any less, that it was All Might that told Uraraka not to tell him. Not to trust him. All Might same one who… 

Izuku shakes head, trying to repress the memory. “Who…? Does anyone else know about this? About One For All?” 

Ochaco shies away. “Oh, well, nobody much, just Mr. Tsukauchi, that detective from the U.S.J. Incident, Recovery Girl, and…Principal Nezu and Gran Torino.” She says the last part rather quickly. 

“Principal Nezu and Gran Torino?” 

“Y-yes.” 

Izuku frowns, staring at his hands. “Honestly, that’s not much of a surprise. Principal Nezu always seems like he knows more than he’s letting on. And Gran Torino was All Might’s teacher. I guess that’s why you trained with him. It's because he was able to teach you more about One For All. Am I right?” 

Ochaco nods. “Yeah, admittedly when it comes to teaching, All Might’s not exactly the best.” 

Honestly, Izuku's not that surprised to hear that considering. 

Hang on. “Wait, so if both Principal Nezu and Gran Torino know about One For All and the Omnitrix does that mean…?” Izuku gulps nervously, his stomach twisting at the thought. “Does All Might know?” 

Ochaco tilts her head to the side. “Know what?” 

“Does he know? About…everything?” Aliens, the Plumbers, and the Omnitrix? 

Ochaco quickly realizes what he means. “No, he doesn’t.” 

“How come? Why haven’t Principal Nezu and Gran Torino said anything to him?” If you ask Izuku, despite his feelings towards All Might, he would be a huge asset to the Plumbers. 

Ochaco frowns worriedly. “Well they have a good reason. They’re afraid that All Might will strain himself far too much.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“Well, according to them, they believe that All Might would put too much responsibility on himself. Not only would he carry the title of the Symbol of Peace but he’d be actively trying to be the same for the alien community. But there’s no feasible way he can be a symbol to both especially with his…limits.” 

Oh, right. How could he forget? All Might’s time as the Symbol of peace is limited. Wait, do the villains know that too? If All For One is in charge of the League of Villains, then that might explain why they chose to attack him in the first place. 

“That…makes sense.” And honestly, it’s kind of a relief to hear, he rather not be that involved with All Might if he can help it. 

But then again, his best friend is All Might’s successor’s so that hope is probably down the drain at this point. 

Overall there’s still one thing hanging in Izuku’s mind. “It’s all so amazing and terrifying to hear. And I’m glad you told me Uraraka.” 

“Really?” She frowns worriedly. “You’re not upset with me?” 

“No way!” Izuku gives her a reassuring smile, ignoring the pits in his stomach for now. “I trust you completely and besides you were just doing what you were told. Besides I had a feeling you’d tell me everything when you were ready.” 

Ochaco sighs. “That’s…such a relief to hear.” 

“And that’s not all.” 

“Huh?” 

Izuku leans back, looking up to the sky. “Now that I know, I can help you out.” 

“What?” 

“Now that I understand your new Quirk I can actually begin analyzing it.” 

“Eh?” 

Izuku speaks softly, picking his words carefully. “I bet if we work together on it we can better your control over it.” He gives her an encouraging grin. “And then when we’re ready, we’ll take down All For One.” 

“We?” 

He chuckles softly. “Well, duh. Since I’m in on the secret now I can help you face All For One when the time comes.” Izuku grips the Omnitrix. “Besides he can’t steal my Quirk cause there’s nothing there too steal.” 

Ochaco can’t believe it, well she can, but she’s just so happy. Deku’s not remotely upset with her, she was just worrying over nothing, wasn’t she? But it’s still just such a relief that he knows now, that he’s accepted it. “Th-thank you, D-Deku.” Bits of tears stream down her face. “Y-you’re the b-best.” 

Izuku smiles. He can only imagine how this secret’s been eating away at her. But now she doesn’t have to bear this burden alone. 

And he wouldn’t want her or anyone to face it alone, All For One sound like one nasty piece of work. Heck the guy tried to manipulate and corrupt his own brother! Talk about heartless. 

But then again that one selfish act created the necessary tool, the power, to combat him. Talk about irony. 

But what is ironic, is that Izuku a lifelong fan of All Might, just found out what the man’s Quirk really is and he’s not even thrilled about it. The churning and burning of his stomach are too great to ignore anymore especially whenever his mind even thinks of All Might. Especially, trying to find a sense of reasoning in the man’s actions. He had to choose a successor. He had to find someone worthy of One For All. Don’t get him wrong Ochaco’s definitely worthy, but the question becomes… _‘Am I…not worthy?’_

Not worthy in the sense of receiving One For All but…is he even worthy as a hero to All Might. In All Might’s eyes, is Izuku even worth the effort? In All Might’s eyes, can Izuku become a great hero? Or is it because he has power now that he is “worthy?” Was that what was missing? A Quirk? So then…is he even worthy now? Is he a hero in All Might’s eyes? 

########(End Flashback)#######

Izuku’s stomach twists and churns, as he watches All Might grin away. In the past that grin always filled Izuku with such hope and excitement but now…he can’t even bring himself to look directly at it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright so to be honest guys this is not exactly the original chapter I wanted to write and by extension I’m not that happy with it. If it felt satisfying, there's a reason for that. You could chalk it up to me not being at all a professional writer and I’m just trying my best. Or rather it’s because the more plot related, and character development stuff was pulled from this chapter. In truth I actually got a good suggestion from you guys in some of the previous reviews and I realized that another chapter with that suggestion is a far better idea: it’ll allow for more character interactions and development, especially relating to Ochaco’s reveal of OFA to Deku. As well as be a better transition into the Final Exams. So if you were expecting more of the consequences and reactions of the reveal of OFA to Deku then it will occur next time because it’s a better fit. Actually I probably shouldn’t have written this chapter at all, but by the time I realized it I was already halfway through this one so I had to keep it. So again if this chapter felt off or unsatisfying compared to where the last one left off, this is why. But I hope I can make it up to you all next time. 
> 
> *The silver lining is that we got Wildmutt so there’s a positive, right? I have been wanting to introduce Wildmutt for a while. He's one of my favorites and I just think he’s such a fun and cool alien. 
> 
> *Like I said above I’m throwing in one more chapter before we actually get to the Final Exams. So I need time to actually plan out the chapter and write it up from scratch so it may take a while before we see it. Hopefully I can get it out by next week but we’ll see what happens. 


	46. Poll

Hey everyone, I have some important things to say especially near the end of this announcement. I just wanted to say thank you all for the feedback and the needed criticism about the previous chapter. It pointed out a lot of flaws to me that I think need to be addressed:

  1. This is on me for not making this clear, but this story is not just Izuku’s story. This story has 2 Main-Protagonists not just one. This is why I spend so much time on Ochaco too. After all she does have One For All so I feel like it’s necessary. That said Izuku and the aliens will still be the heart of the story, but I focus on Ochaco as to not lose the My Hero Academia elements and story lines.
  2. That said I do agree that I have had her win too many times! That was due to some poor foresight on my part. I was so focused on Izuku’s progress and struggles that I forgot about her struggles. If I had realized sooner, I would have defiantly had Izuku win the Sports Festival and not her. There I said it, Izuku should have won! That’s on me. I’ll try my best to balance it all out more.
  3. So to be honest, and this is going to sound like a poor excuse, I was not in the right mindset as I was finishing up Ch.40. By the time I was writing up the last action scene (about the time Bakugou’s team entered the fray) I was already upset and disappointed by the chapter due to the last-minute changes and it becoming more fillerish than I intended it to. So when I was writing the fight scene and Izuku timed out and surrendered, I only did that so I can just be done with the chapter, post it, and move on. Because I was frustrated and didn’t want to deal with it anymore. But that is no longer the case which is what I need to speak to you all about.



Alright here’s the IMPORTANT part. **Would you guys want me to redo parts of Ch.40?** To be direct, I’ll only be changing the part where Izuku surrenders at the end to Bakugou and his team.

Why? Well because one reason I originally made this chapter was for Bakugou to learn to cooperate with others, and I thought Ochaco would be the best candidate to show him why. So, I need this chapter to accomplish this now, otherwise a lot of future chapters and arcs are not going to work out the way they need to. So again the results of the chapter will still be the same but Bakugou and his team have to fight a little harder for it.

That said I think I have a way for Ochaco to “technically” lose and hopefully that can somewhat break her winning streak.

BUT I need to know if this is even worth doing. To be honest, I would much rather we move on to bigger and better things. BUT that all depends on you guys! I needed everyone to go to the link below. I am taking a poll asking whether or not I should redo the last parts of Ch.40 or not. Please vote, using the survey I rather not get hundreds of comments saying “Yes” or “No” because I rather not take the time away from writing Ch.41 to count them.

Again go to the link at Survey Monkey to vote. You have until the end of this week, from now to the 27th, to do so. Thank you.

<https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/YTT6R2V>


End file.
